In paragraph 14, Johaan Hari wrote that “no amount of physical or verbal abuse, it scarcely needs pointing out, can justify a programme of mass murder.” I believe that it needs pointing because the writer cannot assume that young people know killing is wrong as there are groups out there planning to do the same thing to other people because they were or are being bullied. We must educate our children to make them understand that murdering is wrong, otherwise the same event would repeat itself again. For example, the appalling massacre that occurred in Virginia Tech University last year happened because a student spent seven miserable years in middle and high school being bullied and teased by other student, because of being constantly bullied at school, he developed hatred towards everyone and decided to take action when he was in university. According to Australian Broadcasting Corporation News, the killer Cho was greatly captivated by the Columbine massacre and was greatly affected by it. “And then, in 1999, Columbine shocked the nation. Cho was in the eighth grade. The 15-year old was transfixed by the horror, and his teachers noticed that menacing, dark and violent fantasies erupted in his school work…I remember sitting in Spanish class with him, right next to him, and there being something written on his binder to the effect of, you know, ' "F"' you all, I hope you all burn in hell,' which I would assume meant us, the students.” This shows that Cho had been enormously affected by the Columbine massacre and he believed that murdering is the only and most effective way to solve bullying problems. Children must be taught and understood that murdering does not solve any problems at all and if they are being bullied by other children, they must find help immediately from trusted adults, if we do not properly educate our children about this, then they would assume that they have the right to kill the others because they were bullied by them.
I strongly disagree with the ridiculous comment that Melissa Anderson made and I do not think that it is appropriate for Hari to include this irrational comment in the article and states that Anderson has a “fan site” for Klebold and Hari as it is extremely offensive towards families and friends who had lost one of their respectable members in this atrocious event. Hari’s action was very irresponsible and inconsiderable as he didn’t realize and consider how victims’ families and victims would feel. “The reason I believe Eric and Dylan were really cool to do what they did is because they stood up for themselves. Every single day they were teased, and I can relate to that. They were constantly messed with, and even though they repeatedly told people about it, they knew nothing would be done unless they took matters into their own hangs. Once again, we can see that children must be educated to understand that killing is not cool and it is wrong. If they want to stand up for themselves, they must find other ways that would not harm someone physically or mentally. Also, I found what Anderson said and did was very disturbing and insulting as it is impossible for anyone to want to worship those two despicable killers.
Reading this article has caused me great distressed because I am trying so hard to forget that my daughter had been gunned down by a selfish, cold blooded, murderer who has no respect for life. While reading this article, I found that Hari present these viewpoints of people who support Klebold and Harris as arguments and rational points of why Klebold and Harris should be understood and sympathized. Hari quoted what Anderson and Brooks Brown said and he presented them as reasons of why the killers launched this attack. By doing this, the writer seems to feel sympathy towards the boys and he may mislead younger readers and influence them to think that the killers deserve sympathy because Hari has not sufficiently and explicitly condemned the boys’ actions and the viewpoints of the fan groups.
I cannot agree more with the comment that jocks are thought as more superior in American high schools and people who are different are ‘freaks’ and are at the bottom. I think that this incident is mostly the schools and some parents’ faults as they promote and encourage this perception into children’s minds when they are young. Even though I agree with Hari’s point here, I still think that Klebold and Harris were wrong and had no rights to kill anyone.
To conclude, I think that your journalist Hari should be more considerate when he writes sensitive articles in the future as it can easily offend and upset readers. I also hope that parents would educate their children well enough to make them understand that murdering is wrong and it cannot solve any problems at all.
Dawn Anna Townsend, mother of Lauren Dawn Townsend, Columbine victim