Hmm

Well I haven't seen the Vidoes (So your probably right)

But

I remember us melting army soldiers and tying them to bottle rockets way back when

:)

Yeah, but then I was a child myself back then, and the toy was still a proxy for other children, specifically the ones who beat me up every day and my mother forbade me to fight back against in any way.

The primary difference being, that toy army soldiers took it like the men they were, melting with the same fierce grimace they had when we pulled them out of the package. They didn't start out soft and cute, then thrashed around crying until they just died.

To me, it's the difference between taking out some poor bastard holding a rifle, and forcing a naked child onto a board across a pit.

But that's just me.

I dunno. I have to say, I'd rather someone work out their inner demons on a robot, than keep them clammed up until they go berserk and wipe out a classroom full of little Amish girls.

"A.I.", for all its faults, had a pretty good idea of how humanoid robots will be used.

Interesting point. However, I'd be more than a little worried someone doing this to a robot would be a candidate for "escalation" to the real thing. I'm thinking about how serial killers (as I understand it) are often cruel to animals before they "graduate."

I was going to say, "then again, since this is electronic it can report violence against it," but I remember how the EFF flip out each time someone posts anything about anyone, and I reconsidered.

Regardless, it's not something I want to see, and I think people who do it frequently need their heads examined.

Again, just my opinion :).

To me, this person who is torturing the toy has some issues. Taking your anger out on anything that resembles and animal is really sick. Go punch a freaking pillow.

Obviously this person wants to do this to a real animal, and who knows, he may have, but won't post that.

There are some definite issues there if one's torturing something like this. I can't see that there's any value to the behavior, nor any benefit to any species, so it's probably right out as acceptable.