The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 17

LOS ANGELES TIMES THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1999 A17 TRAGEDY IN COLORADO Grim Show Is Only the Latest for America's Violent Culture If "1 I 47 A ful of boys weren't horrified; they were fascinated." Others say it's a mistake to blame the media-entertainment culture for spreading such bloody themes because they merely reflect the tensions and dysfunction percolating in the country at large. Scapegoating the media, they add, takes moral responsibilities away from individuals, where it belongs. "We've had some very antisocial attitudes manifesting themselves in America during the 1990s, and you think back to David Koresh in Waco, Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City, and all of these schoolyard atrocities," said Todd Boyd, an author and professor at the USC School of Cinema and Television. "The media influences people, but you don't march into a school armed with guns and grenades and kill 13 people overnight. It doesn't come from nowhere," he added.

"Ultimately it comes from someplace broader and deeper, and we've been unwilling to ask ourselves these hard questions." An End to Traditional Adolescence If the Colorado school shootings prove anything, others say, it's that the traditional sense of adolescence in this country as a time of growth and independence, free of the travails of adult life, may now be virtually extinct. "We used to have that precious space for kids to grow up in, but now there are so many violent forces taking it away," historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said. "Schools aren't safe; the home isn't safe from domestic violence; the streets are full of risk and the media is filled with so much sex and violence. "We didn't want kids to see the arbitrariness of life. But violence is everywhere, and it's so sad." In the days ahead, Americans should be asking themselves about violence in their daily lives, Slotkin said.

To ignore these larger questions means that, once again, the nation's short attention span will move on, and the trauma will recede. "We have a long history of permissive views towards guns in America and the use of weapons to settle scores," he added. "And even though we complain about this, we as a people are still not sure we want to give up our right to kill someone." There are serious moral and political issues here, and yet this country hasn't begun to sort them out." It was a bizarre week: After one month of a war in which American planes rained bombs on a European capital, and many were celebrating the lack of a single U.S. casualty, the nation was plunged into introspection about violence in a suburban school. Europeans were stunned by the story, and it quickly supplanted Kosovo as the main topic in many overseas papers.

The London Evening Standard, voicing disbelief over America's weak gun-control laws, editorialized: "So extravagant is the American concept of 'freedom' and so deep-rooted is the pollution of firearms of all kinds throughout the country that there is little prospect that even this latest monstrosity will provoke a meaningful shift in public attitudes." As they debate these incendiary issues, Americans can only note milestones on a calendar: This month is the fourth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing; the fifth anniversary of the end of the siege near Waco, Texas. The Colorado massacre echoed earlier school shootings in Jonesboro, West Paducah, Springfield, Fayetteville, Tenn.j Edinboro, and Pearl, Miss. Ironically, big-city crime, including school violence, is down across America. But apocalyptic events like Littleton are increasing, and they almost invariably have taken place in small towns or suburbs the very places that people have fled to in large numbers to escape urban disorder. "You can say that this event, at heart, is about very troubled youths and the fact that we don't understand them," said American history professor Joyce Appleby.

"It may be these youngsters felt they had been taunted by other kids, and this is a very old phenomenon. But what we're seeing today is a new deadly recipe for acting these pressures out instead of swallowing them. That's what's disturbing." The shooting also brings up an old question: How much responsibility does the culture bear for images of violence and retribution, which fill movies, TV, video games, the Internet, recorded music and even the most elementary cartoons today? "We've seen a steady escalation of violence as entertainment, and it reaches people in disturbing ways," Appleby said. "Billions of people watch these pictures around the globe, but somewhere a hand Media: TV carnage intermingled with the usual underscores ambivalence about relationship with guns and the use of deadly-force to settle disputes. ByJOSHGETLIN TIMES STAFF WRITER NEW YORK In the prime-time hours after horror swept through a Colorado high school Tuesday, an American armed with a TV remote control needed only five minutes of channel surfing to sample the mayhem that invaded millions of homes: Scenes of unspeakable carnage from Columbine High School (click) gave way to images of buildings burning in Belgrade after a NATO attack (click) followed by a hidden-camera video showing a nanny beating a toddler (click), then a Western shoot-'em-up (click) and more scenes from the suburban campus where students were gunned down like targets at a carnival arcade.

