Well, self-defense is extremely time sensitive. If someone punches you and runs 100ft away before you know what happened, then you chase him down and punch him back, it's not self-defense. What would you think if there were a family down the street that didn't like your family for whatever reason and one of them killed someone in your family and there are no police/whatever services available to deal with it. Would you have the moral right to take something from them? It's a genuine question, I like the point of the blind quote, which I think is more about not getting lost in rage. At the same time, people are animals too and if you do nothing, it's the same as asking for more. It's an unfortunately reality.