While I agree that a person may startle at pain, I know my first reaction is to move away, not strike back. I do think striking out physically is an aggressive reaction.

Things happen. I have had many accidental injuries caused to me by my kids, and I don't hit them when that happens. For example, being bitten by my 18 month old while he was nursing. He was falling asleep and I guess he was dreaming and he clenched his teeth.(If you think a parakeet bite hurts, try that sometime. Not fun.) Anyway, I did yelp, and startle him, but I didn't want to hit him.

I am hopeful that the op is working with the bird and will now be very careful to guard against physical discipline, reactionary or not, in the future.

Well, we can go into psycho-analysis re lashing out in shock, but we are not experts. What's done is done. The opening poster did not mean to hurt the bird and s/he feels sorry about it.

People have offered opinions and advice and now the thread is decending into an unpleasant aegument.

I think that enough is enough.

I keep hearing how pleasant everyone is in the parakeet section.

However, I also keep hearing how judgemental some people are in this section.

I know that some people were merely giving a response and not trying to be negative.

Let's try to keep things friendly.
I'm closing this now.