Walking away or saying something, no matter how clever, isn't going to teach the guy a lesson about being a disgusting ******* pig. It's too bad OP's punch didn't connect, because then he would've gotten exactly what he deserved, and he would've proven what a craven man-baby he really is if he'd pressed charges. I say aim lower next time, OP.

he would be a "craven man-baby" for pressing assault charges on the person that assaulted him really? Also, the punch did connect just not with the original target. And walking away or saying something would teach the man a lesson by saying that "my life is not ruled so much by your statement that i am driven to violence by hearing it in passing when I will never see you again". I'm very curious what the statement was because the type of person to immediately resort to violence seems like the type of person who would over exaggerate something like this.

These types of comments are disgusting and disrespectful, however, they are just words, and verbal expressions do not give you a right to assault people. That's both illegal and wrong as it's not an equivalent response. If you want to protest, you need to make your response equal to theirs, not above theirs. If someone insults you with words, the only justifiable response is to use words back. If someone physically hurts you, then you're justified in physically hurting them back. But physically hurting someone over what they simply expressed, that's an escalation, which is wrong.

The comments made by this man might have been terrible to listen to, but OP just demonstrated that she is a violent aggressor. A man doing the same thing to a woman would have been arrested and publicly humiliated. I hope this woman gets the same treatment because there is no such thing as "justified anger" that gives her permission to beat someone. Just try to grow up.

True, but violence makes for some great FML's!