Word: socialism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...with a hammer. I asked the children to get up and turn the set off. That's all I'd ever been told to do: If you don't like what's on television, turn it off. Then I realized that I'm a part of a whole, larger social group, and what goes on in society, especially in the television industry, is going to affect me and my family and my children -- they were small at that point. And I then realized that I should try to do something about this...
After a decade of reform that the Chinese had hoped would lead to steady economic and social progress, why had chaos and barbarity suddenly descended on Beijing? No answer had meaning for long. Even as Li and Yang appeared at Deng's side, speculation was rife that the Premier and the chief of state were dispensable. Rumors about Deng's frail health were not resolved by his appearance on television: his left hand trembled, his face was puffy, his eyes ringed with dark circles. But as he spoke, his words grew in coherency and exuded authority. At one point...
...many instances, the violence is fueled by easy access to guns, alcohol and drugs, particularly crack. Users often "fall into a sadomasochistic ritual after smoking together," says Terry Williams, a senior research scholar at the New School for Social Research. "They are angry, hallucinating, and get into violent fights." Crack can also leave users sexually aroused. When they do not find a willing partner, Williams asserts, they may be tempted to rape...
...have little sense of hope or opportunity, and feel they have little stake in preserving society. Boys often have trouble forging a masculine identity without one of the primary accompaniments -- a job. Teen unemployment is endemic among poor youth, running more than 40% in many communities. Meanwhile, welfare and social programs suffered drastic cutbacks during the Reagan era. Says Chicago psychiatrist Carl Bell: "Violence is the weapon of the powerless." Agrees Professor Leah Blumberg Lapidus of Columbia Teachers College in Manhattan: "It relieves boredom and makes a statement, like graffiti, that says, 'Notice...
According to Balzac, "Manners are the hypocrisy of a nation." According to P.J. O'Rourke, "Manners are a way to screw people over without their knowing it." Although 150 years separate the master novelist from the Rolling Stone nihilist, their contempt for social artifice is identical. The difference, of course, is that one of them has a savage comic flair. The other one wrote in French...