Granted this was in highschool where bullying is generally different than with adults but there was a bully who loved to throw food at our lunch table because he thought it was funny. Telling him to stop did nothing so we just ignored him, it didn't stop but it didn't get worse, just a few French fries or the occasional chicken nugget. Well one day my friend had enough, threw something back, told the bully to fuck off and quit acting like a child. The bully then proceeded to beat the shit out of him before getting pulled away.

Sure my friend could've just come out swinging and then got expelled with no repercussions to the bully otherwise. Maybe my friend could've really come at him hard and really put the fear into him, but if you put someone in the hospital you're getting charged and ruining your life for nothing. Maybe my friend strikes first and settles it for the day but with this billy you can bet he would've just jumped my friend in the parking lot later. The only way to avoid a fight was to just ignore him.