It was just another night on American television and a disturbing reminder of how deeply ingrained violence is in our culture. Although these images are random, they form a picture of this nation's profoundly ambivalent relationship with guns and the use of deadly force to settle disputes. Indeed, the Littleton tragedy raises questions not only about the dark side of U.S. culture but also about the numbing repetition of such events and the nation's apparent inability to do anything about them, let alone understand them. Asked to make sense of the latest shooting, historians, cultural observers and media critics peeled back the layers of American life-touching on themes of guns and hypocrisy, adolescent psychology, family tensions and media accountability.

'Serious Moral and Political Issues' "We are obsessed with violence as a people, and, even though we wring our hands, they're covered with blood," said Richard Slotkin, a Wesley an University history professor and author of "The Myth of the Frontier in 20th Century America." "We're shocked by images from Littleton, but bombing Belgrade is OK. We're against the nanny, but we're entertained by the Western. CLARENCE WILLIAMS Los Angeles Timet Arapahoe High School students hold prayer service at Robert F. Clement Park In Littleton, for victims. SHOOTERS: School Rift Reported Associated Press in niiiM Dylan Klebold had reputation for Eric Harris was portrayed as a typi-being smart, skilled at computers, cal kid, respectful of teachers.

Shooters' Parents Speak From the family of Eric Harris i "We want to express our heartfelt sympathy to the families of all the victims and to all the community for this senseless tragedy. Please say prayers for everyone touched by these terrible events. The Harris family is devastated by the deaths of the Columbine High students and is mourning the death of their youngest son, Eric." From the family of Oylan Klebold "We cannot begin to convey our overwhelming sense of sorrow for everyone affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts, prayers and heartfelt apologies go out to the victims, their families, friends, and the entire community. Like the rest of the country, we are struggling to understand why this happened, and ask that you please respect our privacy during this painful grieving period." Associated Press NRA to Scale Back Its Annual Party 5 -it.

a Associated Press with the Trench Coat Mafia at Columbine High. Two years ago, members of the same group called themselves "The Anachronists," a name that was lost when the original members graduated. It was the school's jocks and trendily dressed "preppies" who coined the Trench Coat Mafia term. Denee Taylor, who had friends among the Trench Coat Mafia, said the popular students adopted a superior attitude toward everyone at Columbine. "They were disrespectful to teachers; they talked back and got away with it," she said.

"They acted like no one was as good as they were. They wore their Aber-crombie Fitch clothes and acted real cool, like everyone else was crap." Pauline Colby, who was friends with the two youths, said she stopped hanging around them when their anger at the taunting escalated. "After all these guys made fun of them, they would go and be angry for a long time," she said. Some teenagers said things grew worse after an incident last April in which five prominent athletes were arrested on burglary charges. According to police records, four of the five were charged with felonies that were reduced to misdemeanors.

According to the teenagers, the jocks at school then began to act in defiance of authority. Said one former Trench Coat Mafia member, "A lot of us were outraged. It comes down to the same belief at a lot of schools: The jocks could get away with anything." Some teenagers said none of the teachers or staff seemed to notice. As for their parents? Said Pauline Colby, "I don't think anyone's parents really knew because no one really talked to their parents that much." Researcher Uanne Hart contributed to this story. "i -aaea I Continued from Al spent much of their time together.

Nick Baumgart hung out with both for several summers until "they started going in a direction I didn't want to go," he said. Harris and Klebold were highly computer literate and "obsessed with violent video games," he said. The two young men wore their hair short and were fond of military-style clothing. Friends said their usual school attire consisted of black T-shirts with black cargo pants tucked into steel-toed boots. The T-shirts often bore the logos of bands such as Rammstein, a German group that plays industrial music.

