They may have exaggerated, or falsified, even, some points to garner a response from the readers. I believe that Eric was wanting to be seen as a psychopath, and took some sort of sick pleasure from it, and he wrote his in a way which would make him look like a psychopath. (2/2)

No, worries, no offense taken in the least. 🙂 First of all, both boys didn’t leave their journals out to be seen. Only Eric left his journal out fully visible for the cops to see right-off-the-bat when they ransacked his bedroom. Dylan’s, however, was not left out conspicuously to be seen on purpose. Dylan also erased his computer and Eric did not because Eric wanted the world to see everything. You are correct in that Eric created his journal with the full intent of playing to a assumed audience upon his death. In the Basement Tapes, he waves his journal to the camera and calls it “The Book of God”. It’s obvious the way the journal is written that he is hamming it up and playing to his presumed audience, doling out the ultimate shock value as his alter-ego ‘REB’ rants unrepentently in arrogance and angry contempt for the world. – all to seal his reputation permanently as the infamous genius who hoodwinked everyone under the guise of the seemingly respectful, hard-working, deligent student and law-abiding citizen, Eric Harris. The remaining 10% or so reveals in-between-the-line glimpses of Eric, the hyper sensitive, chip-on-his-shoulder hurt, self-loathing ‘weird’ kid who never able to fit in anywhere. If you read his journal at face-value, you will play easily into his hands and see what he wanted you to see all along. If you read it carefully the next go-round, you’ll begin to see through the glaringly visible cracks in his ‘badassery’ facade. So, yes, for Eric, you guessed correctly that he wrote his journal, his ‘Book of God’, with the expected intent that the public would automatically preceive him as ‘The Psychopath’ without remorse or conscience, that enjoyed every minute of the great public deception.

Dylan’s journal is vastly different from Eric’s. It reads honestly raw and painfully self-loathing and miserable. He starts out meaning to throw out some thoughts on to the page in a typical teenage journal fashion, blowing off steam and ranting about mundane incidents – but very soon, he meanders into metaphysical ideas and concepts, lamenting and expressing his sorrows of feeling a lonely stranger within humanity, some of which is in poetic form, and eventually ruminating quite often as to which girl would be The Girl of his dreams and fantasies that would unite with him after his suicide, his death, if it was not possible for him to have this girlfriend in life. He also references refraining from masturbation, having a ‘foot fetish and bondage extreme likely’ most of which is way too mortifying for an intensely shy teenage boy to intentionally leave his journal behind for potential public consumption. It is my belief that Dylan’s journal was meant for himself and his intent was primarily to purge his depressed mind of cyclical suffering thoughts. I think he considered and weighed heavily whether he should destoy his journal but I get the sense he left it behind for only his family so they would not be utterly left completely in the dark. So, that they may understand the burden his life had been with the internal battle his mind had been waging for quite some time. Dylan’s journal is pretty much so painful, awkward and sad that you would have to wonder why he would want to construct this sort of journal for public consumption when it would only paint him as a sad, emotional loser. The imagine he projected at the school on 4/20 was wild bad ass by comparison. So, no, I think Dylan’s journal was intensely personal and was utterly, painfully honest.

In any case, both journals are relevant in that they let us glimpse into their personalities even if Eric was attempting to construct a fake one. 😉 Both are very helpful sources in understanding the contrasting personalities of these two individual boys.

In that journal entry Dylan said ‘and my favorite contrasting symbol’. What did he mean by that? Was it a triple barred cross?

The Everlasting-Contrast symbol

The operative word here is potential.

Dylan was born with a gifted intellect. However, he was plagued by chronic depression which made him apathetic about school in general and his grades. He took AP classes but he was very ‘meh’ and procrastinated in completing assignments at the very last minute; he basically squeaked by on the advanced classes with low-end grades. If he didn’t have depression, and provided there was something he would’ve strongly liked to major in at Harvard, he would have the intellectual potential for such a high caliber school.

Eric, on the other hand, was an average student but unlike Dylan, he applied himself and managed to get decent grades. If he was motivated to go to Harvard, then sure, he would’ve had the sheer tenacity to accomplish it. However, the problem was, Eric didn’t see himself at a snooty Ivy League college such as Harvard. He didn’t envision himself at any type of college – community college or otherwise. He had no interest or desire and so therefore, would’ve been lost of any potential to go to Harvard.

Potential yes, but wasted potential for both.

Glad E-C has you ‘hooked’ , and thank you in regards to me ‘just being me’ – though, that would basically include me and my wordy, long renditions. 😉 Hey, if I seem ‘balanced’ that’s a lovely compliment because actually living that balance is the true test in life. 🙂

I think there’s a variety of E & D blogs that run the gamut of expression. Some of these blogs do tend to explore in a darker, in-your-face way with the R & V dress play and/or posing with weapons while others tend towards blogging articles, or posting accounts from the case, writing poetry or fanfiction. It really all just amounts to everyones’ own intense identification with what Columbine symbolically means to them personally and how they choose to express it and get it out of their system in a cathartic way. From my own personal experience being on the tag, I do not think most here condone the murder/suicide aspect. If I had to hazard a guess, maybe less than 1% where it’s mutually inclusive? Some might condone and understand what they did but not for themselves personally, so it’s mutually exclusive. Sometimes it looks like people are flirting with the subject matter in a very intimate, dark manner but it can be a positive way for them to work through all of ‘it’ in relation to their own personal life struggles, through the bullying, the rage, anger and sadness to the other side of things by relating to the boys. Exploring Columbine can be a transcending experience, where you make your way down that long, dark tunnel and then finally, at some point, work your way to the other side where that little glimmer of light is showing through the other side. Of course, as long as no one is hurting anyone in their personal exploration of the tragedy, it is an individual journey that has no proper way to ‘politically correct’ blog about it since the subject matter is, well, pretty politically incorrect and taboo. 😛 Some blogs resonate for some and not for others. What’s not right for you means you just need to look at a multitude of others to find those bloggers that do convey more closely what you personally what to take away from this tragedy.

*bows* Thank you very kindly. 🙂