Who replaced my son with this neocon?

The conversation below happened while carving the Halloween pumpkin. (It will help to know ahead of time that the reference to "Swiper" relates to a sneaky cartoon character from the children's show "Dora, the Explorer.")

Lad: Oh no, Swiper is stealing our pumpkin!
Dad: Oh no, we should stop him!
Lad: Swiper, no swiping! You say it too, Dad!
Dad: Swiper, no swiping!
Lad: That stopped him.
[Beat.]
Oh no, he's trying to steal again.
[More scolding of Swiper. Moment passes.]
Lad: Dad, I pushed Swiper down the stairs.
Dad: WHAT? Why would you do that?
Lad: He wouldn't stop swiping.
Dad: Well, we don't hurt people. It's okay to stop people from doing bad things, but we don't hurt them.
[He steps out of the room, then pops his head back in.]
Lad: You're wrong dad. If people are doing something bad, you have to hurt them.
[Fretful overreaction from father ensues.]

How the hell does this get in the mind of a three year old? It's not so much that I worry about his values. I think that what's going on is actually a kind of testing out of different ideas. Still, it's terribly jarring to hear this normally kind child make a statement like this with such clarity.