One of us, One of us.....

So I was in a SnG, three people left, a timid yet wild player (the worst kind) third, me first and the Enemy second. I've donked off good chip lead after I gambled with 5,5 and won on an all-in play.
I knew, at least, if I just waited out the third player, I'd be in the money (these are shorthanded), then go to town on the other guy and try to take this thing.
This was after another SnG when I had J,J and went against 3,3 (huh?) and the guy sucked out his 3 on the river, so I was a little steamed, and yet, I played patiently and well.
I have A,8 and it's a short table, so I raise, and Enemy calls. That doesn't worry me too much. This guy was aggressive, aggressive, aggressive all day.
J,8,6 rainbow comes down, and I bet fairly hard, about 3/4ths of the pot. The guy goes all in.
I call.
He flips over J,6.
I'm out.
Wow. I played exactly like him.
That's the problem.
Donkeys are contagious. They have a disease called donkey-itis, and it causes you to make wild, even stupid, moves. It causes you to play exactly like them. It causes you to play like a donkey.
It's reassuring to look at those hand histories and see that, yes, the guy called you down with third pair, or he didn't have anything, or even when he had top pair with low kicker and currently is whining about online poker being rigged.
But it's also dangerous.
Everytime I see that, I find myself relaxing too much. "He won't have anything the next time I bet hard, so I can just bet hard on anything, and I'll beat him," my brain tells me.
Nope.
Players like that, in fact, are harder to read. Last night I played with two donkeys and two real players, and the solid players were much easier to play with. Every time they raised, unless I had a monster, I folded. I knew they had it. Sure enough, every time, they did.
(You could debate and say that they, too, were donkeys in a way, since you can't be that predictable either, and I would agree, but for the online world, at .25, I call them solid players. At least they understand the game).
I called one donkey's all-in when I had J,J and 10,8,3 came down, thinking that I had raised and he probably had 10 with a good kicker. Sure enough, thank you, $15 profit.
But that move has bitten me many times before, when a donkey makes a big bet and I'm calling, already counting my chips, only to watch them get snatched away by his trips.
In fact, I suffered a bad losing streak a couple weeks ago, and most of the hands played out like this.
Over and over, Harrington and Sklansky tell you to play the opposite of the people at the table.
Play solid, and you will win, at .25 NL
You don't have to join their stable.
It makes sense to me.
Why doesn't it make sense to my brain?