It's just how some people respond.
The single stupidest, riskiest thing I ever did was along these lines.
I was helping my mother bring her groceries home, and she'd stopped the car in the front of the house because it's easier to unload there. As I opened the door, a passerby (I thought) on the sidewalk stopped and said "Is this the way to..." and I looked in the direction he was gesturing and he reached into the car and grabbed my purse from the floor by my feet and took off running.
And I took off after him. There was NO conscious thought to the reaction, just a sudden, overwhelming surge of adrenaline-fueled rage, probably related to the amount of hassle I'd experienced the last couple of times I'd either lost my wallet or had it sneak-theived. It was like a tidal wave, just lifting me out of the car and setting me off running after him, screaming like a maniac.
My mother was terrified he'd turn around and attack me, or draw a gun or something, and she shouted for neighbors to call the police (this was in a pre-mobile phone era). Since my shrieks of "Drop that, you motherfucker! There's no money in there! Drop it, asshole! There's nothing you can use in that! DROP IT, MOTHERFUCKER!!" had already alerted neighbors, a cop call was already in progress.
I stopped screaming just because I needed breath for running, but I chased the bastard three blocks before he jumped into the back of an open van and it sped away.
The cops, when they showed up, chewed me out royally. "Never, EVER do that, lady. Your life is WAY more important than your stuff and you do NOT know what they're gonna do."
They were right, of course, and by that time I knew it. I couldn't believe I'd done something that stupid. I was just shaking like hell from the adrenaline reaction, I could only say, "I know, I know, I'm sorry..."
But I literally could NOT have stopped myself. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd turned and pulled a gun, but I'm fairly sure if he'd stopped and/or I'd have caught up with him without a gun or knife visible, I'd have done something even stupider.
I was awfully lucky. But I always reinforce the message the cops gave me: "Your life is more important than your stuff." It still gives me a shudder of anxiety at my own stupidity to remember it, to this day.
reminiscently,
Bright
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