Finishing up this important work today: Columbine by author Dave Cullen
Not only is it not what I’d expected, it is much more than I expected. What the author has presented are things that we needed to hear about – then and now. This history lesson is more valid today, and it provides some very unique insights that I haven’t seen before.
You think you know what happened, and why? You don’t. You’re not even close I’ll bet.
I was searching for answers, like many of us probably are/were. I wanted MORE information on an important turning point, and an event that ‘changed’ tactics for Police response teams. I wanted insider-type information – things that likely only the responding agencies knew, or that were never reported or released to the public – because I thought it was important to use as a tool to educate with.
I’ve learned a lot through Mr. Cullen’s work – and it’s deeply disturbing. Not just the event, but the ensuing maelstrom that followed, for years. The myths, the lies, the deceit, the silence, the findings, the withholding of information – all important aspects.
If you’re looking for answers, you can certainly start here. You will find some, and not others. You will certainly be more enlightened because of his writing than you would have been otherwise.
I can highly recommend this work to those wishing to help others understand, but it’s a troubling work to read through. I had to put it down several times, just to let things sink in and simmer, and to reflect on what I’d just read. To try and comprehend the meaning and insights shared, to re-adjust my compass. It’s sad, frustrating, heart-breaking, and educational all at the same time. Hearing the stories of others involved – the FBI man who stepped up to the plate to offer his help – remarkable, and seemingly the best man for the job. His anaylsis and insights provided so much new material to what I was looking for.
Dave’s personal notes at the end also provided some deep insights, some very personal information that in my eyes show the respect that he has for humanity as well as for his profession. Here’s a man to be admired for calling it for what it is, but that no-one seemingly wants to air. This book came at great personal cost no doubt, and as someone that has worked in the Mental Health field for many years, he states what we all feel — we want to be there to help, but at what cost to us personally.
This is more than just a story – it’s history re-written, but with more truth this time around. I commend the author for his sacrifice to bring this to the world, as it was needed, is needed, and it should change many aspects of things to come.
It was a water-shed event that we can all learn from, as it has certainly affected all of us. It humanizes a horrific time and place that we need to better understand – as humans, and as educators if we are to prevent future events. Mr. Cullen provides some of the cues that we need to work on, but the rest is up to us.