A Voice for Men asks "When is it OK to punch your wife?"

Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2010-09-15 01:33

Essay here. Excerpt:

'It might be easy to think that the title to this piece is simple provocation, a tool to inspire people, perhaps mislead them, through sparking an angry reaction or just plain morbid curiosity, into taking a look at what this article is about.

Even though the thrust here is slightly different than the title would imply, there is no deception here at all. The question is serious, and the answer, to be certain, is so clear it need not take an entire article to address.

When is it O.K. to punch your wife? Well, anytime you are defending yourself from her physical attack. You have the right, at that moment, legally and morally, as is explicit in every legal model I know of, to use whatever force is necessary to protect yourself.
...
In the real world, where we actually live, the preponderance of people, from your friendly neighborhood patriarch to his twin sister the Gloria Steinem clone, see this type of dialog as a reason to go nuclear. In fact, I knew that the title would be provocative precisely because we live in a culture where I am not supposed to even ask such a thing. It’s like asking when it is OK to hunt an endangered species, or steal a senior citizens social security check, or joke about children with cancer.'

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Comments

I never use people-made laws to draw opinions on right and wrong. Don't mean to sound like I'm hitting the bong (I'm not), but, I think there is a "higher justice". I think of it in terms like "comsmic justice" or perhaps "karmic justice". Some others may define it as justice before God, etc... Anyway, it is my belief that there is a time and place in which (literally) every possible human behavior may be acted out and be considered justifiable or "right with the universe". Some behaviors may be justified often (e.g. sharing food with a homeless man), other behaviors may be so rarely justified that an individual person may never encounter a situation where justification is warranted in his or her lifetime (rape, murder). But, make no mistake, there is a time and place in which any action could be performed and be "right with the universe". Hitting or "punching" a woman falls all along the continuum of what is justifiable. The difference between a 50% power slap and a 100% power punch is enormous. So, in regard to the subject put forth, wives, I'll give my thoughts on two examples. Example 1: Wife constantly emotionally abusive, throws tantrums, name calling, condescening. If a good 75% slap once a month slows her down enough to be tolerable than it is sufficient and justifiable. I think slapping a woman is terrible by the way. And, hopefully, if the husband were pushed over the edge to slap her she could see how much pain she causes and try to make changes in herself. So, it's not desireable nor pretty, but it is justifiable and perhaps necessary. Example 2: Husband is on the family computer (where his wife is logged in) and an email from wifey's co-worker Dave Johnson titled "Can't wait to see you again sexy" comes in. Husband opens said email and it contains a screenshot from a video the two of them made in which wifey is getting doggy styled. Well, here, a full force punch in the face is certainly justifiable, karmic justice, comsic justice, whatever you wanna call it. Not pretty, not fun, but certainly justified (regardless of what the ons-size fits all politically influenced laws of people say).

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Submitted by ActaNonVerba on Tue, 2010-09-21 16:00