When it comes to violence, if you're reacting to what someone else said or it comes out of the blue, if you strike the first blow, you're breaking the law. It's called assault and it's illegal, whether against a man, woman or child. It is never okay to hit someone because you are angry, frustrated, or feel like the other person deserves it.

If you're being attacked or hit, you have three choices -- hit back with the least amount of force necessary to stop the attack (less of a concern if it's a stranger and you fear for your life), do nothing, or escape and run away.

Unless you're 6, most "hitting" is considered assault. In self-defense, however, it's sometimes a necessity and I encourage anyone who fears for their personal safety to consider taking a self-defense class (people offer them in almost every community for a few bucks).

The subject line of this thread was unnecessarily inflammatory. I hope we can ask such questions in the future with a little more tact and respect for other people's feelings here....

DocJohn