The first thing I thought of when I read this list was "sharks." Sharks are usually very cautious in assessing their target before launching their attacks on humans. People who have survived shark attacks often describe being "bumped" by the shark, often more than once, before the shark suddenly turns and closes in for the kill. The reason is that a common 6-7 foot long shark is deciding whether or not to attack a prey that is very nearly its own size. The exception? When the shark is overwhelmingly larger than its prey. A 18 foot great white doesn't need to assess a 6 foot human before attack it. In fact, a human is roughly the same size and shape as the great white's favorite prey: seals/sea lions. Survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis report that the gathering sharks brushed against them and bumped them numerous times before concluding that the prey would not fight back and they started attacking. These sharks were much smaller than great whites.1. Target selection
2. Target approach (movement to / wait for)
3. Final target assessment
4. Assume attack position
5. Launch attack
In the security camera footage that catches the purse snatcher in the act, the "land shark" spots his prey from a block away and moves in very directly and without hesitation. He has already determined that he is the 18 foot great white, because he does not make any kind of exploratory contact with the prey before making the hit. In other words, instead of lingering near the prey and "bumping" it, the shark has identified the prey from a distance, turned and closed on the prey, confirming assessment as it closes, and strikes without hesitation, almost not caring if it is identified as an approaching predator because it is confident of overwhelming strength.
In the sucker punch video, the shark is about the same size as its prey. The shark knows its own capabilities, but it is not certain of the prey's capabilities. Through non-verbal communication, it bumps the prey....more than once. Then, having determined that the prey won't try to reverse the tables and eat the shark, and waiting for the moment that will maximize the strike, the shark attacks.
Here is another interesting shark/human comparison..... Apparently, sharks that operate just off shore are territorial. They stake a claim to a certain length of beach, and they will defend it against other sharks. Shark specialists believe that many human victims who are attacked in the water near the surfline may be the victims of territorial defense attacks rather than feeding attacks. In studies, Sharks have been caught on video in the water along beaches performing threat displays against other sharks. These displays are very specific. Here is an image which shows the threat/not threat versions of the same types of movements:
In threat displays, the sharks extend their pectoral fins downward, hump their backs and arch their heads backward, trying to appear larger than they are. When an invader shark wanders into the territorial claim of another shark, the territorial shark puts on the threat display. If the other shark does not back down and leave his territory, the shark will attack the invader to repel it. This threat display behavior has apparently been observed by third parties just before a victim playing in the surf is attacked by a shark—leading to the theory that the shark may simply trying to repel an invader rather than eat a human.
This behavior compares interestingly to threat behaviors between gang members over territorial disputes—particularly the practice of puffing up and flexing and "mad-dogging" to look bigger or more dangerous. Also, predators tend to recognize other predators, but for almost every predator, there is another predator that considers the first predator to be prey. Orcas look at great white sharks and see a fish fillet on a platter. Hyenas have been known to kill and eat lions. Cripps kill Bloods.
One has only to consider these things dispassionately to come to the conclusion that A) 21st century humans are not much more evolved than early homo erectus; and B) predatory humans lack a soul, and are therefore not human and should be dealt with the same way as one would with any 4 legged predator—with awareness, preparedness, and ruthlessness—because predators are aware of their victims, prepared to attack, and ruthless in the execution of their attacks. I'm willing to throw down a $2 wallet containing $6 if it will distract an attacker and divert his attentions from me and to the wallet; and I'm not willing to shoot someone over the loss of that $6. But when the distraction is not enough to divert and attack, then I will be as ruthless as I need to be in my own defense. In the meantime, I try to consciously exist in Condition Yellow whenever I step outside my house so that I might be able to recognize a predator in time to have options.