Would she have been justified in attacking you, dogmush?
Interesting question. Perhaps. What level of insult constitutes resorting to violence isn't always a hard line, and varies depending on the cultures and mores of both the speaker and the listener. There's also the question of level of violence.
I will say this: Had she been so offended in that moment she had slapped me, I probably would have taken it, and I certainly would not have called the cops and cried about it. I knowingly chose a word with a high shock value (in our little American white middle class sub-culture) in an attempt to make her leave. I couldn't have been to aggrieved if it pushed her farther than I intended. Which is not to say I would have let her beat me unconscious or shoot at me. Proportionality exists.
In a less hypothetical situation: While I was in college a female friend of mine turned down the advances of a man at an event. Within my hearing he remarked "I'll just catch you alone and rape the *expletive deleted*it out of you then". I beat his ass, on the spot, immediately, and to this day think it was the correct move.
From a legal standpoint, I probably committed assault. Certainly he threatened someone, but it was at a nebulous point in the future, and not immanent, so defense laws wouldn't cover me. But he learned a valuable lesson that there are things you don't say in polite society, and if you break those taboos, there can be consequences.
In another situation, several of the "protests" happening at colleges around the US right now are clearly Communist run. Like, they are painting the Hammer and Sickle on things and calling for a revolution to overthrow America. There is ample evidence of what takes place in Communist revolutions from China, to Cambodia, to Latin American and African countries. At some point, if these kids don't back away from the edge, we'll have to kill them. I'm not going to die in a struggle session or on my knees in a Killing Field. Should we let them start killing people? How much violence should we let them engage in before we act? Or at some point are their words alone enough to warrant unleashing violence on them, either personally or through the proxy of State Agents?
YMMV, of course. If you want to be a pacifict by all means. I just disagree with you.
