Is there any circumstance okay to hit someone?

[fourandsixpants]

any?

[zanadoo_56]

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@youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit wrote:

maybe self defence. but I think walking away is usually the best option

or running...

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My thoughts too.

I might go as far as pushing something in the way (chair?) or throwing something (plate, heavy book?) to slow the person down as well.  If the opportunity arises that is.  I can't run very fast so I'd need all the help I could get.

PS Nice to see defence spelt correctly in youcandoit's post. 

For a while there I thought I was still reading stuff on the US forum. Phew.

[poddster · Accepted solution]

Everyone seems to be so pacifistic.

I wonder if those attitudes would change if one happened to be a victim of constant standover tactics?

There comes a time when a person has to take a stand, if they don't then they will remain a victim.

Running away is not the answer to those types of situations, standing your ground in the face of overwhelming odds takes courage and you need to devise some sort of an equalizer. In some situations that that equalizer is whatever it takes.

[youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit]

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@zanadoo_56 wrote:

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@youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit wrote:

maybe self defence. but I think walking away is usually the best option

or running...

---

My thoughts too.

I might go as far as pushing something in the way (chair?) or throwing something (plate, heavy book?) to slow the person down as well.  If the opportunity arises that is.  I can't run very fast so I'd need all the help I could get.

PS Nice to see defence spelt correctly in youcandoit's post. 

For a while there I thought I was still reading stuff on the US forum. Phew.

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Nice of you to notice! 

doffs hat  

[debra9275]

no advice here Paints, but I do that hope everything is OK

oops sorry about that jumbled post 

I mean I hope everything is OK Paints

[punch*drunk]

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@flashie* wrote:

I have only ever hit someone once in my life.

My daughter was 16 and working in a local Supermarket.

A man in his late 50's took an unhealthy interest in her.

He was hassling her............following her..........sending her roses wrapped in black paper..........all sorts of creepy stuff.

We went to the Police.............but there was nothing they could do.

We could not find out his name as he paid cash..............did not drive.

Our daughter was terrified to go to work.

One day we went to pick her up from work and she pointed to this man and told me that was him.

Now I knew if her father got out of the car before me there was going to be big trouble.............so I jumped out of the car and ran into the Supermarket behind him................tapped him on the shoulder..........and when he turned around I thumped him................and told him if he thought that was scarey it would be her father next time............and turned around and walked out of the store.

It was all over in a few minutes and I was back in the car before I knew it.

Was I wrong...............of course I was..............and I spent the next few weeks terrified that I was going to be charged..................but nothing.

Ad he never went near our daughter again.

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Flashie I know exactly how your daughter felt and good on you for thumping the sleazebag.

I had a similar situation when I was only a little older than your daughter only it was a sales rep and I ran a shop by myself so I was often alone with him and he started coming more and more often, quite unnecessarily. He used to stand in doorways so I had to brush past him eventually I got so scared I told my boss what was happening and I never saw him again after that. Its a very frightening thing for a young girl.

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

As a mother grizzly bear........I would attack to protect my cubs.....

Only in a serious situation of course......

[youcandoityoucandoityoucandoit]

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@paintsew007 wrote:

What if the person does not have the choice and gets hit without warning, does not have the chance to run or defend themselves? What if the person hit is a woman and the other a man....what then? 

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Then I would be gathering my things together, including children and getting the hell away.

Perhaps speaking with a professional to see what my options are, but as difficult as it is, I wouldnt be staying for another round.

A long time ago, my mother stayed, and then my father laid into us..I think it was a generational thing, but as soon as she felt strong enough, and we were all older, she left him..

[boris1gary]

Boxing.

Yes there are some circumstances when it is the right thing to do.

[lurker172602]

As a general thing, no I don't think people should be hitting each other.

On a personal level I don't think I have the strength or technique to effectively hit and stop someone, so I think if I did I would probably be putting myself in more danger.

[zanadoo_56]

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@poddster wrote:

Everyone seems to be so pacifistic.

I wonder if those attitudes would change if one happened to be a victim of constant standover tactics?

There comes a time when a person has to take a stand, if they don't then they will remain a victim.

Running away is not the answer to those types of situations, standing your ground in the face of overwhelming odds takes courage and you need to devise some sort of an equalizer. In some situations that that equalizer is whatever it takes.

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Well that's the thing.  I've never had to fight someone to save myself so I'm not sure I could.

Tempered with that, you read all the time about people who do fight back, the assailant dies and suddenly the person who was attacked is in court charged by the police.  You can't have it both ways.  So what do you do?  Just try and get away or fight back with the possibility of saving yourself....followed by the possibility of X number of years in jail.

Ahh, I've just remembered one occasion....  When I was very young I was bailed up by the class bully.  He was a thug in the making, happy to throw his weight around against girls and other boys.  He shook me very hard, and I was so angry I lashed out at him in return and tore his school blazer.  The next day he sicked his mother on me.  She turned up at the school and really told me off.  Her son of course could do no wrong. Grrrr.

Perhaps that's why I'm not a fighter.  The attacker might have a mother even meaner and scarier than him (or her).