Klebolds Say They Don't Need Forgiveness {COLUMBINE MURDERS}

FoxNews ^ | May 16, 2004 | AP

[wallcrawlr]

NEW YORK — In their first interview since the Columbine High School massacre, the parents of one of the killers said they feel no need be forgiven and didn't realize their son was beyond hope until after he was dead.

"Dylan (Klebold) did not do this because of the way he was raised," Susan Klebold told columnist David Brooks in Saturday's editions of The New York Times. "He did it in contradiction to the way he was raised."

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 people on April 20, 1999, before taking their own lives.

The couple took issue with people who say they forgive them for what happened.

"I haven't done anything for which I need forgiveness," Susan Klebold said.

They acknowledged they missed signs that their son was in trouble. Klebold and Harris were in a juvenile diversion program for breaking into a van and stealing tools and other items in January 1998.

[Xenalyte]

"This was murder," he said. "In my opinion, what went on in their home led to Columbine."

Absolutely.

[Xenalyte]

"A little inattentiveness" is when Mom doesn't notice the hickey. The Klebolds and the Harrises are on another plane of inattentiveness entirely.

[Xenalyte]

My grand-daughter is 2 1/2 and this is how she is being raised?? Her Mom lets her run the house and Mom is taking her cues from the Ophra show et al. and others that suggest that kids shouldn't be disiplined -- EVER!

You are KIDDING. I hope to heaven you maintain your authority in your OWN home, though, daughter (-in-law?) or no.

[Al B.]

Weren't one or both of these kids on some kind of pharmaceutical....Ritalin or Prozac or something?

Eric Harris was on Luvox, a drug in the same family as Prozac.

We'll probably never know about Klebold. The Klebold parents have refused to release the results of their son's toxicology report, and have won court battles protecting the privacy of those results.

[Spirited]

I wonder whether the father of the young black student would give an interview.

I don't know many who would put stock in the Times but I suspect that they didn't lie about the monetary remuneration attempted by these parents, whatever else they have omitted.

[singlemomofone]

Why do parents day after day year after year voluntarily keep their children in schools that don't stop bullying? They knew the schools weren't going to stop it, they knew it was going on and still they send their kid there. Worthless parenting in my book.

Because sadly, many of us parents in this country have had our choices totally removed in the name of "diversity." My daughter attends a low-performing, low-income, unsafe school where bullying and picking and winning fights is something that earns you respect.

My daughter is a white child in a school that is mostly minority. It's not our neighborhood school. You see, we lost in the lottery. We got slapped into the "busing" queue because some idiots think forcing her and her white face to go to an inner-city school 45 minutes away is going to make black children learn better. In the meantime, no amount of protest, talking to school board members, nor talking to the State Board of Education has persuaded them to allow me to tranfer her to a school here in our neighborhood that is safer and provides better education. Magnet school? We tried applying for that too. But, the school board admits they disregarded the applications of certain students to keep schools balanced. In otherwords, because my daughter is white, we not only don't get to transfer her to another school, we don't even get to be considered for a magnet school because they feel they need her little white face in the school they've currently locked her into.

Everyone is busy celebrating the 50th of Brown v. Brown. Well, I'm afraid we aren't. We just got our school assignment for next year. Same school, same bullies, same violence...and my daughter is once again denied her right to an equally beneficial education.

If I could afford private school, I'd send her. But I'm a single mom and private school here is about $6,000.00 year. And we live on my salary alone, so I can't afford to quit work and homeschool her. So you see....it's not always worthless parenting.

[sauropod]

So is what you are asking for is an Apology Across America by the Klebolds?

I agree they weren't the best parents, but to say that because they weren't attentive enough resulted in these two evil people gunning down the 13 at Columbine is straining quite a bit IMO.

Sometimes kids are bad despite everything the parents do. I just think the parents of the Columbine kids waiting around for an apology from the Klebolds and the Harrises should grab a hanky and get over it already. Bad stuff happens to good people.

Notice that Rachel Scott's father isn't doing any of this nonsense.

[ExSoldier]

"My wife is a high school teacher and I can tell you all that with the general environment of no disipline in high schools today this will happen again."

