By Steve Rhodes
I hate the cliche of starting a story with a dictionary definition, but in this case I’m going to do it because “scathing” is the Word of the Moment:
scath·ing
ˈskāT͟HiNG/
Adjective.
Witheringly scornful; severely critical.
“She launched a scathing attack on the governor.”
Synonyms: devastating, extremely critical, blistering, searing, withering, scorching, fierce, ferocious, savage, severe, stinging, biting, cutting, mordant, trenchant, virulent, caustic, vitriolic, scornful, sharp, bitter, harsh, unsparing; raremordacious.
Oh please let’s start using raremordacious, I’m begging you all!
And why are we honoring this word today? Because it is the adjective used so abundantly in describing the Department of Justice’s “pattern and practice” report on the Chicago Police Department. To wit:
* ABC7: DOJ Releases Scathing Report On Chicago Police Department.
* USA Today: Chicago Police Use Excessive Force, Scathing Justice Department Report Finds.
* WGN-TV: DOJ Issues Scathing Report Of Civil Rights Abuses By Chicago Police Department.
* Business Insider: The Justice Department Released A Scathing Report About The Chicago Police Department.
* Sun-Times: City Bolsters Mental Health Training After Scathing DOJ Report.
* CBS News: Scathing DOJ Report Finds Chicago Police Use Excessive Force.
* Washington Times: Justice Department Releases Scathing Report On Abuses By Chicago Police.
* Washington Post: Chicago Police Officers Have Pattern Of Using Excessive Force, Scathing Justice Dept. Report Says.
* BBC: “A scathing report.”
* DNAinfo Chicago: “[A] scathing report.”
* The Economist: “The largely scathing report . . . ”
* Tribune: “[A] scathing report.”
And so on. All over the world.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on January 18, 2017