It really is part of the game.
It doesn't need to be fixed and you have the same options as everyone else. You can Revenge them and maybe get back what they took. You can Zap someone else or you can just move on and play the game. Zapping DE has to be the most inefficient way to get DE but I can see doing it if I am a few hundred short of an upgrade and I have the Zaps available.
You don't like it and that's the bottomline. Some people love it and constantly use the strategy and good for them. Its a game. There are no rules or honor code. You attack/farm/war your way and let everyone else decide how they want to play.