A woman and her daughter are driving. Another car races up to and perhaps around them. Driving recklessly in the daughter's mind. She reaches over and honks at him while her mother drives. The speeder pulls in front of them, forcing them to stop, and then gets out of his car to exchange harsh words. Then leaves. The mother drives home, drops off her daughter, and picks up her son, who is armed, to look for the offending car. They find and tail it for a while. Then give up, go home. The speeding car soon shows up at their home and both sides exchange gunfire. Mother is dead. Lesson: Just ignore idiots. There are too many of them, you won't change them, and they're often so stupid (and sociopathic) that they'll kill you for almost no reason. Not worth it.
So why do you suppose the mother pursued someone who offended her? There seem to be four reasons:
- A sense of saving face: She looks bad in the eyes of others, e.g. the public, family, or even in the eyes of the offender. She's been shamed. And she must now shame the other person.
- A sense of revenge: The other person wronged you. This wrong must be avenged.
- A sense of justice: Similar to revenge, but with a more cosmic sense. The offender did something wrong and the universe must right this wrong.
- A sense of enjoyment: Some people enjoy confrontations and fighting.
Enlightened people deescalate confrontations. This woman did the opposite. When someone acts the fool, why let them drag you down to their level? Rise above.
