You punch me, I punch back. I do not believe it's good for ones self-respect to be a punching bag.

Koch frames political and personal conflict as a matter of reciprocity and dignity: if attacked, he answers in kind rather than absorbing blows silently. The “punching bag” image suggests that refusing to respond can erode one’s sense of agency and invite further aggression. Read in light of Koch’s combative public persona, the line functions as a justification for sharp counterattacks—portraying them not as gratuitous hostility but as self-defense and a boundary-setting practice. It also implies a broader ethic: self-respect requires resisting roles that normalize mistreatment, whether in politics, workplaces, or relationships.