"Sure, you might be able to hit your girlfriend with the hammer, but the relationship would probably improve more if you talked about the problem." Or, rather,

"Sure, you might be able to hit your girlfriend with the hammer, but the relationship would probably improve more if you talked about the problem." Or, rather, if the relationship ceased before violence entered the equation. (In case anyone complains about pessimism, a friend of mine says often: "Relationships can only end in one of two ways: death or breakup." I'd rather think of it as a stoic position.)