Violence in America

I was reading the other day about the guy who beat a transgender woman to death with a fire extinguisher. His lawyer argued "how can any of us know what we would do if we were put in a situation like his?" That will be my defense if I ever meet the lawyer and there is a fire extinguisher handy. That and I ate too much junk food. The latter was the defense of Dan White who shot Harvey Milk and the Mayor of San Fransisco. The good news is that unlike Dan, who was out in five years, the fire extinguisher guy got life plus three years with no parole. So, things are improving. I realize a lawyer has to be pretty creative to defend a murderer, but I can't stop thinking about the story. And what's with America and violence, anyway? We shoot up schools, churches and post offices more than any other country. Why do so many of us "snap?" I realize there are wars in other countries, but the people fighting them are trained to hate one another. This is different. My theory is that we are trained to believe we can achieve anything we want in life (a lie) and when we can't, we snap. But it's deeper than that. I believe that nature and nurture both play a part in everything. This country needs a good shrink. We need to stop teaching our children to be threatened by our differences and teach them that all opinions are equal. Yes, even bigots have a right to their opinions, as long as they don't pass laws to force their views on others. Free speech and all that. One problem with America is competition. Being payed for a job well done is one thing but when we're so competitive that we'll do or say anything to become wealthy, we go to far. When two political entities oppose each other, they will, again, do or say anything until we are terrified of opposing views. Then there's religion. America is one country where you are not forced to support a specific religion, but you are forced to support a religion. "In God We Trust," "One Nation Under God," etc. Need to stop drinking? Go to AA and find out how God can help. Need a psychiatrist. The first thing they tell you is to go to church. Religion does help the soul, but you have to want to find it. Ever tell someone you're gay and they start talking about how important religion is. How insulting. Loving a man does not make me Godless. Being told I was Godless made me Godless for 17 years. And then there's the whole macho thing. As if my wearing a dress somehow reflects upon the entire male gender. I've got news for men: most women are stronger than you. Maybe not physically, but they can handle childbirth and they don't as often snap and commit murder. And it takes more strength to talk about your feelings then to lash out violently because of them. I took a test that says I have a female brain. What a compliment.