Light Vs. Dark

There is an argument going on in the world of Witchcraft over whether or not Witches should use "dark" magic, hexes, spells to return evil intentions to the sender, spells to cause an evil-doer (such as a rapist) to be caught, and even whether to perform spells on behalf of, and with the permission of, someone else.
I have even heard some of these people say that a protection spell is a form of "personal gain" and no one should use Witchcraft for personal gain so you should not protect yourself against someone's evil intent. Fact it, it's just plain dumb to avoid protecting yourself by whatever method you have available! You have smoke detectors in your home to help you avoid losing everything in a house fire. You have locks on your doors to help you protect your possessions from being stolen and to protect you and your loved ones from being assaulted. Why in the world wouldn't you perform a protection spell to keep yourself and your loved ones save???
Personally, I'm getting very tired of the white-light, airy-fairy, peace-and-love, play-nice Pagans who refuse to accept the darker side of the Craft. They treat the Crone like a kindly old grandmother who sits quietly in her rocking chair stirring a cauldron of hot cocoa instead of knowing Her to be a powerful and experienced Woman who holds the creative and destructive power over Light and Death and Regeneration. (Please note: "airy-fairy" is not a reference to homosexuality.)
I do believe in the Law of Return (whatever energy you send out returns to you) so I am not advocating doing nasty things with spellcraft. I remember reading, however, A Witch who cannot hex is a Witch who cannot heal– you must understand both sides of magic in order to perform either one with real skill. Once you have that understanding you can choose whether or not you are willing to perform a hexing or whether you want to ask Goddess for Her retribution on an evil-doer.
I think the reason many Pagans shy away from the dark power is out of laziness and self-doubt. They don't trust themselves and their intent, so they're afraid of the backlash. They don't really believe in themselves or in magic or in Witchcraft. They don't want to have to put in any real effort and work toward their goals. They're playing a game - "ooh I'm a Witch, but I'm a good Witch so you don't have to worry." As long as they don't challenge themselves, as long as they don't put their hearts into something that really matters, they don't have to put their money where their mouth is. They can continue to pretend they're a Witch, but they'll never be *Witch*.
Nature is not all-good, all-light. Nature has a dark side, a destructive side, a powerful force of regeneration. Magic has the same power. It takes a confident and strong Woman to accept the challenge of being Witch.
No, "dark" powers aren't for everyone. If those white-light pagans want to continue to play at Witchcraft, let them. They don't have what it takes and/or they deserve what they get if they meddle in the dark forces of Goddess power.
For those of you who want to accept the challenge, I have these words of caution:
1. Be very clear in your intent.
Goddess knows if you're just play-acting and, although She may forgive you and allow you to play your game a time or two, eventually She will force you to accept responsibility for your actions. If you perform a spell to have your ex stop calling you in the middle of the night, but, in your heart, you really want her/him to be: run over by a car and splattered on the sidewalk, have her/his intestines eaten by tigers, lose her/his job, have her/his child(ren) removed by Child Protective Services, have her/him be charged as a child molester and check forger and prostitute - then you deserve the backlash you get for lying about what you really want to have happen! If you can't cast the spell without excess baggage getting in the way, don't cast it at all.
2. Think about all sides of the issue before you cast.
If you get exactly what you ask for, how will that affect you and everyone around you? Think of Star Trek and the First Directive - the Star Trek crew were forbidden to do anything that might alter the course of history not only for the species with which they were interacting, but for themselves and any other species out there too! Native American tribes refer to the Seventh Generation - weighing their decisions based on how it will affect their people seven generations from now. That might seem extreme, but it gets you thinking in the right direction. Think too about what will happen if the spell doesn't work, if nothing at all happens. Can you live with that? What happens if the spell backfires on you? Can you live with the consequences?
3. Cue your spell to the actions and intent of the target.
Criminals are often the targets of hexes - the hexing spell is cast that the criminal be caught by his/her own mistakes and his/her own bad behavior. In one of Z. Budapest's books, she tells of a hex cast on a rapist by her coven. The rapist ended up dropping his wallet at the scene of a crime (or something like that) and the police used his mistake to identify and arrest him. A mirror spell, wherein negative energy is reflected back at someone, is just that - a mirror. None of your energy is added to that of the target. If someone is sending serious energy your way, that's what they get back. You are completely unaffected - your mirror shield just bounces that negativity back to them.
You can not have Light without Darkness, nor Darkness without Light. The challenge is to know the difference.