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I think there are some basic things to be said here:
1) There are some key differences between playfully hitting, defending one's self, and systematic abuse.
2) Yes, a male should be able to defend themselves, but having to defend yourself against someone most likely weaker than you is silly.
3) Some men don't realize how hard they hit, even jokingly.
4) And yes, though all of you may not want to realize it, or even admit it, more men hit out of anger than women. Men are more likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence.
The reason WHY women march in the streets when a man hits a woman is because usually it happens more than once. These protests are not about a slap across the face one time, they are about continuous, regular abuse. They are about getting BEATEN. We're not talking about one punch. We're talking about several. We're talking about women with broken bones, bloody noses, and bruises galore.
Yes, women can be abusers too, but it's much less likely. It's less likely to be physical abuse and more likely to be emotional abuse.
To make a blanket assumption, I'm going to assume that the majority of you have not been around or dealt with domestic violence victims. Seeing someone who has been beaten black and blue by someone who is supposed to love them might change your perspective on the whole issue. The aftereffects of domestic violence are enormous--my mother still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder 25 years after divorcing her abusive second husband.
The fact is that no one should hit someone weaker than themselves, and preferably no one should hit anyone else. Everyone has the obligation to take the moral high ground here--but men especially must realize that they are typically stronger than women and have even more of a burden to bear. Yes, maybe she slaps you once out of anger--but you hitting her back isn't a solution.
Violence is NEVER a solution, regardless of who instigates it.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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