RGacky3
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We have an obvious disconnect when it comes to defining aggressive violence.
If a woman smacks a man first, you say it is a "provocation". If he smacks her back, that is "aggressive violence". Your ethics are slanted and biased.
The difference is a woman slapping you is not gonna physically injure you in anyway and it isn't really a threat, you slapping a woman IS gonna physically injure her and threaten her saftey.
No, it is a RESPONSE to the "provocation"... which is actually an initiation of violence. You don't believe me, check the law... a smack in the face is simple assault in any jurisdiction I know about. Even if you swing and miss it is assault. Grabbing someone in a hostile manner is assault, in some cases assault and battery.
If the initial smack was not justified (and it usually isn't), it likely represents a pattern of behavior that is likely to continue if it goes unchallenged and unanswered. While as I've said striking back is less than an ideal reaction, it is an understandable one.
These things do not usually take place in a vacuum, but as a result of arguments escalating beyond reason. Man and woman argue; argument turns into screaming and becomes highly emotional; man, realizing his control over his emotions has become thin, attempts to withdraw from argument. Woman, not wanting to let him "escape", grabs his arm. Wrong signal: he's now hyper-emotional and struggling to control himself AND the woman has engaged in hostile physical contact. He jerks away and she smacks him in the face.... WRONG SIGNAL! BAD IDEA!
A man on the edge of losing his temper has just had a "you are under attack!" signal slammed into his already-seething brain.
The odds that he will strike back instinctively before his conscious mind can catch up and say "NOOooooo!" is very high at this point.
And in such a circumstance, while less than ideal I can't really blame him.
I see these bumper stickers all the time... "Real men don't hit women!"
Okay... but we need to add one line under that: "SMART women don't hit men first!"
It's a bad idea. It sends the wrong signal, especially if you just infuriated him to the every edge of his endurance already.
I don't think a woman slapping you would put a man justifiably in the "you are under attack" mode, obviously cases may vary, but in general, a slap from a woman does not put a man inphysical danger.
Oh yeah, one addendum...
She's accountable to more than just herself; she's accountable to ME, because I'm the one she hit without provocation.
I'm talking about morally, you are morally accountable for what YOU do, not for what other people do.