They are TAUGHT this. In a college journalism class several years ago, I showed my students a video of an irate woman screaming at a TV camera crew. I asked how we should react in such a situation. Most students said, “Don’t let it escalate” or “Try to defuse the situation.” Three black women erupted, “No way! No one gets up in my face and disses me.” “I’ll give it right back to her!” These were good students who, before this, I thought were nice and reasonable people. They are taught eye for an eye.
“An eye for an eye.”
After two, you sort of run out of eyes.
Well its not so much eye for an eye.
Its more of a disrespect/lose face/weakness/cred thing.