Yeah, in the real world there are a lot of more factors to consider than just the wording. How threatening the victim/potential victim feels the other party is being is hugely important.

For example, there is a world of difference between a panhandler asking you "Hey, can I have a couple dollars" in a populated touristy area during the day, and the same panhandler following you for several blocks at night before asking you that in an ally. One is just panhandling, but the other is effectively a mugging.

Computers don't really have those sort of cues, so it becomes difficult to make reasonable comparisons between the two.