The youths had at least one scrape with the law. They were arrested together in January 1998 for breaking into a car. They were placed in a diversion program for juveniles, which they completed two months ago, according to the Jefferson County district attorney. A classmate told one reporter that Klebold behaved aggresively toward girls in a coed gym class, shoving them to the ground, even tackling them during flag football games. Denee Taylor, a senior, said she was friendly with the group known at school as the "Trench Coat Mafia," to which Harris and Klebold belonged.

She took a class with a boy she wouldn't name but she identified as the leader of the group. His interests, she said, centered on guns. "He really liked weapons," Taylor said. "In economics class, we had to create a company and sell its products. I invented a comic book company.

He created a weapons manufacturing plant." Dozens of students suggested that Tuesday's horrific violence was the culmination of years of taunting the boys received from more popular students. The school, they say, was sharply divided along clique lines, often pitting the school's athletes against a small band that perceived themselves as outcasts. One senior, who asked not to be identified, said he recently dropped out of Columbine to escape the belligerence from jocks. "The school is cliquey, extremely divided," he said. "There is a lot of tension between groups.

It was almost continuous conflict anything from verbal abuse to physical attacks and violence." But according to Justin Alber, who is on the soccer team, everyone got along well. "I have friends who are jocks and preppies, but I also hang around with the I think people get along pretty well." He knew of the Trench Coat group, which he called scary. The perspective from the adults who ran the school was still missing. Teachers and administrators have been largely silent. Baumgart, 17, portrayed Klebold as a quiet and smart guy who changed after he fell under Harris' more aggressive spell.

Lydia Shof-ner, 17, knew both boys well and said they harbored anti-government sentiments, ideas generated from Harris. "They were both kind of anti-everything," she said. "They were against organized religion and governments and stuff. But I really liked them. Eric was really a nice guy.

I know it sounds strange to say it I mean, he killed all those people but to portray him as this maniac isn't right." A different story emerges from Harris' Internet site, which provides a glimpse of the young man. chaired by Sarah Brady, wife of former presidential press secretary and shooting victim James Brady, said the fate of the pro-gun bills was doubtful after the shootings. But backers of the bills said they withdrew the measures out of sympathy for the victims, not out of fear their proposals would be defeated. "Now just is not the time to debate these bills," said State Rep. Gary McPherson, sponsor of the bill that would give Colorado's weak state gun laws precedence over local regulations.

Although McPherson declined to say whether he would bring the bill up again in January when the Legislature reconvenes, gun control advocates predicted the battles will resume. Colorado was not the only state to postpone debate on gun bills. In Tallahassee, a bill to insulate gun makers from lawsuits stemming from gun violence was pulled Wednesday from the calendar of the House of Representatives because of the slayings. In Austin, Texas, Gov. George W.

Bush, who is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday that love, not gun control, is the best way to prevent shooting sprees like the one in Colorado. "I wish I knew the law that would make people love one an-, other. I would insist that it pass," he said in a news conference. He said he favors instant background checks for gun buyers, but he did not advocate any other gun-control measures. Former Vice President Dan Quayle, another Republican candidate for president, said, "I hope we don't try to use this as an excuse to go and take away guns." He spoke on CNBC's "Hardball With Chris Matthews." And Minnesota Gov.

Jesse Ventura said the shooting demonstrates the need for loosening restrictions on concealed weapons. "Had there been someone who was armed, in this particular situation, in my opinion, it may have stabilized," the former Navy SEAL and professional wrestler said. participants to come to Denver and "stand in somber but unshakable unity, even in this time of anguish." With controversy over Colorado's gun measures intensifying, the state had become a pivotal battleground in the national de- bate. In the last three years, about half a dozen states have rejected NRA-backed legislation guaranteeing citizens the right to carry concealed handguns if they pass a background check and complete a gun-safety course. What many describe as a major embarrassment came earlier this month in conservative Missouri, when the NRA lost a referendum after spending $3.5 million.

