No Dadslib, I did not say that domestic violence is especially unacceptable, I said all violence is unacceptable. I also don't think that view is particularly high principled, I think it is rational.
Violence in our society is perpetrated by a very small minority of people. Most people going about their everyday lives do not resort to violence as a means to resolving disputes.
What I do think about domestic violence in particular, is that the breach of trust associated with it is much more damaging than that perpetrated by a stranger. If someone punches me in the street, I assume a mad man picked me out at random. If I were to be punched at home by my partner, I would assume that it was not a random act.
IMO in a relationship one is supposed to be cherishing loving and supporting one another. Hitting does not fit into my profile therefore of a relationship.
I think you have got it right in one sense - you are behaving like an animal. And it is totally indefensible to do so.