Can Violence Ever Be Justified?

Anonymous
Can Violence Ever Be Justified?

At the outset, I think most of us would agree that self-defense and the defense of others in harms way, as in protecting oneself from being punched and kicked or some other act of violence upon their person or defending someone else from the same are justified acts of violence because most would agree human life is valuable and anyone who seeks to cause immediate harm to us or others, has to be defended against if not with words, but with violence if necessary. Outside of this, however, can violence against another person or persons ever be justified?

Let's say a man comes home and finds his best friend in bed with his wife. A lot of men, and people in general, would feel that it would then be more than justified for that man to punch the best friend in the face. Why? Because he was supposed to be a best friend and best friends don't do that, let alone with someone they call a friend's own wife. But aren't there two people in that bed? If justice or teaching someone a lesson is to be the direct result of some wrong action, then wouldn't the wife also need to be punched in the face because she too was doing the same thing, but the offense was to her husband?

Can Violence Ever Be Justified?

Yes, but violence against women is wrong, especially from a man to a woman who is supposedly that much stronger, you might say, but in saying that, aside from the self defense argument, that would be saying violence for some wrong action is only justified if it is against someone who is equal in strength and most likely of the same gender as the person wronged, yet in many cases, regardless of gender, a victim is not of equal size, or the same gender, and would therefore be unable to fall into the category of justified violence.

But then we come to the very act of punching one or both parties involved in the case of the cheating wife and best friend. The husbands actions then constitute as an act of violence against another, and at the start here, most would have agreed that the act of self defense is justified violence. So then the best friend and/or the wife would then be justified in punching the husband back in order to defend against harm against themselves or in the defense of someone else. Would they be any more wrong or right then the husband punching one or both of them in the first place, because from there both parties would be in the right thus canceling out any perceived justice because how then can both sides achieve justice if we agree both were justified?

Can Violence Ever Be Justified?

And what of that justice? If the act of the husband punching the best friend/wife is meant to teach a lesson, what lesson has been learned? The two have already done harm to the husband. They have both probably lied and gone behind his back and cheated. What does punching them now do? Aw, it's supposed to teach them never to do it again, but what if it happens again either with the man's wife or some other variation of the two cheating on others. Has justice in punching either party been achieved if there is no direct positive outcome for the husband?

So what makes violence outside of self-defense or the defense of others justified exactly? Is it merely that a group of people hearing the story recanted believe that justice was served in a violent action (as in a jury or just a group of peers speaking on the subject)--it would then be impossible to know beforehand what constitutes as justified violence and what doesn't because it would solely depend on the people hearing the story or case and in the case of man to woman violence or say a parent punching a child violence or a daughter punching her elderly mother---the type of person that the violence was inflicted upon, and the person inflicting the violence in order to supposedly obtain justice. If the "rules" are already so vague and circumstantial, can it just boil down to, if the husband thought he was justified in punching his best friend, then it's justified, because as we all know, that's quite a slippery slope to slide down because then anyone who felt violence was necessary would have a carte blanche.

So what do you think?

Can Violence Ever Be Justified?
59 Opinion