I'm going to pick my words very carefully, because I'm not disagreeing with you, but what does cheating warrant? Splits up a family, child comes from a broken home, only see your kid(s) on weekends, tens or hundreds of thousands in legal fees, alimony etc.
Again, I'm not condoning violence at all. And most men that DO lash out when cheated on are doing so out of prideful anger, not because of the long term repercussions of the infidelity. I'm also not saying that Rachael cheated.
I'm simply pointing out that cheating has devastating effects on a family and I'm curious what you think is an appropriate response.
Hmmm.... let's go with absolutely no shades of gray, where the girl is totally in the wrong.
I had a friend who found his wife fucking another guy in their bedroom. He calmly told them they had 20 minute to both leave the apartment and not come back, got his revolver, sat down in the living room, put on a blues record, and sat down and waited as the dude bolted and his wife quickly packed and left. Possibly he got the gun as the first part. Technically he was brandishing a weapon and this is an insinuated threat. Maybe illegal. Not a perfect solution. However, I would say his was not an unreasonable response, and I'm listing it because it resulted in a very quick and clean break up despite a horrifying situation. He was both an army veteran and a mortician though, and one of the hardest-to-rattle motherfuckers you'd ever meet.
Not everyone has nerves of steel, and not everyone has a gun (probably a positive thing), so here's a different example: Jeff Monson initially caught a domestic violence charge after an incident with his girlfriend (fiance?) when he found sexting messages, and he got violent and the police were called. However, he didn't actually lay a hand on her. He smashed her phone and then her laptop. This is destruction of property. I'm not saying it's necessarily right to do that, but I also can't condemn the man for breaking her stuff. If you have an overwhelming
amygdala hijack, and have so much rage that you're shaking and you're filled with thoughts of hurting someone standing right in front of you, the best move would be to walk out the door until you've calmed down, but let's say she physically blocks your way: maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to immediately target something like a chair instead, or even a computer. Quite preferable to hurting a human being, particularly someone smaller and weaker than you.
Anyway, in my opinion the best response to cheating is generally to just not be in each other's presence. Yell at the woman if you need to first. If she won't physically leave and her name's on the lease, take all your stuff and go. If you're not married and there aren't children involved, block all forms of contact with each other as soon as you have all your stuff. Just move the fuck on.
If you're married with children and it splits up a home, and reconciliation just ain't happening, I would absolutely recommend divorce. It's better than being in a home where people are constantly arguing. My dad never laid a finger on my mom, but he sure did like to break furniture and other things for stupid reasons (he also liked to punch me in the head). If they'd divorced, it wouldn't have been easy for anyone, but maybe me and my sister would have had a more peaceful childhood without hiding in closets or under beds while they yelled at each other. Just my opinion though.
