What we all to often fail to recognise is that cases like Columbine are oftern fuled by the bullying culture found in schools on both sides of the pond. The person who comitted thre crime is almost always described as a "loner" but why? Could it be because children are, if anything, better at mindless bullying, low grade nastyness and ganging up than adults? I think it is! Children as just as capable of being nasty, vicious, petty little ****s as any adult.

If we are to believe the books and tv shows then this is codefied into a far more rigid structure in American schools (I'm British so I can only speak on what the media presents me with). In America you apparently have the "Jocks and Cheerleaders" beautiful people who are lauded by everyone for physical prowess, The "Smart Kids" who are interlectually (is that the spelling?) high achievers but who are considered less worthy by their contempories because they prefer to achieve in their school work rather than socially, and the "Goths" kids who are picked on a "wierd" by their classmates, and who drift towards self harm and become introverted as a way of escape.

when bullying like this is endemic is it really suprising that those at the bottom of the heap strike back?