"It's not our way", "but, it's my way"

"Not good for the tourist trade, you know"!  "Tell that to your Ohio friend"!

Is there another way to handle a situation like that?  I was thinking about that just now.  What if "Book" just stood there and let him even hit him.  Or dared him to hit him.  But not to retaliate.  Just to show that he wasn't afraid of anything that he could do to him.  Sort of like in the movie Gladiator.