Op-Ed: Haunted by Oxford

Something similar happened with the perpetrators of the Columbine shooting of 1999. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 fellow students and one teacher at Columbine High School, the news thrust a persona onto them the day of the attack. Klebold and Harris were made to look like bullying victims who had had enough of their tormenting classmates and were out for the blood. In the New York Times video “Haunted by Columbine,” however, journalist Dave Cullen observes that Klebold and Harris were labeled as outcasts and bullying victims before any witness testimonies had been heard. When these testimonies did come, they largely challenged observers' perception of the two boys, with students describing them as having “busy social lives,” and even good relationships with their teachers. It was too late, though, and the media’s false idea shaped the prevalent narrative of Columbine and most of the school shootings since then.

Despite the obvious logical flaws in logic that pervade the reporting on school shootings, many still misplace the blame for such tragedies. Anti-bullying campaigns have been ramping up since the early 2000’s, right after Columbine, and often use school shootings as examples of such. Gun control has rightfully been a central issue in American politics for some time now, but whenever a tragic incident like this happens, much of the blame immediately falls on politicians for allowing the guns to be sold. The culture of the second amendment, particularly in low-income communities, that makes transactions like these happen in the first place, is never questioned. Few reporters look at the situations of the families of perpetrators, and often label perpetrators based on little research. This happened with Columbine, and is probably happening again with the Michigan shootings.

Who should be blamed? While mental health has been a frontline priority of school safety activists for some time now, the causes of these problems are often misidentified as well. The people who advocate for these changes claim they are the result of school anxiety caused by overwork. Others cite parental trauma, but end their explanations at that. No activists or reporters have dared to say that the mental health issues that result in these tragedies can be sparked by more important circumstances, particularly financial ones. Cultures of anger and violence that surround impoverished communities can lead to these acts of violence, which is the only cause for mass shootings that is supported by scientific evidence, as shown by studies by BMC Health. The U.S. Department of Health has conducted similar studies with similar results. In an interview with The Guardian, the mother of Dylan Klebold told interviewers that the Klebolds were a family of “modest” means, and went bankrupt soon after the Columbine attacks. The families of mass shooters are often impoverished, and surrounded by violence. Even Ethan Crumbley was raised in Detroit, one of the most violent cities in the U.S.

While bullying may be a significant cause of students' poor mental health, it is not the cause of school shootings, and asserting that it is prevents our culture from recognizing the true effects of economic disparity. Protesters don’t want to question the society in which they live, the one that gives them a voice as activists, and are too quick to misidentify the cause of such school shootings. While we don’t know what made Ethan Crumbley want to kill, if we assume that it was bullying, we should expect similar tragedies in the future.