Unfortunately when you write a post like I did, you get a lot of the same kinds of responses. They remind me of the shit we used to discuss in catholic grade school- “If you miss mass on easter sunday and then cross the international date line and miss mass again, is it a sin once or twice? ”

I had some good comments to the post, which help me fine tune the concept, but the comment by Ed Bonderenka is sheer brilliance and a great question. I would answer it thusly:

Watching video of Nazi atrocities or taliban beheadings is instructional. No evil intent nor evil commited by the viewer.

Watching other prisoners tortured in the same concentration camp as you, when you are unable to act in any meaningful way, no evil intent nor evil committed by the viewer.

Watching suffering imposed on others when you have the means and opportunity to act on their behalf, and you stand idly by, is evil as well. I do think it falls into the “enjoys witnessing” category, because if you see suffering, can act but don’t, you’ll have a hard time convincing me that you don’t enjoy watching it.

So to clarify and fine tune the three part litmus test:

it is evil to maliciously act or seek to act in a way that causes the suffering of others
it is evil to enjoy or seek out enjoyment from the suffering of others
it is evil to profit or seek to profit from the suffering of others.

Now remember, folks, the question is to find some evil behavior that does not fall into these three categories, NOT to find circumstances that mitigate these categories, we ALL understand what they are.