Now I am picturing you & a rat sharing a smoke ... lol!!I know exactly what you mean about not killing animals.. I lived with a rat for six months that got trapped in my boat and didn't want to leave. I consequently developed an interest in humane rat traps and, at one point, had twelve assorted bins, pots, cages, see-saws and pivoting tubes arrayed in my modest living space.. I even tried baiting it with cannabis for a while, in the hope that it'd be easy to catch stoned; I think it developed a higher tolerance than me in the end
I've asked myself the self defence question and I think, in truth that I could protect myself and those I care for and a self defence class is on my list of 'Things to do' as it's been years since I practiced Judo, but I believe I have developed an ability to avoid trouble, in work and leisure.. I've had occasion to talk my way out of more than one unreasonable encounter, so maybe it's not just a case of "What would I do in this situation", but of developing an instinct for avoiding the occurrence of the situation in the first place. I've certainly seen many people step in to an argument or fight when I could plainly see ways to avoid it..
Can I toss that question right back at ya Tia?
Rats are very intelligent, & domesticated ones can be very sweet & gentle.
That was a wild one though & they bite. 
Me too with the humane traps! No one else ever wants to relocate rodents because they're said to return, but just the same, I can't find it in my heart (nor even desire) to "exterminate" a living creature. So I also would have had to share the boat with that little rat! (Although they do swim you know!! )I agree with you .... about the propensity of some people to step into an argument or fight when it just as easily & preferably could have been avoided.
As for me, I mostly avoid shady locations & situations wherever I can, so I really don't have many occasion for run-ins with aggressive or violent types. Such people make me very uncomfortable because of their unpredictable nature & lack of following the normally expected rules of civil society. If I ever had 'trouble' with such a person I too would rely on communication to hopefully resolve things peacefully & exit safely. If someone were intent on physically harming or even killing me, I think I would be able to do whatever was necessary to save myself, BUT because it would be such a last resort I'd probably wait too long & end up hurt or worse myself!
That said, in a more "known" situation, say a person or group going door to door & killing the occupants; I would consider eliminating them before they harmed or killed me or my family, to be acceptable, a "just kill", a horrible but unavoidable choice. Assuming I had the internal fortitude to follow through on whatever actions were necessary - a big assumption but I would hope so - I would afterwards try to have no remorse or regret over actions that were logically necessary. Meanwhile, I hope to NEVER face such an awful scenario. I personally find there to be more good than bad in the world, including people.
