Sadisticness

[…] the Gospel story. Also a certain sadisticness unpleasantly obtruded. I was then taken to my Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This time I was shown round pretty thoroughly; though my young guide was too hasty for me. After speaking a few casual words, he would pass as casually to the next thing.

There was a danger, however. They abetted sadisticness. They let us say "kike" and "jigaboo." They let us get beaten up.

The contempt I seek to exemplify here is our contempt (in this instance, our moral outrage) toward Graner.⁴³ Our response is directed not just to his appalling actions, but to directly evaluate him based on our apposite assessment that his actions reveal character-defining qualities of abusiveness, sadisticness, cruelty. Like Camille's contempt for Paul, I assume ours toward Graner is fitting.⁴⁴ Both cases exemplify contempt's evaluative nature: the contemnor perceives or ranks another as low in worth, as undeserving of full respect, and, crucially, this evaluative stance is relative to norms governing the moral domain that the contemnor endorses.⁴⁵ Camille's contempt for Paul and ours for Graner are grounded in moral norms that reflect interpersonal "standards of excellence properly applied to … persons."⁴⁶ While contemptuous regard is compatible with evaluating the target as subhuman, all that is necessary for contempt is seeing the target as lesser, as falling below some relevant baseline.⁴⁷ We see manifestations of such interpersonal ideals on persons, and baselines, not only with attitudes that rank others as falling short, but as well, with attitudes like reverence that appraise others as exceeding them.