No!! It's normal, and should be permitted.

At least if you had punched him there you would have had a level of satisfaction to face the rest of the long night ahead with . . .

Morally, legally or ethically ?

Note that in law a proportionate pre-emptive strike may be a defence to prosecution for an assault so... erm.. go for it!

No. I once punched a Warrant Officer who took a swing at me after I asked him to return to his bed and stop disrupting the ward - patients on Heminvrin can be such buggers to deal with. Next morning he reported me to the ward sister, a Tartar of a Captain. She just looked at me with a wry smile and asked me how my hand was.

That comment just made my evening! Thank you......

No...I think you guys need a medal for how much abuse your face everyday!!

how rude...did their parents not teach them *any* manners? the scum of society...

(i meant the nasty patient, not you tom :D ...)

It would purely be the balance of good and evil....and would probaly feel deeply satisfying!

Depends. One thing's for sure - if you punch him "fuck off and he's going kill you" is almost certain to follow, even from the nicest person.

An interesting experiment in pre-emptive something or other.

To want to? No, that's absolutely fine.

To actually go ahead and do it? Questionable...

Yes - you said before ;)

Now, AFTER he's told you to fuck off and said he'd kill you then a pre-emptive act of restraint using appropriate force in accordance with the circumstances (i.e. self-defence) - oh yeah, fair game mate!

If thee had infomation that he possessed a weapon of mean distruction, then use the BB technique of a preemptive punch before he can do thee damage to thy vital signs. The Hague could be consulted, then thy local mafia could be informed .

There are some schools of thought that say you should never fight fire with fire. On the other hand those people have probably never worked a night shift on the back of a truck in an inner city. If they had they'd be screaming for a stab vest & a cattle prod to control some of the demented halfwits we have to deal with.

it's acceptable and should be allowed a minimum of 3 times per shift