So, if I've read the previous posts correctly, Wildone you could have been charged with aggravated assault while the 'someone' would have been charged with simple assault.
People can be very viscious in what they say to complete strangers, I don't understand it at all. This 'someone' would no doubt have been just as upset as you if a third person had insulted his mother, so why would he think it okay to say that to your mother?
I think if any book influenced me it was Charles Kingsley's "The Waterbabies". I remember our teacher reading it to us in school, that's how young we were, and being quite impressed with Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By. If you think about how you would yourself and loved ones treated by others, it's much easier to apply tolerance and consideration.