And for that she was murdered.

Does that make her a hero?

Intolerance abound in the world, and many are just clueless enough to give vent to their ignorance and intolerance. Does their intolerance make her a hero?

Being different in a world that insists on conformity is a difficult proposition. To want to be different is one thing, and to be noticed for it another. Those who do it well - fashion icons, actors and actresses, politicians. They are rewarded for being different. To be different without wanting to be is totally another thing. Should one be rewarded for that? Is being involuntarily different something special that should be rewarded?

A soldier, a policeman, an ER surgeon, a suicide hotline operator, a fireman, a peace negotiator, a scientist, an explorer - these people make it their business to make a difference. Indeed, sometimes, when such people do make a difference, it is world-changing. Armistice Day, D-Day, 12th October, 1492, 20th July, 1969, 9-11. Days celebrated, days remembered, days mourned. World-changing days by world changers.

Words and phrases echo... "I have a dream." "Where there is love, there is life." "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." "Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream things that never were and say why not."

What about world changers who didn't want to be world changers? Perhaps that is the definition of a hero.

I think Rita didn't want to be a hero. I think all she wanted was to live her life.

We need to learn to accept each other more, learn to be open, learn to live and let live.

Other words echo... "November 20, 1998: Rita Hester, a transgender woman in Boston, MA, answered a knock at her door... an assailant forcibly entered... stabbed her over 20 times."

Rita would probably be happy if there are no more heroes.