Hmmm, last week I discarded the coffee mug that had the Punisher symbol on it, in favor of something more friendly. But this acrosstic still needed to be made, and it triggered someone on X to give me their definition of what a punisher actually is: created by a heart-breaking event in their lives, like losing one's entire family in a very violent way. A good fictional example of a punisher story is the movie Law Abiding Citizen.
But there is alays a conscious choice involved. At any one time you could avoid being a punisher, or even avoid becoming one altogether. And of course I hope you will never end up in a situation where you feel you must punish those responsible with extreme prejudice!