Over the past few days especially, it’s been clear that Sony is doing a “hack” job recovering from the cyber attack on their server.

After the announcement of “The Interview,” North Korea has warned of ramifications following the release of the film, starring Seth Rogan and James Franco as CIA-recruited journalists given the mission of assassinating the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.

Already under a lot of heat, Sony then took another blow, where their server was hacked and many files, including private emails of high executives in the company, were leaked to the public.

I started to feel badly for the corporation. When I heard that they kept thousands of passwords in a folder labeled “Password,” any sympathy I had dissipated.

Now, following their pull of the forthcoming release of “The Interview,” I feel even less for the company.

Is this going to be the precedent now? Any time that there are threats, we are going to simply obey the demands of terrorists like puppets on a string? Is all artwork going to be censored now to conform and make everyone happy? Is all offensive artwork simply going to be removed and swept under the rug?

Perhaps that’s a bit far to the opposite end of the spectrum that we’re at now, but by setting the precedent, Sony could start something that could quickly grow out of control. Before we know it, artwork will no longer make us think–even if it is a slapstick comedy about the death of a communist dictator.

Art was never made to be safe. If you’re looking at a piece of modern art, and find nothing difficult or uncomfortable about it,  you aren’t looking at it the right way. For Sony to endorse that school of thought by pulling the film is detestable.

I understand that Sony is trying to recover from the attack, and respond to the threats made against them by the hackers. I understand that the prospect of 9/11 style terrorist attacks against theaters that will be carrying the movie is itself an act of terrorism, especially for those who remember the attack on the World Trade Center more vividly than I do.

However, in light of more recent allegations by the U.S. government that North Korea was involved in the hacks, that should be even more of a reason to release the film. I would understand executives at Sony postponing the release until they learn to properly disperse their sensitive information, but pulling it entirely is nothing short of cowardly.

Art has always been about challenging society. Let me give you an example: in 2011, when the Syrian revolution was beginning, there was a widely renowned political cartoonist, Ali Ferzat, who openly criticized Bashar al-Assad. The 60-year-old artist was badly beaten and left for dead by Syrian security forces who were working under al-Assad. Knowing full well that this might happen, Ferzat published those cartoons anyway. And he certainly paid the price.

And Sony has pulled the release of a $100 million film because a few compromising emails were leaked.

Well done, Sony.