let's say you're totally in the right here. you're at a bar minding your own business when some random drunk asshole gets in your face and starts screaming at you. you punch him out. what's the best case scenario here? he goes down. unless you're in some drug front biker bar, it's absolutely guaranteed that they're going to throw you out, and you'll probably be banned for at least a while. the bar owner may have seen the whole thing but he cares a lot more about stopping fights, keeping the cops away and his insurance premiums than he cares about your hurt feelings. you are ejected and very luckily nobody calls the cops. your friends probably have to hustle out too, if they're not thrown out with you. the man you hit has no lasting injuries.and neither do you. your friends have to find a new place tonight, you scared a lot of innocent people, made a hassle for the staff, and while you may or may not care about this last one you hurt a person, asshole though he may be. best case.

but maybe...maybe he doesn't go down immediately. life isn't like the movies. the girl in the gif didn't get knocked out despite being hit by a grown man 100 pounds heavier than her. now you've got a brawl on your hands. any decent establishment, the police are getting called for sure. maybe you leave before they get there, now you're running from the police, now you're laying low for a few weeks. back to the brawl, one or both of you is going to get pretty injured. ever woken up the morning after a fight? maybe you lose. now you're probably in a hospital with a court summons.

maybe his buddy or yours jumps in. now it's chaos. you've got an arrest warrant now for sure. get away, and they'll get you at the next traffic stop. panicking whenever there's a cop behind you in traffic. spend a night in jail before? who's the person you're going to have to call for bail? how proud will they be of you? maybe nobody can come up with bail; enjoy 2 weeks in county. maybe you get convicted, maybe you don't. most likely, community service and/or a fine of a couple hundred dollars. now you've got a violent crime on your record. enjoy finding a job.

maybe the guy or his buddy has a knife or a gun. how's that sound? maybe he's got more buddies there tonight than you do and they stomp you. maybe they're gang members or nazis or rednecks. good chance of that if the guy just started cussing you out for no reason. good chance you get severely injured or die. get a brain bleed and die, or live shitting into a diaper forever.

maybe you've got the knife or the gun and you're angry enough to use it. or maybe your buddy is. prison time, probably for years. or maybe the jerk gets the brain bleed at random, no real controlling for that. months in court, a dozen witnesses saw you throw the first punch, aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and/or manslaughter. years in prison, you're a violent felon, your life is destroyed now, you've probably been raped a few times for good measure. oh, and a lawsuit, and you get to live with having taken a human life.

walk away. he'll probably call you a faggot and a pussy and bait you. walk away. get the bouncers or the owner. call the cops if he hit you. leave the bar if necessary. you're going to be stewing with anger and frustration. swallow it and move on. you have nothing to gain and everything to lose. drop the macho bullshit and think for a second.