My honor...ish?

I teach the "tough" kids.  For the past 3 years, I've also taught the Holocaust, justice and tolerance as an end-of-the year unit that cumulates with a dear friend who is a Holocaust survivor coming to speak to my students.  Well, we just got back from our 3 week spring break (year-round schedules rock!) and I started my annual Holocaust unit, which always begins with a timeline of key events, a discussion over the book (or books) we're going to read in class, and some basic vocabulary. 

Enter my 10th grade class (one of 2 10th grades I teach, plus 1 9th grade) on Thursday morning just before lunch.  I've got a mixed group of students, about equal boys & girls.  Well, one boy was just NOT keeping it together during class, and this student has TBI so his impulse control is just. not. there.  I take this student with a whole shaker of salt, not just a "grain of salt" due to his disability.  He is also on my IEP caseload so I know him quite well.  Anywho...this student starts making very racist comments about Jewish people and the Holocaust in general.  One of the girls says, "Don't you know that Ms. is Jewish?" and this student said he didn't realize that, but kept on withhis comments.  I see two other boys getting very upset and telling this student to be quiet.  He eventually quieted down after I gave him the "calm/scary mom voice" and told him he was getting a discipline referral for the comments and I'd talk to him after class.  Class commenced with some other varied, lively discussion and the kids went to lunch.

One of the two previously upset boys came back after the class dismissed and said, "Ms., he did not need to talk to you like that, that was VERY disrespectful!"  I thanked this student and sent him on his way to lunch.  Little did I know that the two previously-mentioned boys and the other student would get into a fight at gym because they thought no one stood up for me to 'defend my honor' as it were!

Granted it's not the "Right" thing they should've done, but it makes me...well, not happy per se, but more...happy-ish(?) that they thought that they could stand up for me!