I am curious if there are ever situations when it's okay to slap someone. When I was younger (teen years), I called my mother a very nasty name (a name that goes well beyond ******). She slapped me, open hand, right across the face. Honestly, given the name I called her, I think I certainly deserved it and don't feel that it was abuse. I also don't think I'm justifying her behaviour out of some kind of lack of self-esteem...I was pretty rotten to her at the time in general and was more then her equal in terms of physical strength.