Yeah. A lot of times the things people say are so stupid. Like if someone attacks someone and they fight back the attacker's all like "How dare you defend yourself!"
Yeah... dumb...
I can give you a real life example. At my store, my department is near an exit. We aren't allowed to ask if someone has a receipt, because that is the person at the word's job, and we cannot pursue once thry have left the store. One time, this guy was in a big hurry with nothing bagged in thr cart and my coworker goes after him. They are outside the store when he catches up to ask if he has a receipt. The guy just let's go of the cart and walks away.
The weak-willed ones, the first-timers, and the one riddled with guilt might actually back off. Or you just have to be a two-hundred plus pound black dude when asking. I know they would have walked right past me. I'm good for "mother's disappointment."
This made me laugh so hard, "mother's disappointment". The only thing I have going for me is I'm regularly taller by half a foot (or more) than any adult I have to work with, so while I don't purposefully intimidate them...it can happen sometimes. Especially if I'm wearing heels.
Height goes a long way. Tall people only surprise me though. My dad's a big dude (average height) but we are close to a family with boys over six-two. The one at six-five intentionally slumps over to seem less intimidating. The taller the guy is, the more he is like a teddy bear than a grizzly, in my experience.
It's more of a notice that they see you, so you might as well give up because they've got weapons and are coming for your ass.
I can never understand why one would say "stop thief!" When they ain't gonna even try to stop them and think that just saying "stop blah blah" is actually gonna make the person stop