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.
My adventure began with a very sick friend who was lending
me her car. I have never witnessed
anyone leaking from so many orifices at the same time - kind of like when that
guy’s face melts in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Before leaving I drove to the Drug Store to stock up on “sick person”
supplies: orange juice (no pulp), Kleenex (with built-in moisturizer, 2 boxes),
Nyquil (night-time formula only, it’s pills not liquid), Cup-o-Soup (chicken
flavor), Half & Half, sugar and a chocolate cream pie – all the things you
need when you have the plague. After thoroughly disinfecting the steering wheel with Lysol and hand sanitizer I began my journey.
In New West, 10 km from the border crossing, I realized I
did not have my passport.
After the long drive home to get it, I stopped for gas and
proceeded back to the Peace Arch. In
line (the point of no return) I reached for my driver’s license and discovered
that I had misplaced my wallet, I had left it on the gas pump or on top of the
car. Luckily the US customs agent did
not ask to see anything other than my passport.
In Seattle, where my brother-in-law was fast asleep and did
not answer the door for 20 minutes, I called the gas station to learn my wallet
was safely tucked away in a drawer, turned in by a good Samaritan. If I could survive the trek home without a
speeding ticket, an accident or an over zealous cop sexually profiling me
(Carly Rae Jepsen was playing full blast on the I-pod) the trip would be worth
it – I was going to see Dan Savage!
We arrived at Town Hall to discover the venue was packed
(apparently my new crush has a lot of fans) and only found a seat close to the
back. I could see Dan – at least I think
it was Dan – and hear him just fine; I was close enough to my homosexual hero
to keep me sated for the time being. A
rather impassioned young lady was seated directly behind us and her erratic
“WHOOPING” and cheers were disconcerting at best. It was impossible to predict which topics
would instigate her sudden outbursts and on more than one occasion she startled
the shit out of me. I was determined to
remain focused and bide my time. When
the podcast was over I would make my way to the stage and say hello.
Oh no you don’t…
As fate would have it, he was up and out of his chair in
mere seconds, disappearing back stage, never to be seen again.
So, Dan, all I really wanted to say was thank you. There is seemingly only one voice rising
above the disgusting diatribe of right-wing nut-jobs and that voice belongs to
you. I am sick and tired of these
hate-filled extremists spreading their dangerous dogma and lies without
repercussions. I applaud your
forthrightness and your courage when confronting their ignorance and
intolerance. I am also thrilled that
you’ve gotten mad! I believe, that for
change to happen, more of us need to get angry and not back down when vicious
people attempt to deny us our basic human rights.
I am so proud of you for not “giving up your seat in the
colored section” and refusing to remain silent and be bullied.
Oh, and, I will be back in Seattle in November if you want
to grab a coffee…
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