I think there's some middle ground here. Don't use it as your first or only tool to resolve conflicts, because it's a pretty shitty tool and will only cause you all sorts of problems that will negatively affect pretty much every aspect of your life if you over-rely on it. Buuuuut sometimes it's an effective tool when all other reasonable means have been exhausted and it's used with restraint. I would be especially careful resorting to it at all if you're kind of a loner though, because it can sometimes lead to situations where cliques will gang up on you physically, and these kinds of things can spiral out of control. Ideally, though, you've now established some respect and boundaries with your rude classmates and you'll be left alone now that they know you'll get scrappy if pushed too far.