The Latest Stop on Bernie Sanders' Stop Oligarchy Tour (Hint: It Rhymes with Zootah)

Last night I finally watched Inside Out 2, which made me cry, but not as much as the first one. It was interesting to see the similarities to a parody script excerpt I swear to God I wrote on my blog several years but can't find now. In it, Riley's head was invaded by triplets named Love, Lust, and Infatuation who were impossible to tell apart. Then Lust said it was his turn to run the controls, and when Joy hesitated, he whipped out a machine gun and reiterated, "I SAID IT'S MY TURN TO RUN THE ****ING CONTROLS." Great stuff. Why don't I work for Pixar?

Tonight I attended Bernie Sanders' Stop Oligarchy rally at the University of Utah just to break my parents' hearts. Being on a college campus again broke my heart a little. It didn't make me too nostalgic, though, because while USU has a few of those hideous modern cube-shaped buildings, UofU campus appears to be entirely covered with them. Give me the old yellow brick buildings any day. Anyway, I was indifferent to Bernie when I first became aware of his existence in 2016. I obviously wasn't going to vote for him, but I didn't despise him for being a socialist because I'd grown up a little since the days my parents made me believe Obama was the Antichrist. Now I regard him as one of this country's greatest heroes of all time. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is phenomenal too. They're leaders with integrity, character, and courage, the opposite of our president in every way. And their views only seem radical in this country because it's so out of touch with the reality that most of the world lives in.

This was one of the coolest experiences of my life. The crowd, the noise, the energy, the music. Even cramming into the train like clowns in a sardine can on the way there - everyone cheered when we reached the stop twenty minutes late - and walking for seven minutes to get to the end of the line added to the experience. It was worth foregoing my usual Sunday evening ritual of Kush Kubes. Though come to think of it, that could have made it even better. I also bought a shirt to make the trip worthwhile because I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to get in. I heard five thousand people weren't.

The five counterprotestors (excluding the poor kid who doesn't know better) looked really stupid next to that crowd pouring in, but none more so than this same jackass I've seen with his creepy AI art four times now. I knew he was several fries short of a combo when he wore a Pope costume while trying to disrupt a pagan gathering at the Capitol, but depicting the richest man in the world as Robin Hood is a level of delusion that shouldn't be humanly possible. I have to wonder if he's a double agent trying to make conservatives look deranged. Buddy, they don't need the help.

I got one picture each of AOC and Bernie. I knew they would suck (the pictures, I mean), and they do suck, but they're my mementos (in addition to the shirt, I mean).

Here I am with some friends from Cache Valley Unitarian Universalists who drove down. Of the pictures that were taken, this one makes my sunburn from sitting in the yard while working on my computer the least obvious.

Speaking of working on the computer, I think my AI training job will get me through the coming economic storms all right. Because I'm not an actual employee, the company can dump me whenever it wants with no explanation, but I should remain in demand as long as I do quality work. And I won't lose my retirement fund to the orange taint's stock market shenanigans because I've never had one. My retirement plan is to die young. This job also gives me the flexibility to attend protests pretty much whenever I want, like the one against the SAVE Act tomorrow and the one against everything on Saturday. With every fiber of my being, I exhort you to join your nearest protest on Saturday if you're able.

Anyway, here's a video of the rally from Bernie's channel, albeit without the opening musical performance by Talia Keys.