with a bit of common sense and my experience from school i would say, that these two teenagers were hurt and violated veeery deeply in their personality, and maybe socio-psychology is right: they were unable to deal with the hurt and the intern and exotern conflicts, a bit out of sciences: i would assume that the hopelessness of their situation in the columbine subculture fuelled their desperation and anger very much. they wanted to be someone accepted, were refused and made fools for all eternity - so they went boom. if they would have succeeded with their basic plan (killing everyone, the bullies, the bystanders, the teachers) there would have remained nobody left for the revolution or the martyr-worship - at least not on the school. from my anarchist view point: if we expect "authority" to protect and care for us from above the community - don't we justify authority as necessary, giving up our right and responsibility to fight for ourselves and the people unable to defend themselves? what would have happened if all those loosers and bystanders would have ganged up on the bullies to set matters right? i admit, it's very theoretical under the given real-life-circumstances, almost utopian - but it's possible: we had kinda riot gang on our boarding school, mostly ethnical non-frenchs, but some smarter french too, protecting each other and giving support to those in need too, so the teachers couldn't even argue against the gang. blaming the school authority for something not to expect from them anyways? compare their claim and reputation anxiety it with the state... you can get the receipts and the know-how almost everywhere, even the internet offers guides and instructions "how to mix up medicine in the basements", garden- and grocery shops sell the components - but i bet the school didn't encouraged amateur hobby bomb production... the pharmacy part is quite out of my perception - i'm a bit too old for the relatively new phenomen, so i got around that despite my "socially conspicuous behaviour" nice and clean, but it's a fast increasing problem around here too, ritalin and other little expensive wonders from the laboratories to keep students nice and quiet, and the doctors prescribe it like candy, parents are afraid of their kids future careers... poor kids. i guess going to the court because of the mess will not be successful, the industry refuses to recognise liability for the side effects of their products on sale - they even write it down on the package leaflet, if you take their stuff, you accept it automatically because they claim that you have to read first and after that you have to decide to take the risks they informed you about...
