Under what circumstances is it OK to punch someone in the face?

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When I start to think about the situations in which I’d use violence in this manner to solve a problem, they all boil down to a ‘failure of society to ensure civility’.

In the groups of people I choose to be in, if someone were to be uncivil, it would cause everyone else around to work to try to resolve the situation peacefully and amenably to all concerned. If I found myself at odds with someone and I wasn’t in this kind of safe environment, say if nobody around steps up or if the people around are even enjoying watching the situation go down, then I know the social expectation of civility has run out the door and I am going to have to defend myself, violently if need be.

I went to junior / high school in two different locations. In New York, I would get into a fight a couple times a year. For tenth grade through graduation, I went to high school in Hawaii, where I got into only one fight in the three years I went. I went to a year of college there and I didn’t get into a fight there either.

I can’t think of any situations that would call for me to sucker punch someone in the face. I’m fairly sure there aren’t any. But if I have to defend myself, I will. It’s been a long long time since I’ve ever had to do that though.