Gun control advocates spent only about $800,000. The NRA could ill-afford defeat in Colorado, where the organization again had lobbied hard. "A loss for the NRA in Colorado would be huge, because that is NRA territory," said Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy Center in Washington. "You would be stopping the NRA's top priority bills in the Rocky Mountain West in a state legislature that is overwhelmingly pro-gun with a pro-gun governor." Because of those factors, three measures were almost assured of passage in time for legislative leaders to announce their victories at the NRA convention. That would have been a national platform from which the NRA could boast it was making a comeback.

One of the bills precludes Denver and other local governments from passing gun measures that are more stringent than state regulations. Another bill headed for approval would have required local sheriffs to let "law-abiding" citizens carry concealed weapons, and a third measure would have prohibited local governments from suing gun manufacturers. But the Littleton shootings raised the specter of another defeat for gun advocates. Brian Malte, assistant western regional director for Handgun Control, an organization co- Convention: Lobbying group rejects calls to postpone meeting next week in Denver. Colorado gun bills are pulled out of respect for shooting victims.

By STEVE BERRY TIMES STAFF WRITER Next week's annual convention of the National Rifle Assn. in Denver was supposed to be more than just the annual rite where gun lovers pay homage to firearms and the 2nd Amendment. With three NRA-backed firearm bills sweeping toward passage in Colorado, the convention had all the markings of becoming a victory celebration and a much -needed boost after an embarrassing defeat in a Missouri gun referendum earlier this month. Then, on Tuesday, two gun-wielding, trench coat youngsters walked through Columbine High School in nearby Littleton shooting and killing fellow students. Now, legislative leaders and the sponsors of those gun bills are pulling the measures off the table, at least for the time being.

And instead of celebrating victory, NRA leaders will find themselves in the ticklish position of extolling guns at a time when the tears and terror of Columbine High School are still fresh in the national conscience. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it will be completely insensitive for them not to postpone the convention," said Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. State Rep. Tom Plante, a Boulder Democrat, said, "I hope the NRA will recognize the inappro-priateness of holding a gun convention in a city that has been struck by this tragedy." The NRA rejected the advice Wednesday but announced it will scale back its annual party in sympathy for the victims. Actor Charlton Heston, the NRA's president, in a letter to members, urged America Online, for instance, removed a collection of files apparently created by Harris.

They include drawings apparently scanned into a computer and the bomb recipe, a lengthy document that describes pipe bombs as "some of the easiest and deadliest ways to kill a group of people or destroy a few things." He appears to have been a devoted player of the violent computer game Doom. He may have used the online pseudonyms Reb-doomer and Reb the Juvey. Neighbors on the quiet cul-de-sac where Harris lived with his parents and college-age brother said they seldom saw Eric but frequently noticed Klebold's car parked in front of the house. That black BMW was detonated by a bomb squad Tuesday evening as it was parked in the school's student lot. Authorities say the car was booby-trapped and the gas tank wired to explode.

Neighbors said the BMW was at Harris' house Monday after school. Children playing in the street reported hearing noises like glass breaking and hammering coming from the garage. Brent Wilde, who lives across the street from the Harris' neat two -story home, said the family was quiet and kept to themselves. From 1993 to 1996, Harris lived at the Air Force base in Platts-burgh, N.Y., where his father, Wayne, was a pilot, according to a Plattsburgh paper. Neighbors here said the father is retired.

The Harris family issued a statement Wednesday saying: "We want to express our heartfelt sympathy to the families of all the victims and to all the community for this senseless tragedy. Please say prayers for everyone touched by these terrible events. The Harris family is devastated by the deaths of Columbine High students and is mourning the death of their youngest son, Eric." Harris and Klebold were among the handful of teenagers affiliated.