Though the need to confront evil remains as pressing as ever, Western societies’ motivation for doing so may lose clarity. After all, it is one thing to deliberate on the pros and cons of confronting external forces of irrational violence; it is something else to lash out against the producers of brutal, politically charged, and upsetting imagery.
伊斯兰国的毒害影像背后也是同样的邪恶逻辑。尽管直面魔鬼的需要与往常一样迫切，但西方社会这样做的动机可能不再那么明确。毕竟，权衡直面不相关的外部暴力势力的利弊是一回事；猛烈打击带政治目的的、令人不快的野蛮影像的炮制者是另一回事。