Not to say that the 17-year-old DIDN'T deserve to get his butt handed to him, because he certainly DID! However, I take a calmer approach to road rage than I used to, and most of that comes from being armed anytime I'm not at work or at home (and I at least have my gun within reach when I'm at home).
They give me the bird. I wave. What they don't know is, me waving at them is actually me giving them A WHOLE BOUQUET (sp?) of that special finger.
My dad, "I had a gun under the seat (legally)."
A lot of good that does if you're already out the vehicle!
Now, if they're just hollering and looking for a fight, I'm gonna calmly put the car in gear and drive away from them. If I can't move the car, then I stay in it while dialing 911 and wait for police to deal with them. If they start kicking, tire-slashing, or otherwise damaging my car, then I'm stepping out and defending my property by any means necessary, be it fists or firearms.
All that said, I'm taking the RATIONAL, CALM, BETTER-MAN-THAN-THE-PUNK-TEENAGER approach.
There are many times when violence must be met with stronger violence. However, I don't think this was one of them. If anything, my VERBAL response to this punk would be, "You talk a lot of sh** for someone who hasn't said much!"
Even then I'm not so sure about saying anything to him but, "GET LOST!" as I don't want to be fingered in court as aggravating the incident or "walking" a Disorderly Conduct/Road Rage out of the kid.
-38SnubFan