Word: contemptible
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...already has the disquieting gift of lowering the temperature of any room he enters. He is armed, by birth and training, with courtly courtesy; it would be called charm, if he were human. These impeccable manners do their best to conceal two of the lad's salient traits: his contempt for people and his almost artistic curiosity in how he might hurt them...
...Among those rooting for Chen was Gao Zhisheng, a feisty lawyer who has represented underground Christians and members of the banned Falun Gong sect. Gao wore a "Free Chen Guangcheng" T shirt and spoke openly of his contempt for what he called "the gangster Communist Party" (even though he's a member). This fall, he was arrested on charges of inciting subversion. Arrests like these have sparked debate among lawyers about tactics. Teng Biao, a lecturer at the China University of Political Science and Law, says Gao's willingness to push the envelope has widened the space "for other more...
...With American kids foundering on state math exams and getting clobbered on international tests by their peers in Singapore and Belgium, parents and policymakers have been searching for a culprit. They've found it in the math equivalent of whole language--so-called fuzzy math, an object of parental contempt from coast to coast. Fuzzy math, properly called reform math, is the bastard child of teaching standards introduced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (N.C.T.M) in 1989. Like whole language, it was a sensible approach that got distorted into a parody of itself. The reform standards, for instance...
...deadpan skill at keeping his actors on the emotional reservation - calmly facing down emotional chaos. But what is really terrific about his quietly insinuating work - especially as it flies in the face of Borat's moment - is its (dare I say it?) compassion. He doesn't have or encourage contempt for his people. He loves them in the manner that Preston Sturges once loved his improbable dreamers - without sentimentalizing them but without forgetting that like all of us their misplaced passions are really kinda funny. And infinitely forgivable...
...Americans claim to hold our individuality, it’s disturbing to see how willing we are to put ourselves and others into constricting boxes of political identity. After all, when someone strays from any of the aforementioned norms, she is frequently met not only with surprise, but with contempt. When we hear about a gay Republican, it seems that our first instinct is to either call that person a hypocrite, or to pity the poor soul for her apparent “self-hatred.” Similarly, if you’re a black Republican, good luck convincing...