Dating Advice from a Seasoned Novice

Almost eleven months has passed since I embarked on dating after not having done so for more than a decade. Thinking about my paramour's previous salient dating advice, I pondered what I had learned this past groundbreaking year. What advice would I give a seasoned woman who is ready to date again?

-Enjoy the process, even though it will have certain moments of devastating pain (and sometimes out of nowhere). Reawakening is a nice term for a slap across the face, a kick in the ass, or getting resuscitated. It means coming head to head with all of your obstacles-all those unresolved bad memories, poor judgments, stupefying decisions, entrenched resentments, nursed hurts, and other emotional issues getting regurgitated. Sometimes it feels like the biggest PTSD battle is with yourself over approval, control, and intimacy-all the time you are questioning whether it is him or you.

-Realize your support system may be invested in you not changing. Family and friends say they want the best for you but the longer one has been out of the dating scene, the more you become intertwined in their lives. In my case, my older women friends were especially 'concerned' about what I was doing, why I was doing it, and why I just couldn't be okay with being without a companion. Of course, this was done lovingly but it made me aware for the first time in years how powerful support systems affect the course of a potential relationship. I ended up declaring to my friends that I appreciated their concern but that I was going to continue to date, be sexual, and seek the possibility of having a male companion in my life.

-Decide how you are going to handle the demands technology puts your relationship. The hardest adjustment for me in this process was coming to terms with how much electronic communication has replaced good manners, polite behavior, and kindness with written bravado, callousness, and piercing personal attacks. And I am talking about myself here. Many times communicating primarily through this electronic jungle has brought out the worst in me and I am ashamed of things I have written in anger. Being raised pre-information age, looking someone in the eye and touching one another while actually discussing the problem was the way to diffuse escalating conflicts. With virtual communication comes more emotionally detached behavior. How easy it is to forget there is a person on the other end. The only good news is I've become adept at writing apologies.

-While trying to figure your way through the maze of defining your relationship, look at the behavior more than the language, both yours and his. We all lie to ourselves and others about what we're thinking and feeling, but most behavior is unconscious and revealing. Even if you're dead to the verbiage, your friends won't be. They'll be the first to give you feedback how your or your suitor's behavior is inconsistent with what is being said.

-Be patient with yourself, find solace and support where you can, and embrace that deconstructing and reconstructing takes time. And remember, the older one is time itself becomes a challenge. There's a lot of weighing and measuring in this process because no one is ever truly ready. More often than not the universe puts you front and center with your deepest fears causing you to question why even change. Thus change, even when welcomed, is anxiety producing. A friend of mine has joked I am going through adult onset puberty. Indeed, that is what is feels like sometimes-a hormonal firestorm of emotional and rational oppositions.

 So, why put yourself through this? Something in me wants to believe it's possible to gain great benefit from being an intimate relationship with a man. If you're like me, you want to experience, for once in your life, a good male/female relationship. It's always easier to be cynical and jaded but far more courageous to face one's vulnerabilities. Does great risk reap great rewards? We'll see....

Dating Advice from a PhD

The other day I was speaking with my occasional PhD lover who, in his own inimitable way, was sincerely trying to advise my on 'how to get a boyfriend'. In his evaluation of my dating skills, he felt I may not be adequately communicating my passion to men about sex. What makes his hubris more compelling is that he is five years my junior and I have much more sexual experience than he. Obviously, he thought he knew better. His amusing suggestion: when I am ready to let my suitor know that I am ready to commence sexual activity, I fondle his penis. "Polite men wait for you to give him a little stroking in order to get the go ahead signal...really." What? Yes, my PhD informed me that this is now the acceptable method of signaling sexual intent.

When he first emailed his advice to me, I thought he joking and laughed heartily at the thought of me grabbing some guys privates to encourage copulation. I told my PhD I thought I knew more subtle and less overt ways of beginning the romance. Besides, that form of 'signaling' is prone to misinterpretation. Nowadays women can be prosecuted for these kinds of boundary violation misdemeanors, though the likelihood of a successful verdict is slim. What I was more concerned about was possibly being viewed as a desperate, poorly controlled vamp who wants it and wants it NOW. My guess is the male fantasy of this hits the emasculating reality of a dominating female pressuring the uncertain man causing his peter to go kaput. Is it just me or am I off base thinking men feel more secure when they initiate sex? It's not that I think women should passively wait, but I see it as a mutual dance.

Not feeling sure of my assessment, I put it to the test at Thanksgiving dinner with my Minnesota friends. Their reaction was the same as mine: they thought my PhD love was joking. When I revealed he was not, they thought it was the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard. Minnesotans may not be the best barometer of courting behavior but they are savvy to the nature of fostering intimacy. Needless to say, it was a hands down 'no' from the Midwest group.

