What is Hathos?
1.
(HAY.thohs; TH as in thin) n. Feelings of pleasure derived from hating someone or something.
—hathotic adj.
an effortless blend of hate and pathos. The word may be nearly 17 years old (it was coined by journalist Alex Heard in 1987.
Why pay good money and drive to the multiplex to obtain hathos when The Ricki Lake Show beams it in every weekday for free?
I feel that way about Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly is compelling in some mysterious way. You find yourself watching him the way you sometimes smell your own farts: it's disgusting, but you can't help yourself.
--Andrew Sullivan
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