Name calling doesn't always lead to physical abuse -- however, physical abuse is always preceded by verbal, emotional and psychological abuse. So, it is very possible that this could escalate to physical abuse down the road. Abusers start out with more benign types of abuse, see what they can get away with, then they push the envelope even further. Abuse typically escalates or even can begin once they think they "have you", ie, engagement or marriage.

Regardless, name calling is a form of verbal abuse. I would get out now, because the warning signs are there already, flashing in bright neon lights. This will only worsen over time.

And it's not YOU, you don't need to be more understanding whatsoever -- name calling is unacceptable, period.

However, perhaps you are missing some of the early warning signs of possible abuse down the road. I did the same thing for years. Then I started to work with my therapist specifically on detecting early warning signs of an abuser. This helped me tremendously and I finally found a nice guy for once.

If you dealt with abuse as a child in some shape or form, which I did, it is easy to fall into this type of pattern with later romantic relationships because it feels familiar and we may gloss over unacceptable behaviors that then go undetected. As my friend told me, my picker was broken. So you just need to adjust your own picker, ie, how you choose the men you date and get involved with.