Sinking to someones level or rising above it?

There might be certain things that you wouldn't do because you consider them wrong or unacceptable to you - they might not be wrong in the sense of "rules and law" and some of it might even be encouraged, but its still wrong in you book. However you sometimes find yourself on the receiving end of such behaviour and feel wronged or angry and have the power to give the person back some of their own medicine. - Do you stop yourself? After all there might be a lot to gain - you might be seen as standing up for yourself, or be able to erase / create impressions different from those created by others actions towards you. But to get there means having to stoop to the level of behaviour you yourself detest - is that realy worth it? The whole thing of rising above a situation sometimes feels highly overrated! - oh conflicts - how I wish things were much simpler sometimes.