Final answer:
People often find it hard to confront aggressive individuals due to a natural suspicion of strangers, the bystander effect, and the difficulty in challenging others' deeply held beliefs or biases, such as those stemming from political allegiance or experiences of racism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individuals often find it challenging to confront belligerent people for various social and psychological reasons. One reason is the universal tendency of humans to be suspicious of strangers, which might make confrontations with unfamiliar, aggressive individuals particularly daunting. Additionally, when witnessing something wrong, many people report a reluctance to get involved, stemming from a belief that someone else will intervene - a phenomenon known as the bystander effect.
Furthermore, seminars and workshops reveal that the defensiveness and unwillingness to accept new information can also make it difficult to address contentious issues like racism. This is compounded by emotions and a reluctance to burst one's bubble of beliefs. Similarly, political allegiance can cloud our ability to engage objectively, making confrontations with party loyalists hard.
Overall, confrontations are also difficult as they require navigating emotions, biases, and associations that can muddy the evaluative process, influencing how individuals respond to arguments and making it hard to confront those who may be belligerent or opposed to one's views. These challenges highlight the complexity behind why people might struggle to confront aggressive individuals in various settings.