I’m familiar with the baseball terminology that equates hitting a ball to slapping it, and I now understand the spirit in which your comment was made. I was more focused on what hitting a foul ball would mean in the context of the OP.
I wasn’t saying that if for example, the guy was trying to kiss you before you were ready, that you would take an action that might endanger your life. If anyone should lighten up, it’s the sociopathic ahole that hit you.
I forgot about what happened to you. My remark was based on my own experiences with getting slapped and how I’ve seen it portrayed on screen, so my real-life knowledge of those circumstances is limited. Consequently, my remark might have actually been made from an overly casual perspective.
Personally, I think a woman has every right to repel an unwanted advance by any means necessary, but as you said, it should be done with regard to her own safety.
I was slapped by my ex-wife for doing something harmless but annoying to her. It stung a little, but I realized there was no harm done and that I deserved it anyway. Believe it or not, my wife did the same gross thing to me a few years later. ;-o
Another time my wife accidentally slapped me while we were playing around. I think I said something like, “Ouch, you beast! You can’t solve your problems with violence”.
I never felt anger or a desire to retaliate in either case, and I don’t think any decent guy would. I think that distills my view of this, but I realize it doesn’t account for every situation.