The essay sparked strong emotions for Connie Michalik, whose son, Richard Castaldo, was shot and partially paralyzed in the rampage. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others before killing themselves. The shooters' parents have said little in public since the massacre. They gave depositions in a lawsuit filed by victims' families, but a judge in 2007 ordered those depositions sealed for 20 years after the case was settled out of court.
Survivors and their families have been left wondering about the boys' parents in the decade since the shootings. "You know, I always wondered how she felt and what she went through. 'Cause I know I went through a living hell, and I was always sure she did, too," Michalik told The Associated Press. Michalik, who has never met Susan Klebold, said reading the essay answered some of her questions about the Klebold family. "I applaud her for the courage to talk about this," Michalik said Tuesday.
In the essay, Susan Klebold described the day of the shooting. She at first feared Dylan had been shot at school, not that he was one of the perpetrators. Susan Klebold said the family was evacuated from their home the afternoon of the massacre because authorities feared even Dylan's residence may have been rigged to explode. Still, she said, it took months for relatives to accept that the quiet boy who loved origami and Legos was to blame for the violence. "We didn't know that he and Eric had assembled an arsenal of explosives and guns," Susan Klebold wrote. "We believed his participation in the massacre was accidental or that he had been coerced. We believed that he did not intend to hurt anyone."
A magazine spokeswoman said Susan Klebold has turned down several interview requests over the years but agreed several months ago to share an essay. There were no plans for her to appear on the show. In an introduction to the essay, Oprah Winfrey told readers, "Since the day her son participated in the most devastating high school shooting America has ever seen, I have wanted to sit down with Susan Klebold to ask her the questions we've all wanted to ask — starting with, 'How did you not see it coming?' and ending with 'How did you survive?'"
A spokeswoman for Susan Klebold has said there would be no further comment. One of the shooting's survivors, Krystal Miller, said she has long had questions for the Klebolds but understood their silence. "Over the years I would've loved to hear something," said Miller, whose maiden name was Krystal Woodman. "But it sounds like she is still just reeling from it and processing it. So how is someone supposed to come out and give answers when they're still trying to figure it out themselves?"
Therefore, in the wake of the Columbine incident and the essay that was recently written, it made me realize that many people but particularly our youth don’t understand the meaning of forgiveness. Our youth today need to understand that is comes a point in their lives when they have to forgive those who have mistreated them, abused them and lied to them. I know sometimes it is hard but the word forgiveness is a word that many of our youth today don’t understand yet alone want to recognize which is why so many of them are bitter, angry and mad at life. Also the fact that many of our youth don’t understand forgiveness leads to many of our youth having truth issues with the rest of society because of the way others in their past treated them yet alone lied to them.
So when reading the essay written by one of the parent’s of the shooters and as I read about the responses from parents of victims and survivors as well as survivors, it seemed as if many of those people were forgiving of the Columbine parents shooters. In fact it seemed as if many of the victims’ parents and the survivors were concerned and worried about how the Columbine shooters parents were dealing with the aftermath all these years later. So it is clear that if even in some of the hardest situations imaginable that people find a way to forgive which is why I feel that our youth need to forgive others now more than ever.
Our youth need to learn what forgiveness means and how they can forgive in order to move forward in life to achieve success. Holding on to angry, being mad at the world and hating others will only continue to create a culture of youth who rebel against society and those are the youth who usually end up hurting the innocent. Therefore we have to understand that our youth today need forgiveness in their life like never before. Our youth can’t forgive until they understand what forgiveness means and how when you forgive you are able to move forward in life to achieve success.
Think about it, our youth don’t understand that while they are going around being angry at the world, being bitter toward others and mad at everyone, those who hurt them, abused them, mistreated them or lied to them are going forward with their lives, living their lives happy and with no remorse or afterthought for the hurt they caused that youth. So why should our youth walk around angry, bitter and mad when those who created that angry, bitterness and madness don’t even care if our youth are mad. Therefore our youth need to be taught this so that they can move forward in life not being bitter, angry and mad when those who mistreated them, abused them and lied to them are not angry, bitter and mad so why should our youth. Therefore it is time we taught our youth to forgive.
It is time we teach our youth forgiveness so they can move forward and be prosperous in life. Our youth need to realize that forgiving others is the only way for them to move forward without thinking back. Our youth need to direct their angry and bitterness in way that motivates them to achieve success by using those who said they can’t do something or those who hurt them, abused them, mistreated them or lied to them as motivation to overcome their bearers. It is time for our youth to move forward and realize that they must forgive in order to do that. Teaching forgiveness is the only way we can change a part of our youth culture that allows angry to fester. Our youth need to realize that forgiveness is the key to changing their life and moving forward with a positive outlook on things rather than the bitter, angry and mad mentality that our youth today takes out on the rest of the world and even those that truly want to help them overcome what they are dealing with.
So if we are to win this war on our youth than one thing our youth need to learn is forgiveness. Learning forgiveness can help change the type of culture that creates the violence that plagues many of our communities through youth who rebel against society because they are angry, mad and bitter. We must save our youth by teaching them forgiveness so they can save themselves from being bitter toward the world and becoming part of a society that is cruel and mean more than kind and warm. This is just one component that can help us change the type of culture that is festering in our communities in regards to youth but make no mistake about it, the war on our youth won’t be won on forgiveness alone but it is a start in the right direction.
SAVE OUR YOUTH!
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