How does the media shape society’s viewpoint of mass violence? What are the similarities and differences between the two school disasters with regard to the mindset of the attackers? Are school children safer now than they were then? Explain your answer. Is media overstating school violence or creating copycat events? Why, or why not? Does media contribute to stereotypes of crime? Explain your rationale. How has the explosion of social media and 24-hour news coverage impacted our perceptions of violence vs. the impact of more traditional radio and television news coverage? Provide an example.

Week 2 Case Studies Columbine High School Massacre On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, donned black trench coats, and carrying guns, explosive devices and ammunition, entered their high school in Littleton, Colorado. They randomly murdered 12 fellow students and a teacher. Their goal had been to kill hundreds, but their bombs failed to detonate. Full of hatred, the boys had conspired for over a year to kill and injure hundreds at their high-school. Klebold said, “niggers, spics, Jews, gays, fucking whites, I hope we kill 250 of you.” In videos made before the attack the two boys expressed their contempt for athletes and socialites. They were not part of the “jock culture” and wanted to kill them all. That observation seemed incongruent with their attack as they did not go to the gym or locker rooms but instead went to the library and killed most of their victims who were unable to escape. Following the attack one athlete noted: “Columbine is a clean, good place except for those rejects. Most kids didn’t want them there. They were into witchcraft. They were into voodoo dolls. Sure, we teased them. But what do you expect with kids who come to school with weird hairdos and horns on their hats? It’s not just jocks; the whole school’s disgusted with them. They’re a bunch of homos, grabbing each other’s private parts. If you want to get rid of someone, usually you tease ’em. So the whole school would call them homos, and when they did something sick, we’d tell them, ‘You’re sick and that’s wrong.’ ” Harris and Klebold wanted to be recognized and have a voice and they knew the attack would give them both celebrity status and infamy. They even discussed which movie producer would be most suitable to produce their story: Spielberg or Tarantino. On one tape, Klebold blamed his extended family. He said, “You made me what I am. You added to the rage.” In his own shyness he hated the snobs and vowed to kill them all. TIME (1999) reported, “Klebold and Harris were completely soaked in violence: movies like Reservoir Dogs and gory video games they tailored to their imaginations. Harris liked to call himself ‘Reb,’ short for rebel. Klebold’s nickname was VoDKa (his favorite liquor, with the capital DK for his initials). On pipe bombs used in the massacre he wrote ‘VoDKa Vengeance.’ ” His parents were oblivious to their plans of mass murder. His mother saw him walk out of the house with a gun but assumed it was a BB gun and asked no questions. Indeed, the parents simply failed to connect the dots. After-all, who actually thinks their son is plotting a mass murder? Klebold said on one of the tapes that had his parents asked the right questions they likely would have been caught or at least deterred. Investigators believe the parents were normal, decent and fooled like everyone else. In another video, Klebold thanked his parents for teaching him “self-awareness, self-reliance … I always appreciated that.” He said, “I’m sorry I have so much rage.” Hickey, E. (2016). Serial Murderers and Their Victims, 7th edition. Boston, MA: Cengage ​Learning. Pp. 132-133. America’s Most Prolific Mass Murderer of School Children, 1927 Andrew Kehoe, born in 1872, never resolved the resentment he felt when his mother died and she was replaced with a step-mother. His mother accidently set fire to herself while working near an oil stove Andrew threw a bucket of water on her. Unfortunately due to the amount of oil on her clothing, the fire spread even faster and she died from her extensive burns. This particular even may have been the fuel that inspired him to carry out his later crimes. His reputation preceded him as a very controlling man with outbursts of anger toward anyone who disagreed with him. In 1912 Kehoe married and bought a farm in the Township of Bath, Michigan. He joined the local school board and when he discovered that a property tax was to be levied to raise funds for a new school, he became enraged. Kehoe argued the tax would create a special hardship for him as his wife Nellie who required treatments for tuberculosis. Refusing to sell off farm equipment to cover his mortgage the Kehoe farm went into foreclosure. In retaliation Kehoe began purchasing dynamite and over a ton of pyrotol, an incendiary explosive used for excavation. He had full access to the local school and over time hid multiple explosives throughout the building. His elaborate plan that took over a year to complete, included killing not only school children but as many adults as possible. Filling his car with metal tools, pipes and nails, Kehoe also packed the car trunk with dynamite. He then placed firebombs in his home and other farm buildings on his property. Kehoe first murdered his wife by beating her to death. Shortly after, on May 18, 1927, Kehoe detonated the firebombs at his home completely destroying his farm and animals. The explosions and fire was responded to by many local volunteer firefighters. Within the hour Kehoe detonated the school bombs in the north wing of the building, killing 38 elementary school children and two teachers. Minutes later Kehoe arrived at the destroyed school and waved to the school superintendent and others to come to his car. Firing a bullet Kehoe detonated his car killing himself, the superintendent, an eight-year-old boy, the postmaster, and his father-in-law. Another 500 pounds of bombs were hidden in the school’s south wing but failed to detonate. The final death toll was 45. Investigators later found a note left by Kehoe: Criminals are made, not born. © 2016 Laureate Education, Inc.​​Page 1