Hypothetical here. You're girlfriend is part of some kind of club...let's say a book club. There's a guy that goes there that's made inappropriate sexual comments to her on a couple occasions. He's even grabbed her ass without consent and laughed about it. She's told him to stop, but he hasn't. You decide to visit the book club with your gal and this fella mouths off and says something inappropriate...something like, "You look like you're ready to be f*cked", while you're within ear shot. You confront the guy. You get in close, as guys do, and tell him in such a way that there's no misunderstanding, "One more comment like that and you and I are going to have a problem". Ten minutes later he slaps your girlfriend's ass as she walks by him.
My Opinion, in GuyWorld, this is a clear pass to whip some ass. Not only is it a pass, but where I was raised, you're obligated to do something to cease the behavior immediately. Shove said fella into a wall. Deck him and lay him out, maybe. Whichever, but a verbal warning didn't work and this guy's a repeat offender. Clearly a physical response is appropriate, right?
Is it the pacifist thing to do? No. It might not even be the adult thing to do. I'm pretty damned convinced it's the manly thing to do, though. Am I just thinking like an immature kid or is this just one of those direct challenges to a guy's manhood that simply cannot be ignored?