Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March is considered to be the worst treatment of Prisoners of War in World War II because of the cruel treatment the Japanese dished out. To most, their behavior is unbelievable, but it can easily be explained through a little background of the Japanese mindset (of the military). The Japanese started their soldiers at a young age, and they were taught that it was their duty to protect their country no matter what. Surrendering was not an option, as it brought shame and dishonor not only to that person, but to their whole family. The Japanese are very big on the honor of a family and maintaining a good family image. They take an incredible amount of pride in their work, thus they would not want to show weakness and dishonor, especially in war. Therefore, it was natural that POWs would be treated very poorly and cruelly. To them it was just part of the "game of war" so to say. With that, the POWs were marched from Mariveles to Bataan with little food and water, little rest, and threatened. This was a horrific experience for the POWs because they were exposed to deadly heat and were sometimes randomly beaten.
Though I do not feel it was right for the Japanese to do this, I also do not feel that they can be frowned so much upon for the simple reason that they had a feeling of necessity to do what they did. Due to the Japanese way, they had to do what they were told because their family's honor rested on it. In comparison, I would like to point out the idea of slavery. People traded slaves like they were nothing and used slaves for their own personal, selfish gains. There was no "custom" that said families had to own slaves or else be shunned by society and bring about disgrace to the family. This just goes to show how society is so quick to judge others before we examine our own faults. In either case, however, we as humans cannot condone what happens in any of the horrific situations that occur.