25 years ago today, this nation changed.
There were school shootings prior to Columbine, several earlier in that decade alone, but this was different. It was far bloodier than those that preceded it - 13 victims dead, 24 injured ; it was cold and methodical in its planning and execution; the killers did not, on the surface, seem like "the type" to do such a thing.
If only we still thought of those as the "ceiling" of horror standards, and not the middle of the road.
I was working 3rd shift at a hotel at the time, and I think I slept through the days events. These were the days before smart phones and ready access to the internet, so my first exposure to the massacre came at 3 or 4am on the 21st, when the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel driver delivered our daily stack of newspapers. The attack dominated the front page, and I clearly remember the driver - Tom - filling me in on the days horror.
Since then I've occasionally deep-dived into the history of the event, and I remain convinced of only one brutal fact, not about the event but its sequels:: the many, many copycats in the quarter century to follow kill and die trying to obtain the same level of "fame" as the two responsible for Columbine. I think the media, for once with no ill intent, has created a permanent fame for the two killers that serves as a goal for far too many disturbed individuals.
I know the names of the Columbine killers. I just refuse to publicize them going forward. They are best diminished and forgotten.
To the victims that died that day, rest in peace. To the victims that survived, including the families of the lost, you remain in my thoughts whenever I think of Columbine, and you are in my prayers today.
