Juan Manuel Alvarez, the man many "Christians" want dead, shown in a recent police photo
America the bloodthirsty
No wonder Juan Manuel Alvarez wanted to kill himself -- he lives in the United States of America, where if you're having severe personal problems, too bad for you!
Alvarez is the 25-year-old Compton, Calif., man who caused the deaths of 11 people on Wednesday when he parked his SUV on the tracks of a commuter train north of Los Angeles because he'd planned to commit suicide by train.
Reports the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:
Distraught over his recent separation from his wife, Juan Manuel Alvarez slashed his wrists, stabbed himself in the chest and then drove his green Jeep Grand Cherokee onto the Metrolink tracks in an effort to kill himself, authorities said Wednesday.
But the self-inflicted wounds were only superficial. And just before a Metrolink commuter train hit his SUV, he abandoned it and stood nearby, watching the tragedy his aborted suicide attempt had caused.
Now, the pony-tailed Alvarez, 25, whose last known address is in Compton, has been arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of homicide. He was hospitalized in a jail ward for treatment of his self-inflicted wounds.
"He was suicidal and had attempted a variety of ways to take his life, including placing his car on the tracks," Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams said.
Alvarez has a history of mental and legal problems, according to family members, law enforcement and other government sources.
Alvarez's estranged wife said he threatened her and her family and threatened to abduct their 3-year-old son, although he never physically assaulted her, according to a request for a temporary restraining order that was granted Dec. 14, The Associated Press reported.
"He threatened to take our kid away and to hurt my family members," Carmelita Alvarez said. "He is planning on selling his vehicle to buy a gun and threatened to use it. He is using drugs and has been in and out of rehab twice."
The court ordered Alvarez to stay away from his wife until further notice and not to leave Los Angeles County with children, the AP reported.
According to court records, he was arrested April 2, 1999, on suspicion of possession and being under the influence of narcotics. A judge ordered him into a drug-treatment program and the charges were dismissed in 2003.
Alvarez's sister-in-law, Maricela Amaya, told Telemundo TV that he separated from his wife three months ago.
"He was having problems with drugs and all that and was violent, and because of that he separated from her," Amaya said in Spanish.
Amaya said Alvarez came by two weeks ago, and she called her sister to tell her not to come home. She also said he had threatened suicide in front of his son.
"A few other times he went around as if he wanted to kill himself," Amaya said. "I said if you're going to kill yourself, go kill yourself far away. Don't come by here telling that to my sister."
Before dawn Wednesday, Alvarez drove his car on Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale and steered it toward an area not intended for cars, Adams said.
"For some reason, he decided he did not want to commit suicide that way," Adams, the police chief, said. "We have information that he was trying to get the vehicle off the tracks. However, he was unsuccessful and ran from the vehicle."
Alvarez, a U.S. citizen, watched as the train barreled into his SUV shortly after 6 a.m.
"He was found right at the scene," Adams said. "The suspect has admitted placing his vehicle on the tracks."
He described Alvarez as "deranged" and noted his record of drug arrests. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn described him as "one crazed individual."
...U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said there is potential federal jurisdiction with a possible death penalty in the case.
I can only imagine the grief and anger that the loved ones of the 11 people who died because of Alvarez' actions are feeling.
However, clearly Alvarez had many problems, and I doubt that he had much help available to him. Our tax dollars -- our money -- increasingly is being funneled away from the things that we need (health care, education, a clean and safe environment, etc.) to things like corporate welfare and a bloated military budget that isn't keeping us safe but is making us much less safe by making us even more hated around the world. The only ones who are benefitting from our bloated military budget are people like those at Dick Cheney's Halliburton and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband.
We aren't investing in our own. Programs that help Americans -- such as drug-addiction and mental-health programs -- continue to be slashed while programs meant to kill people get more and more funding. To keep us "safe."
When Alvarez announced that he wanted to kill himself, he was told to "go kill [himself] far away."
Some "Christian" nation this is.
Again, obviously Alvarez is a very troubled man. But I haven't read one single fucking word in any media story about getting this man the help that he obviously needs.
I have read, however, in the very first or within the first few paragraphs of several news stories, that Alvarez might get the death penalty for his actions. (And the news story above is the first I have seen that has reported that Alvarez at least tried to get the SUV off of the tracks. That's no small detail. The way most have reported the story, it's like he nonchalantly left the SUV on the tracks.)
We have much more interest in seeing yet another person dead than we do in helping an obviously troubled man. Eleven deaths weren't enough; let's kill Alvarez and make it 12.
Sickeningly, the majority of those who believe that Alvarez should be put to death would call themselves "Christians." I defy any "Christian" to find a single saying or teaching of Jesus Christ's in the New Testament that shows that Jesus would have Alvarez put to death. One.
"Christian" nation. "Culture of life."
Bullshit.
We are cold-hearted, bloodthirsty motherfuckers.
Help you?
No, we'd much rather kill you.
8:20:00 PM 
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