Shame is the day when self-respect is confused with political correct bias. To lose control of your self is to disrespect yourself, and to show your rear where it rightly shouldn't be shown.
You also should never undermine a man in his own house IMO. He was in that man's house, no matter how big of an ass that man might have been. If the master of the house tells you to keep off the furniture, you keep off the furniture. If this disrespects you, get the hell out of that man's house.
Having to out-bully the bully is such a representation of personal insecurity from my experience. If you are secure in your being, who cares what some charlatan, or idiot thinks? When we give credence to the "idiot" we are disrespecting ourselves. You can never claim to have self respect while choosing situations that disrespect yourself.

Regardless, it obviously isn't a sign of restraint to react in the way the OP did. I don't buy the boys getting into a scrapple response..it is meat headed. It is not how men behave, nor how I expect men to behave. I have no tolerance for men refusing to act as men... which admittedly is very non-politically correct. Men don't demand respect with force, they command it with their presence. My father taught me that.