what should i have done in this situation?

[account_inactive]

You should have said "get away from me you crazy cracka"!

So I found a that's racist gif for whites. It's horrifying, as you'd expect.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Backflip.

[Minimalist]

In these situations I'd stick to what my parents have taught me, don't be afraid if you have done nothing wrong!

If you're a minority in 'murrica that can get you killed.

[LastPoet]

I'd call the cops, that you weren't going anywhere. When the cops finally came, i would ask the cops to identify her and that I want a report made on that for civil suit reasons. To the gathering of people I'd say the cops are on the way.

As to social anxiety, I had a mild affliction of it after I gave up heavy drugs due to my isolation after quitting. I solved it with the psych assigned by the NHS ( took a while, payed the moderation fee of 5 euros per consult), Worked great. The technician I used was well versed in CBT.

[vorlon13]

[Reforged]

yesterday i was on my laptop on a bench in a park like area, and this old lady comes up to me and screams "THATS MY DAUGHTERS LAPTOP YOU PUT THAT DOWN YOU THIEF!!" and it got real scary quick cus then everyone around was looking at this brown guy being accused by this white lady of stealing a macbook (i guess maybe they all look the same and she thought it was her daughters laptop? or maybe she was trying to steal mine that way?) but i got super nervous and for a second i almost gave it to her, but then im like NO! this is mine! get away from me.

and then some other people started walking my way and it got really scary i didnt know what to do. but i kept saying its mine and eventually she just walked away and said she would call  the police. :S

what should i have done in that situation? i have social anxiety and when i get thrown in situations like that it just really drives me insane.

Sounds like an old con woman looking for an easy mark. Confusion puts people into a more malleable state and embarrassment mixed with peer pressure would easily coerce someone to give up their prized possessions. When she realized it wasn't working she used calling the police as a reason to escape without alerting suspicion. If she was really calling the police she would of just used a mobile. 
Fight fire with fire. "Do you even have a daughter? Stay right there while I call the police, you can tell your story to them." Of course its hard to think with that much clarity in the moment which is exactly what she was counting on.

[Joods]

It's easy to think about what you would have done, afterwards, but in the moment? No so much. Glad you were able to get through it. She should be arrested, but honestly, she didn't steal anything, take your laptop, touch you, nor did she actually call the cops so other than her acting like a crazed person, I'm not sure what exactly they would charge her with.

[Aoi Magi]

In these situations I'd stick to what my parents have taught me, don't be afraid if you have done nothing wrong!

If you're a minority in 'murrica that can get you killed.

Being afraid doesn't guarantee survival either, but when one sticks up for themselves at least that makes one person helping them

[robvalue]

Thinking about this more, I'd say this was probably a scam. The alternative is that she's crazy, both in her conclusion and in her handling of the matter.

[SteelCurtain]

Maybe a scam, maybe an elder lady with dementia or early onset alzheimer's.

Either way, glad you got through it without giving up your MacBook.