I don't get it.

What's so wrong with beating the snot out of someone who has done something incredibly wrong to you or a vulnerable member of your family - especially if you know the state-enforced punishment just isn't adequate?

On mornings that I'm off, I watch Judge Judy. Today, a woman was suing another woman for punitive damages because the second woman had come to her house with three friends to beat up the first woman's husband. On the surface, certainly, what the second woman did was wrong, but you then find out that the husband raped the second woman's 13-year-old cousin. The scumbag's wife said he only got 2 years. 2 years? You get more than that for copying a CD.

That brings me to my point. If your 13-year-old cousin (or sister or friend or niece or daughter) was raped by a grown, drunk man, and was only sentenced to 2 years, what would you do? Heck, if he were sentenced to 20 years, what would you do? Maybe it's because I was raised by a man who drop-kicked a guy for threatening to kill me, but I see nothing wrong with some guerilla-style vengeance. I would totally do it myself, no question - especially if my child is hurt. Shoot, there are some people who have hurt my sisters that should pray they never cross my path again. My threat lies in my words, but I'm not known for backing down when someone I love is being hurt.

It just really bugged me when Judge Judy said that this woman had "no right" to go bring the noise to this rapist drunk. Why not?!