I’m sure Jeff Weise’s behavior will be trotted out as further proof that Christians are coming in for persecution. If I’m right, that claim will be purest codswallop. What this tragic incident really teaches us is that kids who are exposed to non-reality-based right-wing Christian propaganda may subsequently commit horrid acts of violence.

There is one striking point of similarity between the Columbine and Red Lake shootings: in both cases, the students were reading Shakespeare when the firing broke out. It’ll be interesting to see whether school districts across the country propose a ban on Shakespeare, the way they tried to ban black clothing in the wake of Columbine.

And yes, Weise admired Hitler , as did Harris and Klebold.

Harris and Klebold found comfort and refuge in a group called the ''Trenchcoat Mafia,'' a group of about a dozen school outcasts who bought floor-length dusters at a western store sale for $99 each.

Members of the group were angry because ''jocks'' and other members of the school elite teased and harassed them, throwing rocks and cigarettes at them. ''Everywhere they went, they were teased about how they dressed,'' Harris' former girlfriend, Tiffany Typher, told The Denver Post. ''If you're called a psycho all your life, you're going to live out that reputation.''

As to Jeff Weise :

Relatives told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Weise was a loner who was often teased by others....High school principal Chris Dunshee said Weise "would not be what I would call an habitual troublemaker," and that he wasn't aware of a lot of teasing. "I didn't really, I guess, feel that he was teased to the point where something like this would happen," he said.

All three were subjected to the culture of intolerance at school - from the taunts by classmates and the failure or refusal of the schools to recognize it or do anything about it.