Lessons of Colombine

Last Sunday, I saw a video which brought back the Colombine shootings to my mind.  On a sunny day in April, 1999, two boys walked into Colombine High School and began shooting their classmates as they roamed the halls.  This is the most well-known of all school shootings.


The short clip praised Cassie Bernall for standing up when one of the two shooters asked the crowd if anyone believed in God.  She said yes and she was then shot and killed.  The example is used over and over again to promote her as a hero and a proud Christian.  Some even attempt to USE her death as proof that Christians are persecuted in the United States.  The notion of Christian persecution is laughable in the US as we are in control of every branch of every level of government.  Sadly, such comments take away from places in the world where Christians truly are persecuted for their beliefs.

But let's look at the story of Cassie Bernall specifically.  In this story, she is a brave little girl who should be praised for her faith and courage.  However, the shooters (will not give them the honor of mentioning their names) not only targeted Christians, but jocks and popular kids.  Why?  Well, they told us.  Those were the kids that made fun of the them, bullied them.  Bullying has always been a serious problem in schools, and the Colombine story is an example of two kids taking out the ultimate revenge on others.  Some kids, who called themselves Christians, had harassed these kids enough that their delude minds decided to take revenge.  In this light, I don't think the Columbine story benefits our message.  


From such a tragedy, we should learn that bullying must stop.  No one deserves to be bullied.  NO ONE!  You never know how the kid might react- whether violently towards others or turn that violence on themselves.  Even "mild" instances of bullying can trigger major changes in the personalities and emotions of the victim and result in a suicide or a shooting.


Interestingly, as I did some research for this article, I learned something.  Conflicting stories suggest that the whole encounter between the girl and the shooters never took place.  She may have been shot and killed under a table.  No matter the circumstances, she died in a tragedy that took many other classmates.