Violence is never a good idea, but sometimes—be it a kick, a slap, or a proper punch—it’s an instinct that kicks in when something unexpected happens.

For this redditor, the ‘something unexpected’ was a person undoing her top at a waterpark. The woman turned around and slapped the individual, resulting in both of them being asked out of the park and both sides threatening to press charges. Scroll down to find the full story below.

People usually associate waterparks with fun and games

Image credits: Armin Rimoldi / Pexels (not the actual photo)

But for this woman, a visit to the waterpark with her family quickly turned sour

Image credits: ImageSourceCur  / Envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Old_Educator_3516

Image credits: MART PRODUCTION / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Certain unexpected situations can evoke a ‘fight-or-flight’ response

The OP’s reaction to the person undoing her top split the netizens into camps. While one side believed she was right to defend herself against what some would consider sexual assault, others said she shouldn’t have responded with violence, especially in front of her daughter.

It goes without saying that presenting violence as the first or the only option is far from ideal when it comes to setting an example for small children. But in the redditor’s case, the slap might have been an instinct – a sudden and not that well thought-out reaction to a perceived threat.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, a stressful situation can cause a reaction in our bodies, known as a ‘fight-or-flight’ response, which allows us to either fight back or run to safety. Having evolved as a survival mechanism, it typically leads to a “carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses”, such as increased heart rate, sweating, or muscles tensing up.

While such an instinct likely evolved to help a person defend themselves from dangers such as animal attacks and similar hazards, it adjusted to modern-day life just like humans did: while we might no longer hunt in forests, we do—in a way—in grocery stores, and while the chances of being attacked by a bear in the city are close to none, the odds are not as favorable when it comes to facing muggers.

In addition to that, as pointed out by Harvard Health Publishing, the body can also overreact to certain non life-threatening stressors, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties; or, in the OP’s case, naughty teenagers.

Image credits: Vera Arsic / Pexels (not the actual photo)

It’s crucial to respect other people’s boundaries

While a fight-or-flight response typically evokes a reaction in a matter of seconds, some netizens in the comments suggested that that’s no excuse for hitting a minor. They said that in situations like this, the best course of action is to take it up with the teenager’s parents or the administration of the water park.

Others, though, said that you have to defend yourself when someone tries touching—let alone, undressing—you without consent, which is something many parents try to instill in their children, especially daughters. It’s crucial that kids understand the meaning of boundaries, and respect them the same way they expect others to do, too.

According to a clinical psychologist, Dr. Stephanie Dowd, boundaries are essentially about understanding and respecting your own needs, as well as being respectful and understanding of the needs of others. “And for that to work, we need to be putting a big emphasis on helping kids develop greater empathy and self-awareness,” the expert pointed out for the Child Mind Institute.

Chances are, if the teenager was more aware of—or cared more about—others’ boundaries, the incident could have been avoided altogether. Yet since he likely didn’t think much about the consequences of his actions, in the words of fellow redditors, “he fooled around and found out”, consequently putting both the woman and his parents in the middle of it all.

Many redditors didn’t think the woman was in the wrong in the situation

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Some, though, believed she shouldn’t have reacted the way that she did

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