-Caveat Lector- Excerpted From www.salon.com The biggest myths about the tragedy have to do with the question of who Harris and Klebold were really targeting in their rampage. Jocks, African-Americans and Christians have been widely described as their chief targets. Not a scrap of evidence supports that conclusion. In addition to voluminous evidence from the scene, Harris left behind a wealth of detailed plans and commentary making their targets plain. "It's pretty clear now that the initial plan was to have the two propane bombs they put in the cafeteria go off," a top investigator said. "And that's as indiscriminate as you can get. Every kid killed was a target of opportunity," not singled out to settle a score, he said. Battan called their behavior random: "Sticking a gun underneath a table and firing -- they didn't even know who was under that table." The jock myth grew out of now-legendary reports that the killers began their library killing spree with the demand: "All jocks stand up!" But it never happened, multiple sources confirmed. The notion that the pair was targeting jocks didn't even pass the initial smell test, Battan said: "How many of the jocks hang out in the library at lunch time?" "They knew where the gym was," another investigator added. Likewise, Isaiah Shoels' death was unrelated to his race, investigators insisted. Early reports had the killers searching him out, but there was no evidence that such a hunt occurred. "[Every] young boy or girl happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, including Isaiah Shoels," one said. Eyewitnesses disagreed about whether Harris and Klebold called him a "nigger" while they gunned him down, but if so, it was clearly a cruel taunt rather than a motive for his murder. But cooperative sources quickly clammed up when questioned about the most celebrated Columbine story of all, immortalized this month in Misty Bernall's bestseller, "She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall." "This is just too sensitive," a key source said, insisting on anonymity even for that statement. According to Misty Bernall's book, which has energized Christian youth movements around the world, the killers put a gun to her daughter Cassie's head and asked if she believed in God. When she said yes, they blew her away. But while no one would go on the record, key investigators made it clear that an alternate scenario is far more likely: The killers asked another girl, Valeen Schnurr, a similar question, then shot her, and she lived to tell about it. Schnurr's story was then apparently misattributed to Cassie. "Many of the kids were actually hiding under desks and hearing only bits and fragments of the conversation," one investigator explained. "It appears that exactly who they taunted, what questions were asked and who replied what may never be crystal clear." And even if it is clear, investigators clearly don't intend to tell. They cited the tense political climate around the story in this heavily evangelical community, as well as the potential embarrassment to Cassie's family, uniformly describing the Bernalls as sincere victims who may have been misinformed "through no malicious intent." But investigators were willing to say that whichever girl was asked about her faith, her life did not hinge on her answer. One key investigator said there is no evidence the outcome would have been any different if she had denied she believed in God. The bottom line, investigators insist, is that regardless of which spiteful jibes the killers tossed about during the shooting spree, none of the taunts bore any relation to their motives. "Were there things said about jocks?" Battan asked. "Probably. About God? Probably. Was there a 'nigger' comment? Probably. But that's not what it was about." Investigators agree it was about hate. "We can tell you why they did it, because they tell us why they're going to do it," a key source said. "They did it because they were consumed with hate." "They hated everybody and everything," echoed Division Chief John Kiekbusch, the ranking officer overseeing the case. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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