I'm a high school teacher in the inner city. Been in those trenches for the last seven years. God willing (praying like mad for this) I'll be able to transfer over the summer. I'm extremely surprised this hasn't happened at my school already. We've already had a teacher jumped and several "gun incidents." The new principal, an afro-American who was "demoted" from his administrative job was sent to this school. He promptly invited all the thugs and gang members back into school, because "Those Chirrun need their edjamacation, too!" That quote is exact for verbiage.

"Lastly, kids today have very little respect for schools/teachers and they don't take education seriously enough...."

I'm of two minds on this. For the kids who truly do NOT care, that evidence is massive. Kids who are like this and who also partake in the gangs and drugs should be sent directly to a vocational school or the military. BTW, my school is one incredibly ripe area for military recruitment, even with the war on. OTOH, there are kids in some of my American Government classes (seniors ready to graduate) who will argue with me over two points in their grade, even when it won't change the "letter grade" itself. In other words, if they got a 96 and felt they deserved a 98, they'll argue forever. But an "A" is still an "A!" So when they're bad, they're really bad and then it gets dangerous. I could tell you some stories about that! But when they're good, they're golden!"

[Xenalyte]

No apology, but I think their denial of any responsibility is ludicrous.

[Lizavetta]

Wow....I'm on my knees apologizing....I made a generalization but I should have said something about the exceptions who *really* have no choices.

You might want to investigate, however, into your homeschooling community to see if some of them teach others' children....I've heard of teaching co-ops and things like that. Sounds like just about anything would be better than what your daughter is going through.

[dead]

I'm getting a bit tired of the flurry of apologies from everybody to everbody.

I'm sorry you feel that way.

[NYCVirago]

Except it was Dylan and Eric doing the bullying. They felt themselves above the jocks. They wanted everyone to die, not just a certain group. They'd already been turned in for crossing the line of mere bullying to physical confrontations and threats of other kids.

Good post. That's what stood out for me about the Klebolds' claims of bullying. It was their son who was the bully, not the bullied. Chris Rock had some routine about Columbine, and he was pointing out that Klebold and Harris, who were supposed to be so downtrodden, had more friends at school than he did growing up!

[ExtremeUnction]

These kids were able to purchase and hide several guns, ammunition and pipe bombs without their parents noticing a thing. They were building bombs in the house, and the parents didn't notice. The kids were compiling lists of who they wanted to kill, and publishing the lists on the Internet. The kids filmed hours of videotape talking about what they planned. These are kids that went through the legal system, and that had been reported as making threats against other kids.

I went to 12 years of Catholic schools in the late 50's and 60's. Like most kids in my school, I was from a very large family. Basically, my parents were so busy that I was ignored. I was in so much mischief that 10 books couldn't tell the story. I loved to blow things up, make crude guns, burn stuff, steal stuff, etc, etc. My parents were clueless, and, I never got caught! Not once. I had a lot of cops chase me, but not one ever got me. One note, however, we never hurt anyone or anything. But kids have been behaving badly for a long time, and, to various degrees, and for different reasons, always will.

[A.A. Cunningham]

yes, at least one was on Ritalin.

Harris was taking Luvox not Ritalin.

[sharktrager]

Still, not the same.

Ryan and Dylan had been arrested for their actions. They had been undergoing therapy for their problems. One of them was medicated. Their threats were public, and their parents were aware of the threats. The threats were serious enough that they had been brought to the attention of the authorities.

Amazing that the parents are such experts on how the school was full of bullies that picked on their kid, but unaware that their children were preparing large propane tank bombs.

[macrahanish #1]

I was a sneaky little bastard. My son has more moral grounding than I had as a teenager. However, I still check-in to investigate what he and his friends are doing whether they're at my house or elsewhere.

[macrahanish #1]

I was a sneaky little bastard. My son has more moral grounding than I had as a teenager. However, I still check-in to investigate what he and his friends are doing whether they're at my house or elsewhere.

[Badeye]

Once you understand this wasn't a "school shooting" but a Domestic Terror Attack, it all falls into place.

And yes, the parents are indeed "clueless".

[PleaseNoMore]

My brother is raising a daughter just like this. She is 4 years old and already my kids simply can't stand to be around her. She literally screams at her parents when she wants something and will do so until she is satisfied. She has no discipline nor is she being taught self control. My brother and I argue over this all of the time. I have told him that by not disciplining her now he is sentencing her to a lifetime of problems. The little devilette doesn't act like this when I keep her for them though. She learned a while back that her auntie doesn't play her games.