Word: sadism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Since bureaucratic sadism is familiar to everyone everywhere, I was somewhat prepared for the denial of a simple request during the 600-mile, 18-hour train trip to Beijing. But I was not prepared for the sheer delight visible on the conductor's face when she said, "Meiyou, the rule does not permit turning on the lights before 7 p.m. and it's only 6:30. You will just have to wait 30 minutes...
Even today's comic books are not immune from the violent trend. While parents may fondly remember the dating shenanigans of Archie and Veronica or the wholesome exploits of superheroes, their children are now being offered a titillating blend of sadism and sex. A stripper was crucified in one issue of Green Arrow. Superman, in a story called Bloodsport, battled a deranged Viet Nam veteran who was shooting people at random on the streets of Metropolis with a gun in each hand...
Jurors claim that they disregarded the riveting tales of Steinberg's sadism told by Nussbaum, who testified for the prosecution in return for dismissal of all charges against her. To many who followed the trial with horror, the question of her complicity in Lisa's death -- and in her own degradation -- remained unanswered. Even observers who were moved by Nussbaum's condition were appalled by her testimony that she did nothing when she suspected that the girl had been sexually abused...
Take on Johnny Carson? Don't make us laugh. Failed challengers to the Tonight show king have piled so high in recent years that noting them has become an exercise in sadism. The surprise last week was that Pat Sajak, whose late-night talk show on CBS debuted to friendly reviews and better-than- expected ratings, proved instantly that he is the man to beat as Johnny's spiritual heir...
...superpowers, he proved quite helpless against the onslaughts of Dr. Fredric Wertham, onetime senior psychiatrist for New York City's department of hospitals and author of a widely read anticomics diatribe, Seduction of the Innocent (1953). Though much of Wertham's crusade was a commendable attack on the sadism in crime and horror comics, he denounced Superman before legislative committees on rather dubious political grounds. He attached weighty significance to the derivation of the name from Nietzsche, and to Nietzsche's supposed popularity among the Nazis. Wrote Wertham: "Superman (with a big S on his uniform -- we should, I suppose...