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I don't think that there is anything wrong with being averse to this kind of behavior. Quite frankly my first reaction is distaste as well. But what we need to do is step back and examine the actions from outside our own cultural view (if that is possible).
Stating that what these people deserve is a machine gun smiley is not exactly a worthwhile idea in my opinion.
The children are scared, yes. They bleed, yes. It is dangerous, yes. It is contrary to our system of beliefs, yes. But the question is, are we really averse to this because the children are in serious danger, or is it because this is a cultural idea which seems foreign to us.
A bad example, but here goes: Lets look at swimming lessons. I personally was terrified of swimming. My parents forced me to learn how, and I am thankful now, because I rather enjoy swimming. Now, was I scared as hell? yes. Also, there is a chance that I could drown. Slight, this is true, but still a chance. Yet we don't see forcing a kid to learn how to swim even though he is afraid of the water as a horrible thing.
This is a bad parallel, I know, but it conveys the idea adequately I think. We are shocked by this because our values do not coincide with it, but if we take it out of our frame of vision, and look at it from a different cultural perspective, it is not quite the way we imagined it to be.
That all being said, perhaps there are some cultures which have better ideas on raising children than do others, but that is an argument which in all probability cannot be solved. I don't even want to begin suggesting which culture's children are "better" because that is a worthless argument in my opinion.
What I AM sure of is suggesting that people who commit strange, sometimes dangerous acts should all be machine gunned to death because they are primitive.
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- Zen
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