Men vs. women....

One, two, three...

She had recently read an article about the difference between men and women where suicide and homicide methods were concerned. The article talked about how men are more likely to use a gun where women use pills and poisons. The author, a male psychologist (of course) had his opinions as to why there was this difference between men and women.

four, five, six....

So this Doctor Bennett (please, he was a psychologist not even a psychiatrist) thought that women were less likely to use a gun because they were too timid. Too weak willed. If a man was going to kill himself he brought out his gun and shot himself. Decisive. Quick. Whereas a woman was more likely to overdose on pills. Meek. Easy. She had rolled her eyes.

seven, eight, nine....

Of course he viewed the gun as the decisive way to kill yourself. But it wasn't really. It was the impulsive way. To overdose you had to figure out how many pills you would need to take to stop your heart or your breathing but not take them too quickly so you vomited them all up or too slowly so you passed out before you had taken a large enough dose. There was always the method of taking them in a full bathtub so if you did pass out you could add the back up plan of drowning. There was much more planning involved.

ten, eleven, twelve....

Not to mention the mess.  Of course a man would use a gun and not think twice about who was going to have to clean up the mess he left behind.  A woman on the other hand, she was more likely to think about such things. Who would find the body, who would have to clean up? She would be gone so it wouldn't be her this time. Women think about who cleans up the mess left behind, men just leave the mess.

thirteen, fourteen, fifteen....

His views on homicide were also skewed toward the macho. To use a gun to kill someone you had to face them and shoot. See what you were doing. Make the decision to kill. Hogwash. Again, a gun was an impulse. How many times have we all watched people in movies get shot and get right back up and fight? Shooting someone took a few seconds. I'm mad, bang! That's it. You don't even have to consider the consequences. Shoot first and ask questions later, anyone? But poison...well poison took time and effort.

sixteen, seventeen, eighteen...

Guns were blunt instruments. Poisons and pills were a craftsman's (craftswoman's?) instruments.  Too much or too little and they didn't work. There needed to be an exact dose given over time for a poison to truly do it's magic. How much time, one week? Two? Three? Enough to kill someone by degrees when they weren't even aware of what was happening until it was too late. And if they noticed they weren't feeling well what would they take to feel better? More pills.

nineteen, twenty, twenty-one.....

Poisoning someone took time and planning. Guns were for the weak, those that acted on impulse. Poison was for the strong, those that really thought things through, who planned. A lesson some people should learn.

"Mr. Bennett? Your prescription is ready."