Word: harmless
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...most exciting feature of the new virus is that it appears to be harmless. In the lab, says Essex, it behaves much like the AIDS virus, infecting the same immunological cells (helper T cells) but without the "dramatic killing action" of its lethal cousin. None of more than 50 people infected with the virus have developed any symptoms of AIDS. Thirty have been followed for more than a year and have remained healthy, but, says one of Essex's collaborators, Francis Barin of the virology laboratory of Bretonneau Hospital in Tours, "we must wait for more time to pass...
Still, swearing is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a harmless way for anyone to release feelings of anger and recklessness. But swearing and then lying about it break two, not just one, of society's mores. In his attempt to fabricate an artificially pure image of himself, Reagan reverted to the fantasy world of a Hollywood sound stage instead of facing up to what was hardly a controversial...
...decision that saw such ordinarily conservative Justices as Sandra Day O'Connor and Byron White joining such liberals as William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall. The state argued that although blacks should not have been intentionally excluded from the judge-selected Kings County grand jury, it was "a harmless error." But Justice Marshall responded for the majority that overturning the conviction was "the only effective remedy for this violation" and was "not disproportionate to the evil that it seeks to deter...
...again, it's the context that's significant. It's true, as Mr. Ross says, that SI's swimsuit issue is pornography. It's also true, as Mr. Zucker says, that SI is relatively harmless. The fact remains that this single photo spread is getting blown far out of proportion by both sides (and perhaps, therefore, this response is doomed to futility...
Zucker is right when he says that SI has "just given us what we asked for." And the fact that this harmless issue is, in fact, so harmless, by comparison, is closer to what is truly wrong with our society...