Word: tabooed
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...tell you how many times I have seen people—who apparently have no problem blacking out, puking in a toilet bowl, and hooking up with utter strangers—shudder with horror and righteous indignation when someone mentions smoking weed. Of course, this silly taboo among Harvard students is not surprising; it reflects the deep-seated double-standard about alcohol and marijuana use that exists in American society as a whole...
What is the role of the state in all this? The problem in France is that once you make an error it becomes a taboo. The wealth tax was a mistake, but you can't touch it in case it provokes negative reactions. The 35-hour workweek was also an error, but don't touch it. The right doesn't dare go back on decisions taken by the left...
...sitting sullenly in the dock, Abu Hamza shook his head sorrowfully. Even a loyal follower could see no pride or dignity there. For the first time, Abu Hamza conceded that his president would never return to power. Then, in a cool, matter-of-fact tone, he broke the final taboo and began to talk of Saddam's death. We spoke of how it might happen: he was sure that the Iraqi government would ignore Saddam's request that he be executed like a soldier, by firing squad. "They will just hang him one night and announce it the next...
...President Bush, by contrast, appeared to rebuff the suggestion, insisting that Iran would have to suspend its uranium-enrichment program before it could talk to the U.S. about Iraq. And the response from many U.S. lawmakers questioning Iran's motives in Iraq underscored the continued taboo in Washington over dealing openly with the Islamic Republic...
What all of this reveals is that in contemporary comedy—indeed in contemporary American culture at large—there is only one remaining taboo...