This invites questions about men's sexuality and the changing strata of courtship in the 21st century.  I see men as more fragile sexually and have witnessed how instilling confidence affects performance. It has always been my experience it is best to let the man take the lead in the sexual arena. This probably will elicit groans and outrage from my more feminist of colleagues but I always felt men I have been sexual with gain confidence from initiating. Plus, it is a turn on to me to have men want to chase me. Conversely, when I have taken more of the initiative, the sex has usually fallen flat. Then there are the other issues of being viewed as easy, a slut, a whore, and promiscuous. In some ways, I want to believe there is a biological basis for this-that it's not just falling back into the same old comforting roles.

My Thanksgiving Prayer

I am grateful
In this present moment
To be with you, cherished friends and family
On this day of prosperity.

I am grateful
For all of our ancestors
Who bore burdens and strife
To bring us to this point in time.

I am grateful
For the great abundance and opportunity
Creating the freedom to actualize our dreams
And contribute to the welfare of humanity.

I am grateful
For simple pleasures,
Serendipity, the kind gesture,
And the touch of grace which whispers joy.

I am grateful
For the comforting call,
The supportive word, the reassuring hug and
Knowing you will always be there.

I am grateful
For saying hello, knowing how to say good bye
Embracing change with courage and
Being inspired by creativity and clarity.

I am grateful
For all those we love,
All those who love us,
And all those who are still undecided.

I am grateful
For all that I am, all that I have
All that I give, and all that I receive.

All Orgasms Are Not Created Equal

While daydreaming back to my sexual encounter last week, I thought about the yummy orgasms I had with my lover and how all orgasms I experienced were not all the same. For some reason in all my years of being sexual, I never connected each climax as being a unique expression or an having individual fingerprint. But this year, after becoming sexual again after a long period of celibacy, I am noticing things about my sexuality I never really noticed before. Unique orgasms are one of them.

It has now been ten months since I began being sexual again. In this space of time I have been sexual with four men. Only one of them I have been canoodling with off and on for the past year. All of them have been good technically but my brewer lover is most exceptional. What makes what he does give me more satisfaction? Well I can tell you it's not romance, love, or great emotional fervor. This man and I are both INTJs-courtship with us is like watching two scorpions mate (which is ironic since he is a Scorpio and I have a Scorpio moon). But inexplicably what we do have is a magnetism and passion that defies rationality. Whether it is from a previous karmic relationship, compatible physiology, or just cursing pheromones, we click. Getting off with him is effortless-this is when I started noticing all orgasms are not created equal.

Back to my treatise on orgasms being unique. The other men I was with this year were good sexually and a had orgasms with each of them. That is when I started noticing how different they were. Of course, some were clitoral and some were vaginal but now I experienced a flavor to them. Here is a partial list of how I would describe some of them:
-slow, building, releasing
-soft, massaging, sensual
-hard, intense, explosive
-electric, passionate, riveting
-slight, mildly tremorous
-fast, furious, fulminating
-easy, pleasurable, ethereal

I could go on forever but you get my drift. Maybe now that I am more relaxed with my older sexuality, I can appreciate what people practice Tantric sex know: it's the process not the product. Now I relish the whole process.

But what about love? Isn't sex between two people better when they are in love? As women we are hard wired to believe this but that hasn't been my experience. However, it is a good ideal and I do believe love will hold a relationship together better than sex. However once sex goes down the tubes, it is only a matter of time that the majority of the relationship usually begins to irreparably
deteriorate. I have heard this story from too many ex-married men and women to discount it.

I can already hear the bellowing from my women friends about this blog. It is perfectly acceptable for women to discuss this in their private clutches, but seeing it in writing is another matter. After "50 Shades of Gray", I thought nothing would be taboo. But discussing older women being sexual is still novel.

The Coming of the Sagittarius New Moon

Are you ready for the Archer and his bow? Have you been wondering what the hell you are doing with you life and what are you waiting for? Then, this is your New Moon.

This Sagittarius moon is about seeing and perceiving. Look at the picture above and list what you see. What are you not seeing? What facts have you gleaned from the composition of the photo? What is the prevailing mood? No one has one hundred percent perception and vision. We are all influenced by other prevailing influences like culture, gender, race, religion, geography, etc. To make changes, one has to really see and perceive the unfamiliar path is the worthy course. That takes real courage.

When we look at the hard reality of our lives, what are we not taking in that is offering us the clues we need to follow? As the unknown becomes more magnetic, we get to glimpse the tip of the iceberg blocking our passage. Regurgitation in the form of obsessive compulsive habits, restlessness, avoidance, apprehension, and irritation often accompanies an awakening. Let's face it: the best awakenings are when we emerge from a near coma state. That's when our senses fully wake up. Awake, we behold the awe and wonder we could not previously see or perceive.

