justwannano, was she talking in spanish? Uno tampon, por favor?
Seriously though, I don’t think necessarily that PMS is not a valid reason for explaining some of this behavior, but like others I think that we are ultimately responsible for our actions. The only problem with that is that for some of us, PMS skews our perception of reality for a short period of time. Our hormonal balance swings wildly, and what may at any other time seem like a minor incident becomes horribly and painfully overexaggerated in our minds. Our bodies play horrible tricks on us.
Some others have already pointed out that there are those who suffer from PMDD (pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder) which is a much more severe display of PMS than most people experience.
I’m one of the lucky ones that has to deal with periods that last a week or two, and cramps that literally make me unable to move sometimes. I’ve spent days in bed curled up just wishing I could die because it felt like someone had taken an egg-beater on high speed to my insides.
At any rate, no, I don’t think it should be used as an excuse for everything under the sun, but I do think (especially for high school girls) that it is something to be considered and taken seriously.