quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:

quote:

Originally posted by Eponym:
I am not a doctor, but I know that people who have no experience or training (and/or who have limited mental capacity) will go into survival mode (fight or flight) when they feel threatened. They will literally not think rationally; that's a different part of the brain.

This does not excuse stupid thought or behavior.

So will drug addicts who are threatened at spending time in jail as that interferes with their getting high. They will fight, kill anyone who gets in the way of their next high. Yep, not rational thought but rational thought hasn't been part of their life for a long time. Bad life choices compounded by more bad decisions.

Not "rational thought"? Check out this woman's behavior prior to doing the shooting. Consider what she said (about someone else being the threat) and did leading up to her attempt to evade arrest. She had and used plenty of time to consider her options. She decided that drawing a handgun, shooting an officer and running were the course of action that best suited her desire to evade arrest, then she acted on that decision. It was very much a "rational" decision on her part, just a decision that some don't consider as being "rational" because they (us) don't have the same value system that she does. In her world view, a cop's life is of less value than her freedom. In ours, the officers' lives are more important.