The Story of Rachael Scott, of Columbine High School

[NickOtani]

The other day, when I was substitute teaching at the North Central High School in Spokane, I attended an assembly. It was a special tribute to Rachael Scott, the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting incident in 1999. She was a cute teenage girl and well liked by many people. The presenter, a friend of the family, compared her to Anne Frank, the Jewish girl killed by Nazis in World War II. The two boys who shot her, Eric and Dylan, idolized Hitler, and, like Anne Frank, Rachael Scott is having a post-mortem impact on the world.

Rachael’s brother, Darrel, missed being shot by a mere coincidence. Friends of his on both sides were killed, and guns were being leveled on him when the sprinkler system went off from all the gun smoke in the air. This was enough to distract he shooters so that Darrel could get away.

The presenter talked about an essay Rachael wrote on ethics, just before she died. She wrote about her theory that when people do good deeds, it starts a chain-reaction of good deeds spreading around the world. Then, he described some of the good deeds Rachael did:

Once, when a new girl transferred to the school and sat alone in the lunch room, Rachael went over to her and invited the girl to join Rachael’s friends. The girl declined, out of shyness, but Rachael brought her friends over to the girl’s table and made her feel welcome.

Another time, when bullies were picking on a mentally challenged boy in the hall, Rachael jumped in between them and challenged the bullies. She put up her fists and told them they would have to go through her first if they wanted to hit the boy. Certainly these bullies would not be proud about beating up this little girl, so they backed down. The situation was diffused.

The presenter went on to suggest supernatural aspects of Rachael’s story. Even though she was happy all the time, she told people she was going to die young. She drew pictures which seemed to foretell the tragedy at Columbine, and she told people she would someday touch the hearts of millions. Through this kind of presentation, television coverage, and books published by her family, she is touching the hearts of millions.

The presenter did not focus on some of the problems Eric and Dylan, the shooters, had with students and teachers at Columbine. I think they were picked on, but this would not justify what they did. I think Rachael was cute and sweet, not deserving to die like she did, but probably not perfect. She is being made into a martyr, like Anne Frank, making something bad into something good.

bis bald,

Nick

[Barbara Branden]

Nick, without taking anything away from Rachael, who appears to have been a fine young girl, I don't see that, according to her story as you report it, a comparison to Anne Frank is justified. Anne Frank endured years of imprisonment and terror, yet never gave in to despair and continued to learn and to grow through all those terrible years -- a truly remarkable achievement.

Barbara

[Chris Grieb]

A quick question. Was Rachael Scott the young women who was killed after she said she believed in God? I have there was a young women who this happened to.

[NickOtani]

To Barbara,

Good point! I agree. Anne Frank's story is much different from Rachael's. It appears that Rachael had a fairly safe and pleasant life prior to being shot. I think the family and people trying to promote Rachael are stretching to find parallels. It reminds me of how people once pointed out all the similarties between John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln. They didn't mention the differences, like that Kennedy was rich and Lincoln wasn't.

To Chris,

I don't know if this is the girl to whom you are refering, but she is being exploited, it seems, by religious people. She is being used to challenge kids to be better people. The presentation I saw did not overtly push religion, but it did emphasize the supernatual things, which made the presentation interesting if not easily believable. We aren't allowed to proselytize religious views in public schools, but people tend to hint about "spiritual" things. And, in other forums, like on the internet or in church settings, I'm sure they stress those things. It becomes hard to know what is actually true and what makes a good story.

It's not like she said, "I believe in God," and then immediately got shot. She got shot at lunch time while she was sitting in a grassy spot outside of Columbine High School. (Of course, now, there are other kids in the news who have been killed.)

bis bald,

Nick

[Michael Russell]

Chris, you are thinking of Cassie Bernall. Her mother wrote a book "She Said Yes", which claimed that Cassie was shot after saying yes when asked by one of the shooters if she believed in God. However, some witnesses to her shooting claim that there was no verbal exchange between Cassie and the shooters.

Edited October 7, 2006 by Michael Russell

[AndrewED]

Hi, Nick, thanks for the story.

I think life in American public school bears many striking resemblances to what I read about life in an attic hiding from Nazis. I find remarkable the cheerfulness of anyone in any such intensely oppressive situation.

I learned the other day from a colleague that school shootings are happening in the US nearly every day now. Is it really any wonder?

[Chris Grieb]

Thanks Michael for clearing that up. The story sounds a little too good to be true. I don't know if any credibel witnesses could be found. Nick the sneaking in of spiritual values into secular high school is highly interesting. The point about high school looks like prison is why my sister and brother-in-law sent my nephew to a private school. She drove by a public high school and thought it didn't look much different from a prison

[NickOtani]

I have actually taught in prisons and in public schools. There is a difference. However, good looking and popular kids have no real problems in any setting. They tend to get what they want. Students like I was will always experience injustice. However, I think I am now a little deeper, intellectually and emotionally, than the cheerleaders and jocks and class presidents who were in high school when I was.

bis bald,

Nick