Fear in Americans After Columbine
"Columbine was so frightening. And the media took off with it, like else, so it instilled more fear in people. You're looking around at a school for kids like the ones who committed the shootings, and you feel wrong for doing that, you know?" - John Robinson
Newspapers
After Columbine, people around the country were in shock and dismay as they read headlines about what had happened at the school. Never before had they seen such evil in a place which was supposed to be one of the safest places to send your children. When this happened, the entire nation stood back and watched, Americans saw how tragic it was, and they saw the destruction that the community of Littleton had to come back from. Americans had never been bombarded with horrifying details and seeing an entire community be destroyed, until April 20,1999. For days, even weeks, after the massacre Columbine made headlines relating to gun control, mental health, and school safety. One of the most read newspapers in the country, With articles with titles such as "Terror in Littleton", "A Senseless Rampage", or even "Horrific", circulated around every state, Americans began to worry that this could happen anywhere, even in a suburban school in a small town in Colorado. This was shocking to Americans because it was previously thought that shootings only happened in inner-city areas. People now faced the realization that small towns, or schools were not exempt from massacres such as Columbine. One headline read "In Hitler's Footsteps", which connected the shooter's actions to those of Hitler only decades before. This added to the fear in Americans because it reminded them of the effects that Hitler had on the world, not just the country. This comparison showed how Americans perceived the massacre, they saw it as the same evil, as Hitler's dictatorship.
Videos
In addition to news conferences, and articles, Americans began to see pictures of not only the security footage and pictures taken from outside the school, they began to see pictures of the students at memorials mourning for their friends, or parents grieving over their children who are in critical condition in the hospital, or worse, who were killed. When people saw these pictures they could not help but feel sympathy for the community, but also think that could have been them. This left Parents scared to send their children to school, and left children scared to go to school.
President's Remarks
Hours after the shooting President William Clinton held a news conference with reporters addressing what had happened. He talked about the idea that it could happen anywhere, he quoted County Commission Chair Patricia Holloway saying, "America would wake up to the dimensions of this challenge if it could happen in a place like Littleton,". He was telling Americans that it can happen anywhere, which forced Americans to realize that this was a possibility. At this time people saw that the President addressing the entire country, and talking about such a tragedy that affected the entire nation, this terrified Americans knowing it could happen.