es (1991) write, "Our feelings about ourselves also influence our reaction to frustration" (p. 297). Harris and Klebold, while not precisely loners, were not members of the "in" crowd, the popular students, or the jocks. They must have felt alienated and were therefore likely to be frustrated in their desires to feel more important and accepted. However, their frustrations do not appear to have been greater than those shared by many of their fellow students going through a normal adolescence during their high school years.
Florence King (1999, May 31) argues that high school itself has evolved into a breeding ground for frustration, aggression, and violence, during the critical "inferiority-complex stage of adolescent development" (p. 77). She (1999, May 31) quotes political pundit Bill Maher, who describes high school as "four years of embarrassment and boredom and pettiness, where nothing much happens; sort of like the Carter administration" (p. 77), suggesting that such an atmosphere inspires frustration and, consequently, aggression. In a culture which
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