Could Teaching Students About Mental Illness Have Helped Cho, Klebold, Harris And Others?
They had mental illness and they were shunned, ignored. There was another common thread that ran through the lives of Cho, Klebold and Harris. They were “outsiders”. They were quiet. They kept to themselves. They were “different” by the way they dressed and acted. So why can’t people learn when such behavior might be the sign of simmering anger, resentment and a penchant for violence? We’ve already learned that many violent people begin by torturing and killing animals. Near the end of his life, Cho only seemed to have one friend, and when he began acting in a way that made her nervous, she dropped him fast. Warnings about him from fellow students helped in her decision. It was just another negative event in his life. Yet, his fellow dorm members seemed to accept him into their midst, despite his oddness. Cho, on the other hand, was content to isolate himself from the crowd – to be alone. This was his social anxiety disorder at work. It was his way of protecting himself from humiliatio
