Columbine conspiracy theories
From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)
The 1999 Columbine High School massacre has had much attention from conspiracy theorists, suggesting many scenarios near Denver and Littleton, Colorado on the day.
Influences
Politicians accused Hollywood, violent video games (specifically Doom), and the mainstream media of warping the minds of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Popular shock rock star Marilyn Manson, (A.K.A. Brian Warner) was specifically targeted because of his music, and because many thought that he should have received at least some of the blame for Eric and Dylan's actions. Manson canceled a show in Denver because of this, and wrote an article in Rolling Stone magazine (USA) defending himself. Police reports found that there were no such CD's, posters, or anything of the sort to show that the shooters were fans of Manson or were otherwise influenced by him. Other sources even suggest they were known to dislike him. In his article Manson says he was used as a target, because the bands that the shooters were actually known to like (KMFDM & Rammstein) were not very well known to the public. However, since most conservative Christian fundamentalists knew who Marilyn was because of the heated controversies surrounding his music and appearance he made an effective scapegoat.
Realists placed the blame on ongoing bullying. Others blamed easy access to firearms & explosives, and an unsympathetic school administration. Some Internet pundits claimed that the shooters had literally been brainwashed, and were guinea pigs of the United States government's Project MKULTRA.
The Third and Fourth Man
On April 21, a press conference was held by Jefferson County District Attorney David Thomas and Sheriff John Stone, saying that they suspected that other children helped plan the shooting. This, coupled with suggestions that Harris and Klebold couldn't possibly have brought so many explosives into the building by themselves, fueled many imaginations.
According to transcripts from the police, two boys wearing trenchcoats were seen at the front of the school at the exact same time another pair, only one of which was wearing a trenchcoat, were seen at the rear of the school.
A man on the roof was assumed to be a possible third shooter by the police. He was later identified as a custodian fixing something on the roof who hid after hearing shots fired by Harris and Klebold.
Other Conspiracies
The intended and actual dates of the massacre have been extensively commented upon by those with a numerological bent, with links noted to the Oklahoma City Bombing and Adolf Hitler's birthday, as well as the Apollo 16 Moon landing.
In celebration of the date 420 in drug culture, many teen marijuana users in the Denver area and across the nation elect not to attend school. Noting that the population who place special meaning on smoking marijuana on April 20 excludes the population likely to have heckled, bullied, or hazed the gunmen leads some to conclude the date was chosen to prevent the deaths of some unintended victims.
Also, some have suggested that the confusion surrounding whether or not Cassie Bernall was slain for believing in God was deliberately exacerbated by Christians in an attempt to bolster the popularity of their faith by presenting a simple victim as a heroine.
Eric Harris took the antidepressant Fluvoxamine (Luvox); two other well known shooters took similar drugs: Kipland Kinkel from the Springfield, Oregon shooting, and Jeffrey Weise from the Red Lake, Minnesota shooting.
Articles from the Associated Press state that ballistics from Columbine show that six of the thirteen victims were possibly shot and killed by Jefferson County SWAT (AP, December 7th, 2001, "Columbine Student Killed by Cop"; AP, December 8th, 2001, "Rohrbough, Ballistics show police killed Daniel").
Since Columbine, SWAT have been conducting mock-shooting/terror drills at public schools across the country. Theorists believe that it is mere classical conditioning for students, funded by FEMA, to show that it is normal to have SWAT execute warrantless raids, ordering students into buses and hauled away to undisclosed locations (possibly local jails), and treated like criminals. This, they believe, is one of many examples of how the United States of America is slowly shifting into an Orwellian nightmare of a police state.
--Angel 10:19, 29 May 2006 (CDT)
