No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death At Columbine By Brooks Brown

Cheyenne Crook
Sociology 220
08 November 2014
Book Review

No Easy Answers: The Truth behind Death at Columbine is a non-fiction novel, written by Brooks Brown, which provides insight to the behind-the-scenes factor to the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. On April 20th of 1999, two high school boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, entered their local high school by storm with shot guns and homemade pipe bombs. Before turning their weapons on themselves, Harris and Klebold killed twelve of their fellow classmates, one teacher, and left twenty-four others injured and wounded. In this novel, author Brooks Brown who once befriended the two distressed, teenage gunmen, goes into detail of his encounter with the shootings and
what he believes may have caused the two boys to resort to such violence. Brown was able to write from such a personal point of view because he was best friends with Klebold throughout all of grade school. As years passed, Brown was able to see just how sick and ill minded the boys were, as he listened to their fantasies of executing one of, if not the, largest bombings in the history of the United States. Klebold was said to be quiet, depressed, and suicidal. He hurt internally, whereas Harris put on a good face. Harris had many thinking he was kind and well spoken, but he was really very hateful and held quite an insipid attitude towards the world around him and everyone in it. Brown tells us the fantasies of the two boys, along with their wish to plan a bombing in their high school on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing that would wipe out approximately 600 people. There were several warning signs that could have been easily identified and tended to, and very well may have nipped the violent tendencies in the bud before they even began. This, I will divvy into two segments. First, one of the main warning signs made apparent by Brown was the near two dozen death threats he received, publically online, from Harris in which the authorities had little to no response for. Harris threatened to murder not only Brown, but his family as well. Brown and his family went to the authorities, went to the parents of Harris, and addressed the parents of Klebold as well; worried, fearful, and concerned, Brown tried in every way he knew how to get the attention of the people who could make a difference in these boys’ lives, yet no one budged. Fortunately, law enforcement takes these matters much more serious now, but think of every innocent person that had to be harmed before they realized what students are capable of? Ironically enough, the same authorities then had the audacity to point fingers at Brown and members of his family after the shooting, insinuating that they were involved or in on the plot that was almost a year in the making because, once upon a time, he was friends with the shooters, all in effort to cover up their own mistakes.
The second segment that could be divvied from the lack of attention from authority to warning signs is in the actual school environment. Harris and Klebold were also said to have violent and gruesome tendencies in their school work, including one video project in specific where the boys actually acted out several scenes where they shot and killed their classmates. Now, why that would not alarm a teacher or administrator? That is beyond me. The lack of attention to students is still a present conflict in our society, but thankfully, educators all over the nation are at least attempting to pay close attention to their students and their mental stability now that violence has begun taking our nation’s schools by storm. Browns obvious emphasis on ignored red flags by authoritative and supportive figures, such as teachers, law enforcement, etc., is not only something that took place almost twenty years ago, but something that is very present and conflicting in our society today. You can turn your television to the news and see another shooting in another school almost once a week now. One of the most recent episodes took place in Seattle, Washington a few months ago. In June of this year, 2014, twenty-six year old Aaron Ybarra, entered the campus of Seattle Pacific University and began firing a shot gun, injuring two students and leaving one for dead before twenty-two year old Jon Meis confronted Ybarra with pepper spray (FOX News, 2014). Meis put an end to Ybarra’s shooting frenzy and enabled law enforcement to take him into custody. When investigators began looking into Ybarra’s past, they were shocked to find a journal in which he wrote that he actually used the Columbine High School shooting as inspiration and that he “just wanted to kill people”. The further they began to look into Ybarra’s past, the more they saw warning signs that, if tended to, could have prevented such a sporatic, violent episode. There were reports of Ybarra’s violent tendencies throughout school and his irrational reaction to bullying (Martinz, 2014). Bullying ties into another factor that Brown attempted to bring to the attention of authority figures in his novel.
Harris and Klebold were often the victims of irrational bully behavior, crude comments, and mindless insults. They were often referred to as the “trench coat mafia outcasts,” just because they differed slightly from their classmates. When taking a look at Harris’ journal, he constantly referred back to the idiocy and moronic habits of peers. Brown suggested that it was almost a disgust that resided within Harris that fueled his hate and rage for his classmates. Now, while there is a large sliver of psychopathy behind Harris’ actions and reactions, intense bullying could also have planted the seed for that insipid contempt that he kept within himself. Since the shooting, many authorities have completely written off the possibility of bullying as a motive, as so many people have referred to the boys as “nice” and “well spoken,” as well as the fact that they both came from relatively well-off families. Unfortunately, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control disagrees. In their latest publication, The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide, specialists have proven a strong correlation between students who are bullied and turn around in turn to become bullies. It is said to instill a strong sense of empowerment, and that empowerment often goes straight to their head (Division of Violence Prevention, 2014). In this case, Harris and Klebold turned around and provided themselves with an extreme sense of empowerment, then turned their guns on themselves so that no one could ever take it from
them. Brooks Brown did a phenomenal job in speaking his truths behind the devastating tragedy that is the Columbine High School shooting. Although Eric Harris, age eighteen, and Dylan Klebold, age 17, were ultimately and undoubtedly wrong in their actions, Brown braved the endeavor of shedding light on the injustice that resided behind and within the boys. When law enforcement cannot protect their fellow citizens and refuse to listen to reason, when educators and administrators turn the other cheek when blatantly presented with alarming behavior from students, and when fellow students become ruthless and heartlessly mindless to the emotional boundaries of others, what is there to keep two students from going insane?

Works Cited
Brown, B. (2002). No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine. Lantern Books.
Division of Violence Prevention. (2014). The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide. Chamblee: Centers for Disease Control.
FOX News. (2014, June 10). Hero of Seattle campus shooting says gunman was 'sad and troubled '. Retrieved from FOX News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/06/10/hero-seatle-campus-shooting-says-gunman-was-sad-and-troubled/
Martinz, M. (2014, June 10). "I just want people to die,"Seattle college shooting suspect wrote, prosecutor says. . Retrieved from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/10/justice/seattle-campus-shooting-charges/