Many of those were crime-related, or the so-called crimes of passion of the so-called underclasses, or an occasional Park Avenue disembowelment.

These are members of the so-called underclass - a hateful, voguish word used to describe Americans consigned to perpetual poverty.

It may also be too late to help adults in the so-called underclass.

Most disturbing of all today is the growth of the so-called "underclass."

But now we have a so-called underclass and there is more apathy, more resignation and less hope for the ones who didn't make it.

Rather, they will probably turn into charges of other government entities formed to deal with the dysfunctional behavior associated with the so-called underclass.

Not only the so-called underclass, but also the working poor, white and black and even middle-class people.

But the Berkeley sociologist Harry Edwards, a consistently perceptive commentator on sports, has long predicted that the street culture of the so-called underclass would eventually transform sports.

People, he said, "can be very intimidated by young black males or people who seem to represent this so-called underclass by their dress or comportment, very intimidated."

If television shows depicting ambitious and successful blacks prompt some to blame members of the so-called underclass for their woes, it is not the fault of the creative forces behind them.