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Various photos of Susan Yassenoff, Dylan Klebold’s mother, who is now a mental health activist and author.
Columbus School for Girls - Class of 1967
Columbus School for Girls
(left) Diane, Sue’s sister and Dylan’s aunt, in the Color Guard club photo. (right) Sue in the I’Pittori club photo.
Columbus School for Girls - Fifth Grade
Columbus School for Girls - Lower School
from an Ohio newspaper, 1969
Tom Klebold - Sylvania High School - National Merit Scholarship
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Okay, the late 90s were creepy, and I’m not just talking about columbine. Do you also feel that? Idk how to explain it. Maybe it’s different for me because I didn’t live through it, but true crime from the mid to late 90s always fucks me up. Weird vibes is all I’m saying. People want to time travel back to the 90s, but I’m always like no it was a creepy decade. Like weird occult shit and moody music and early internet scapes... it would be cool to go back I guess, but something about that time period is unsettling.
your emotions are valid. a lot of past decades, especially ones you haven’t lived through, will seem like that. they’ll seem haunted, alien, and totally remote from our lives now because we can’t experience them except through second-hand sources. I sort of feel that way about the 60s/70s.
the 90s definitely had its own “weird vibe,” as you put it. i think it’s creepy in the same way that people find liminal spaces creepy. there’s something dreamy and nostalgic about it, but at the same time, something cursed and nightmarish. so, i think i get what your saying.
i can really only speak for the united states, but the anxieties pre 9/11 had a different feel. before ‘96ish, HIV/AIDS was one of the things i remember being scary. it was the topic of many tv show special episodes. there were racial issues, the LA riots. the lgbtq+ community wasn’t nearly as accepted back then compared to now.
social media wasn’t a thing yet, so it was kinda nice in that sense. AOL was a big deal. and fashion trends came and went. the fashion of the early, middle, and late 90s were very distinct, but some things carried over.
the true crime of the 90s is certainly disturbing. mass shootings/terrorism weren’t really an everyday thing yet, so it rattled the nation when it did start to happen. a bit of satanic panic from the 70s/80s survived through the 90s, creating fear surrounding goth/occult culture. an interesting documentary on youtube called “teens and the dark religion” is worth checking out to get a sense of the absurd intolerance.
the 90s suburban youth culture, while part of my experience, was sort of directionless, looking back. movies like “kids,” “mid-90s,” “the craft,” “bully,” “thirteen” sort of capture that unsettling, cautionary tale you’re getting at.
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Not strictly Dyl-related, but what do you think about Byron moving out in Dylan's junior year? Do you think it was weird? That part in Sue's book always struck me as odd, like there was more going on below the surface.
nah, not all that weird. sounds like his parents gave him an ultimatum: either clean up your act or leave (probably more gentle than that, but you get the idea). and he was 18 at the time, college-age, which is when most kids in the US leave home. sue states in the book that byron remained present in their lives, coming over for family dinners.
you could speculate that there were problems going on, like most families. maybe an emotional disconnect, strained relationships, miscommunication. he had a bit of a pot habit (not sure how severe), but he could’ve been trying other things as well. we just don’t know.
there’s an article floating around that mentioned byron’s arrest (along with a mugshot) around the time of the january incident. it’s very bizzare. if i find it, i’ll post it here. that’s what makes me think there was more going on. some kind of reaction to instability within the family.
i think byron wanted out for a multitude of reasons. he was “the problem child” and dylan was “the star.” but i think an important shift happened in the family dynamic after he moved out. for some reason, dylan took on the role of the problematic one, just as byron started getting his shit together.
it’s an interesting case study in family roles and reactions to one’s environment while adapting. in that theory, byron was both the clown and the scapegoat/black sheep. dylan was the lost child and the hero. then a switch occurred: byron moves out and gradually becomes the hero, just as dylan gradually becomes the scapegoat. you could further that theory, and say sue assumed the role of the rescuer and the mediator, and tom was the power broker and the thinker.
of course, family structures can change over time. big events can affect change. people often assume the roles they think they need in order to maintain peace.