Leaping, discovering, letting go, waking up, seeing, and trusting are the themes of this New Moon. We are not the Archer but the arrow.

Advice for a Chilly November

Here are some delightful tidbits from the thepowerpath.com:

"Turn your fears into delighted anticipation of a great surprise that is supportive and satisfying beyond your wildest imagination.

Release the past, forgive the past, and dissolve old beliefs and patterns.

Drop the need to know, the need to control, the need to be right.

Trust the heart, be creative, and dream big! The sky is the limit.

Be excited and inspired rather than fearful.

Face the unknown with confidence and a willingness to have everything turn out well. Watch
Martyrdom. You are never the victim.

Get help when you need it. Your support people will be your best reference point when you feel lost.

Rely on your spiritual practice whatever that may be. Do something daily.

Be compassionate around others who are having a difficult time without matching them. Make a separation. Don’t be afraid to say no to what does not feel right.

Trust spirit and the larger order of things. Anchor the belief that it will all turn out OK."

As the day grows shorter, the light lessens, and we plunge into  the beginning of winter. Withdrawing into the darkness and cold, we may be tempted to use this valuable time of hibernation to obsess, worry, catastrophize, and harbor the seeds of doubt. 

Here are some more comforting words from thepowerpath.com:

" One of the biggest lessons and challenges for some of you will be to let go, really let go, of the need to know, the need to be right and the need to control. These three needs are needs of the mind and will derail you from the true power available this month. Watch the stories your mind tells you in the attempt to understand this great dissolving of the known container. There is a fine line between delusion and reality. The reality this month is the great UNKNOWN. Delusion is just another expression of “the need to know” creating a new story that you can get attached to that may or may not manifest.

You may witness those around you dealing with the UNKNOWN in different ways. Some will have a difficult time of it especially if their shadow has to do with their self-worth. Some will become almost manic in their creative new stories, some will withdraw in deep fear, and others will be able to walk that tightrope, keeping their eyes open, trusting their instincts, doing their daily practices and honoring the path of the heart.

This month supports the healing of our deepest fears. When the shadow surfaces, as it will for all of us, the discipline will be to starve it of any power by facing it with a “don’t know mind” and humbly turning the whole process over to spirit. This is allowing the heart to lead instead of the mind. The heart can face the UNKNOWN with way more wisdom than the mind can."

Choosing to be Free

This morning while doing spiritual readings, I ran across this from "The Daily Word":

'Today, I choose to be free.

 

Freedom is a state of being beyond external circumstances. I can experience freedom regardless of what I see outside myself. I choose to be positive in my thoughts and feelings, attitudes and perceptions. By choosing to focus on the good, I am free.

I release negative thoughts and emotions, and feel lighter in mind, body, and soul. I nurture my mind with ideas of health and well-being and experience the freedom of a balanced and productive life. My outlook is positive—I expect only good.

Freedom is a choice, a state of mind. By holding positive thoughts and feelings, I experience life to the fullest. Today I choose to be optimistic. Today I choose my freedom.'

How often have I been so mired in my own dramas and internalizing that I have lost track of my freedom of choice? That is the freedom to not engage, or forego, or to distract, to make friends with, and actively and positively let go, etc. How do I incarcerate myself with my own imprisoning thoughts? Time to dream, think big, focus on graces I receive.

Precision, Gentleness, and the Ability to Let Go

The lovely blog title was taken from Pema Chodron's book, "The Wisdom of No Escape". In the 4th chapter she expounds on ripening the qualities of precision, gentleness, and the ability to let go through meditation. What inspired me the most about this chapter is her explanation that Buddha taught there is kind of and "innocent misunderstanding that we all share, something that can be turned around, corrected, and see through, as if we were in a dark room and someone showed us where the light switch was. It isn't a sin that we are in the dark room. It's just an innocent situation, but how fortunate that someone shows us where the light switch is. It brightens up our lives considerably."

Isn't this a inspiration to ponder? My experience with Catholicism told me I began with original sin, something I spiritually inherited. It was a bummer to live with the fact I was destined to a life of sin for someone else's mistake. That is why I like the Buddhist version better. In her book, Pema Chodron offers alternatives to dealing with the sufferings of life through Buddhists teachings which speak to the heart.

"In the same way, if we see our so-called limitations with clarity, precision, gentleness, goodheartedness, and kindness, and, having seen them fully, then let go, open further, we begin to find that our world is more vast and more refreshing and fascinating than we had realized before. In other words, the key to feeling more whole and less shut off and shut down is to be able to see clearly who we are and what we're doing."

