“Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for n*****s, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is inexcusable. I strongly advise you to go down and have a talk with Mrs. Dubose,” said Atticus. “Come straight home afterward.”
– Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. Atticus rebukes Jem for destroying Mrs. Dubose’s flowers because he is angry at her making racist comments about Atticus defending a black man. In Atticus’s code of morality, just because Mrs. Dubose lashes out doesn’t mean Jem can lash back.