the children calling people out

I guess that the children were considered "clean" and "unaffected" by the "decadent past" (i.e. the previous socio-political system) and they were easy to indoctrinate, so that's why the Khmer Rouge recruited them. Families were banned and the children were taken away from their parents, which made the indoctrination easier.

Intellectuals and those who didnt have working class background were considered class enemies. The KR were simple-minded peasants who used very primitive methods to identify them. Many people were killed just for wearing glasses.

I guess that checking one's hands is one of those "methods". If they were nice and clean, that would mean that the person has never done any manual work. At least that's how I understand that scene.

I too think that the plastic bags were used to save bullets. The KR philosophy was "To keep you is no gain, to lose you is no loss", so why to waste precious ammo just to kill some "worthless flies".

I dont' have an explanation about the guy on the wagon. I don't remember the scene clearly. Maybe they shot him because he owned an ox? Private property was banned.

Maybe this scene is taking place in a period when the KR was begining it's rule over the country, so there were still remains of private property here and there. Not sure.

I actually saw somebody do that on a small airplane to Fresno. The Man said to the Woman next to me "You have nice hands"

She said "Thank You"

He said "You haven't done an honest day's work in your life"

I'm not sure about the wagon, but I thought the hands scene was simply that his hands weren't dirty enough, and she believed he was slacking. they basically found any excuse to execute people. it's quite a disturbing scene.

as someone also noted, people were killed for simply wearing glasses.