Capitalist Vermin

Vermin

(ver-min) noun

various small animals, such as mice or rats, that are destructive, annoying or injurious; the vermin got into our feed and greatly reduced our stock.

Capitalist Vermin

(cap-i-tal-ist ver-min) noun

wealthy vermin, such as Mickey Mouse, who build their nests out of shredded $100 bills; it was a sad day when capitalist vermin purchased Lucasfilm.

I grew up on Star Wars – the good Star Wars.  The Empire Strikes Back remains one of my favorite movies of all time and the most profound film-going experience of my life.  I discovered the true power of cinema: the ability to transport and to inspire wonder and help people escape the cold reality of their own lives.  

I didn’t just love Han Solo; I was Han Solo. 

Creating A Crisis

Crisis

(cri-sis) noun

a time of difficulty, trouble or danger: creating a crisis generally gets you a lot of attention.

As I see it, the inherent flaw in human nature is our need to be loved. 

We can pretend that we are tough and portray ourselves as stoic warriors to the outside world, yet intrinsically, we need, and crave that affirmation from an exterior source.  The desire to be loved, cared about and made to feel special is part of our genetic make-up.  We want to be a part of something that is bigger than ourselves, something that defines us beyond our own narrow, self obsessed point of view. 

This need to be loved can get us in a lot of trouble.

In my family, when one is feeling unloved, we do something unusual – my husband calls it creating a crisis. 

This means we invent a calamity and then milk it for all it’s worth. 

Robbie and Dan's Bogus Journey

Savage

(sav-age) adjective

(of an animal or force of nature) fierce, violent and uncontrolled: a savage attack on basic civil rights.

Sav-age, Dan

(1964-) American author, media pundit, and journalist, best know for his internationally syndicated sex advice and relationship column Savage Love: I totally want to spoon with Dan Savage.

My full-blown love affair (entirely one-sided) with Dan Savage is pretty recent.  I’ve enjoyed Savage Love in the Georgia Straight for years, admired his strength of purpose when he founded the “It Gets Better” project, and have always respected his opinions.  It is only in the past several months that I have fallen completely head-over-heels.

I am fairly certain that it’s this new, more aggressive Dan we’ve witnessed lately that has transformed my dull roar into a raging howl.  His increasingly public clashes with FRC fuck-tard Tony Perkins and NOM Nazi Brian Brown have really got my juices flowing.  So, this week, when I was invited to attend a live taping of Slate’s Political Gabfest at Town Hall in Seattle with special guest Dan Savage I jumped at the chance.