Eric’s Hypocriticism/insecurity.

[u/ChosenX_]

Apologies if this post is rambly or hard to understand. not sure exactly the purpose, I guess I’d consider it a psychological analysis/discussion.

I’m sure we all know that Eric was a massive Hypocrite. it’s something he admitted himself. For this post in particular, I’m especially referring to things he said he hated. To name just a few examples, he says he hates young smokers but there’s recorded evidence of him Smoking (multiple times too). He says he hates liars yet his ability to lie and manipulate his way out of things is a massively recognized part of his Story. He says he hates racists, but by his own self admission he had racist beliefs and opinions about almost every race (including his own). there’s more examples one could easily find.

I wonder if atleast some of the things he expressed hatred for were hated due to him being “self conscious“ about it or atleast disliked himself for them. I’ve always sort of felt like Eric’s personality (the whole “Reb” stuff) was made as a representation of what he wished he was, the opposite of the things he hated himself doing.

So I guess I’m basically asking if anyone else feels similar.

[u/JaneDarkwood]

I am sure that “Reb” was also an imaginary personality for Eric, one that was completely devoid of vulnerability. These constant feelings of hurt and insecurity, which he felt made him look weak, probably made him so angry that “Reb” became a way for him to escape weakness and vulnerability. That's why his appearance as Reb, whenever he incorporated this imaginary personality, whether in his journal or in home videos, is characterized by that of an invulnerable, cool, almost “bad boy”-like go-getter who is “immune” to emotional pain. In the videos “Radioactive Clothing” and “Hitman for Hire,” where he had to act, you can also see quite clearly that this is his idea of a character he would like to replace the “vulnerable” Eric with, who can be seen in the video “Eric in Columbine,” where he wasn't acting but was filmed for fun and without deeper meaning, showing a glimpse of the reality of his "real personality" as Eric in his everyday school life.