Criticising the Newspaper Article "Cult of the Killer Nerds" Essay

by schmoo123 (student)

250 Victoria Road

Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Dear Sir,

Having just read the article Cult of the Killer Nerds by Mr. Johann Hari in your paper The Independent which was published on January 15th 2004, I felt compelled to write to you. I found the article extremely misleading, I find it quite unacceptable that an article of such should be published in a respectable newspaper like yours.

To start with, I am appalled that Mr. Hari would even contemplate the idea that a bunch of mocking high school kids had driven Harris and Klebold to violence. They were not the first to be bullied and they certainly will not be the last. When Hari wrote that ‘some people’ believe that the victims of the massacre ‘deserved to be murdered’ he crossed the line. It was extremely disrespecting to the dead and in my opinion very deluding. Mr. Hari may be trying to give an unbiased argument, but his sympathy towards Harris and Klebold is evident. Bullying may have added onto the many layers of frustration of Harris and Klebold, but it did not cause them to shoot up a school.

While Cassie Bernall may not have been the evangelical angel depicted of her by her ‘cult’ followers, it sickens me to read Mr. Hari cut her down. There are many implications in the article that suggests that Hari believes that Cassie Bernall would have died anyway, regardless of her faith. Does that mean she does not deserve to be commemorated for sticking to her beliefs to the very end? She accepted the fact her death was inevitable and never stopped believing in her faith. Is that not enough to deserve some respect? The mocking alliteration and sarcastic quotation marks around the words “martyr Cassie” is more than enough to let us know that Mr. Hari feels that Cassie Bernall is over celebrated and not worthy of the attention. Cassie Bernall may not have been all that she is glorified to be, but she did not deserve to die. She was a regular student in Columbine High School who went to class everyday so she could graduate and get a start in life. Remember she was the victim, not the murderer.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Mr. Hari holds a very passive attitude towards every single point/argument, he never seems to have much of an opinion or a preference, however when he writes about Cassie Bernall and her cult, I find that his tone is particularly scathing. He writes that her parents “explicitly” compared her to Christian saints, so what if they did? It does not make any difference, Cassie Bernall is now dead. She deserves to be remembered positively. Why is it that Mr. Hari holds such anger towards Cassie Bernall and her supporters? Harold and Klebold if anyone is who he should be angry at, they were the ones who killed, injured and ruined lives. The extent of the damage caused by Harris and Klebold goes beyond the 13 lives taken away; these 13 people had parents, friends, families; people who depended on them for love and support. Is it not strange to you that Hari is more irritated and negative about the victim rather than the actual murderers?

The writer directs a fair amount of his attention on the portrayal of nerds, jocks and high school life in movies. He believes that they hold the explanation to Harris and Klebold’s irrational behaviour or in his own words their ‘bloody massacre.’ I can see why Johann Hari may have wanted to use this term to reinforce the nonconformity portrayed in nerds in movies and the idea that they were frustrated with their mistreatment in school. However, I believe that the writer should have focussed on another area of the media in his search for the answer. The 7 o’clock news. Every evening Americans sit down in front of their television set and allow themselves to be pumped full of terrifying stories and exaggerated claims- the murder rate in America may have fallen over the years but the number of murder cases shown on television has increased. Fear, I suspect was a strong component in the reason behind Harris and Klebold’s behaviour. They were scared by the things they learned of the outside world and they were scared of the monsters in their own school.

Another thing that stuck out to me was the ‘pattern’ pointed out by Mr. Hari that ‘all teen ironic’ films followed, where the roles of the ‘A-list’ and ‘loser’ is reversed after graduation. Mr. Hari then states after this argument that Harris and Klebold did not ‘allow themselves that chance’. This angered me; I find Mr. Hari’s tone enormously reproachful. Harris and Klebold may never have had that chance in the very first place. I blame this entirely on Mr. Hari’s naivety though, he seems to have completely immersed himself in the idea that happy endings are for everyone, and where what goes round comes back around.

An area that Johann Hari explores is the ranking system in American high schools. He finds it unusually hierarchal and even compares it to the “Indian caste system”. For teens going to American high schools, this hierarchal ranking system only lasts until graduation. For people living in old, rural parts of India, the caste system is their life. The truth is high school is cruel, but so is life. Mr. Hari should have spent more time in his article covering the important issues that may have contributed to the school shooting, not only the reasons but the factors that assisted Harris and Klebold. For example the extremely lax gun control in America. The bullets used in the shooting were bought from the local K-mart. Did Dylan Klebold’s parents go out and buy them for him? I highly doubt it. Gun accessibility is extremely high in America; in this day and age you can buy a 9mm gun for $1.50, a mere fraction today’s teens’ pocket money.

I think I am speaking on behalf of the majority of The Independent readers when I say that the article Cult of the Killer Nerds was not of the standard we expect. As the editor, I hope that you will pay more attention to the articles published. Mr. Hari offended numerous readers including myself with his biased arguments, his inconsiderateness to the deceased, and his lack of precise, relevant points. The purpose of the article was to raise awareness to the issues emerging and to remind people of the massacre.