Don't answer back!

I know nothing about the modern pop scene, but my attention was caught by the story of a girl pop group who were singing at a football match when they were subjected to foul-mouthed abuse from a section of the crowd. They responded in kind. Result? They were arrested and fined. Unfortunately it seems to be a commonplace these days that you get punished for retaliating, whereas the instigator gets away with it. Somehow it just doesn't seem right.