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If a girl confessed to Dylan that she liked him a week before the shooting, what do you think he’d do? Sorry if this has already been asked or whatever, I’m just curious!
Happy to answer your question.
I’d wager probably nothing would happen given the timing. Even if he liked her back, he wouldn’t believe her. It wouldn’t register completely. His cynicism toward the end wouldn’t allow him to entertain the idea. Her confession might go in one ear and out the other. Outwardly, he’d blush and mumble a ‘I’m flattered,’ and never talk to her again.
Voicing her interest wouldn’t be enough to snap him out of it. He’d be so checked out, in a daze, his response would come off as cold or indifferent. To him, this is too little too late. He might force out an uncomfortable laugh, furrow his brow in suspicion, reject her awkwardly, and then search for the nearest exit.
Inwardly, his reaction would be “Oh, word? Damn, that’s too bad. I’m still going out, just not with you. Best of luck. Wish you’d said this three years ago.”
It’s irrational and illogical, but in his mind, things were finalized.
Somewhere deep down, he’d melt a little, but by that point, he’s high on death, fueled by rage, aching to get it over with.
He’d pass up on the thing he craved the most. It’s a form of self-sabotage, self-destruction that Dylan was prone to. It’s the mindset of “Oh fuck no, you don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t like me, I promise. I don’t even like me. Run, save yourself, I’m not worth it, I swear.” But in the same breath, his mind would cry out, “But dear god please don’t leave me. I’m this close to doing something stupid.”
As much as Dylan wanted love, to be loved, to experience having a girlfriend who would understand him, I don’t think he’d allow himself to actually have it. There’s a psychological phenomenon where you push people away who show interest and then lament your actions later. It stems from a malfunction in self-worth and self-esteem. You don’t feel you deserve love, no matter how much you crave it, so you convince others (and ultimately yourself) you don’t want it. I can see Dylan falling victim to this phenomenon. It’s a toxic, lonely mentality that isn’t easily overcome.
In short, to answer your question, Dylan’s mental state combined with the timing and his feelings of unworthiness/hopelessness would prevent him from accepting it :/
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New clip of Dylan playing drums at Randy Brown’s house.
This is not my video. It was uploaded by Reddit user sarahphoenix, and I believe it’s a clip from Ockham’s Razor Podcast.
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What kinds of things did dyl have in his room? Like random details?
ha, random details, eh? okay, it’s 1998, end of junior year. i’m thinking those boxy Altec Lansing computer speakers, a 56k modem, a Compaq Presario 4540 (just a guess) for playing Quake 2 or Doom or Half-Life multiplayer over AOL dial-up, AIM chat until 3am, a mess of receipts from Subway and Sam Goody and AMF Bellevue lanes, an empty bottle of Dr. Pepper on the nightstand, his combat boot in the doorway for him to accidentally trip over later, his phone with the extra long cord to reach his bed for late night calls with Zach, a clock radio, a spindle of burned CDs, a noisy printer in the corner, his favorite stuffed animal barely visible under the bed, a crumpled playbill for CHS’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace with random doodles on the back, the hum and click of a hard drive, re-worn laundry strewn across the floor, a few hand-me-down hemp necklaces from his brother spilling out of a bookshelf between Norcom 1 subject 70 sheets spiral notebooks, maybe even an empty vodka bottle peeking out from behind his desk that he needs to get rid of before mom finds it... oh, and one of Rocky’s little plush mouse toys collecting dust under his dresser.
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Hey, not really a dylan-related question, but what are some of your favorite 90s music artists? You strike me as a grunge fan :)
While I do like grunge rock, it’s not my favorite per se. I have a mixed bag of 90s artists that I bop regularly. So without further ado: L7, Mazzy Star, Fiona Apple, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, The Smiths, Soundgarden, Collective Soul, Alanis Morissette, TLC, Enya, I Monster, Tal Bachman, Britney Spears, Dada, Nirvana, 311, Green Day, NIN, 4hero, Zero 7, Ivy, and Björk and I’m sure countless others that I’m forgetting...
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