Would you stand by and let it happen?

Of course, it does depend on what you mean by 'hurting.' I do have a bad habit of speaking up and saying what is on my mind. Honestly, I have run into this situation before. And while what I have witnessed some would not consider all that bad, I still made a big scene and told the parents exactly what I thought. It has even ended in some fights before, but that is just me. I don't think I could live with myself if I just stood by and said nothing.

It depends on what you mean by hurting but if you mean abuse then I would do something about it. I would call the cops and if it was at a store I'd see if security could get involved. I wouldn't try to intervene directly unless I had no choice. The reason for this is it can one make the situation worse but also depending on what happens I could get into trouble with the law for it. That being said though if I thought it was life threatening situation I would intervene directly.

If it were something so bad that it was abuse (i.e. punching a child or something like that) I'd at least say something and maybe get really involved. If its something like spanking a child in public I'm fine with that. I don't believe kids can be raised without any physical punishment. Yes too much is abuse but a few good spankings never hurt anyone in the past in my opinion.