Pema Chodron is clear this is not a self improvement plan or trying to be a better person. She has stated that the desire to change is fundamentally a form of aggression toward oneself because our neurosis and wisdom are made out of the same material.

"The idea isn't to try to get rid of your anger (or whatever emotion is predominant), but to make friends with it, to see it clearly with precision and honesty, and also to see it with gentleness. That means not judging yourself as a bad person, but also not bolstering yourself up by saying, 'It's good I'm this way, it's right that I' this way. Other people are terrible, and I'm right to be so angry at them all the time.' The gentleness involves not repressing the anger but also not acting it out. You can let go of the usual pitiful little story line that accompanies anger and begin to see clearly how you keep the whole thing going. So whether it's anger or craving or jealousy or fear or depression-whatever it might be-the notion is not to try to get rid of it, but make friends with it. That means getting to know it completely, with some kind of softness, and learning how, once you've experienced it fully, to let it go."

What if my routine, deadening life could be infused with this sense of restoration? How would I be different? What energy would be rechanneled positively because it is not being zapped by my own critical, harsh, and protective ways? How would my pitiful story change by precision, gentleness, and letting go?

"This is probably one of the most amazing tools that you could be given, the ability to just let things go, not to be caught up in the grip of your own angry thoughts or passionate thoughts or worried thoughts or depressed thoughts."

Amen.

Homage to My Mother

Today is my deceased mother's birthday. For thirty-one years I have not have to buy her a card, worry about what present to get her, or attend another stressful family birthday event. Yet, not a year has passed since her demise that I do not remember her on her birthday.

My mother was a very pretty French, Irish, English Scorpio with the trademark dark hair and dark eyes. She also had the Scorpio sexual allure-she had six children. There is no doubt my mother chose a hard life for herself. At eighteen she eloped with my twenty-seven year old father who then was shipped overseas in World War II. For four years she did not see him. Because he had married her against his parents wishes, he ran away once he returned from World War II to Council Bluffs, Iowa, for a period of time where no one seems to know what he did there. My mother never spoke of this; I learned about this incident from another relative years later. It must of been crushing to wait all those years and then have your veteran husband disappear. The only consolation she had was living with her parents, her sister, Betty, and my cousin.

About a year later, my father returned along with the beginning of my family. My mother became pregnant with my sister, Kathy, and post WWII life resumed. Within a span of five years, my mother had four children. I was the baby of the family. Fortunately for her, her parents, sister, and my cousin, moved upstairs from us in our duplex to help out. It was truly a European-style family. Then, after ten years, my mother got pregnant with my sister followed by my brother three years later.   Though she loved my younger brother and sister, those years took the most toll on her. Just as she had a glimpse of a life without child rearing, she knew she would go into her older life saddled with teenagers. My mother told me years later, never to have children late in life (she was 39 and 42 years old when my youngest siblings were born.)

Growing up in a large mixed WASP/Polish amalgamation presented itself with constant strife. It was not just only the difference in cultures but the difference in religions. My father was a staunch Catholic and my mother and her family were less than tepid Presbyterians. Because of my father, we lived in a Polish neighborhood near his parents (who hated my mother), were raised Catholic, and we were identified with the Polish culture. Looking back on it, I can't imagine how much it must have affected her to never have anything for herself. Her life was solely about her children and living in a culture which was about my father. No one ever looked past her being a mother of six children living as a stranger in a strange land.

My mother was an intelligent and articulate woman with a high school education. She read constantly. My love of reading came from her. Had she been born in another era, I suspect she would have had gone on to college and had some sort of career. Instead, she spent her life living less than her potential. But that was the norm for women of that time. Like many women of that era, she was limited in her options to contribute more purposefully. This reinforced her underlying anxiety disorder for which Librium acted as a somewhat effective straight jacket. But it also drove her anger and depression deeper as it lulled her into a sad acceptance that her fate was sealed.

There are many things I am grateful my mother nurtured in me. She passed to me her phenomenal ability to articulate and do so under stressful conditions like legal testimony. Every week she took me to the library fostering a life long love of reading. But she also had great empathy and was always willing to help others. Because she was an especially good mother with small children, I have a fondness for babies (which is something because I am childless).  She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. Everyone liked my mother-she was a good daughter, a supportive sister, a perfunctory wife, an excellent friend, and a good woman.

For decades now I have lived without a mother. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have her for a few more years. I would have liked her to see how successful my life has been. I would have liked her to have seen her grandchildren. I would have liked to have spent more time with her. Even after all these years I miss her.

I once had a psychic tell me a dark haired woman named Shirley was always around me. No kidding, this actually happened without me giving out any information on my mother. There is something comforting to me knowing she is still around me.

Happy Birthday, Ma!

Do Nothing

My horoscope for today states I am to do nothing (my comments in blue):

"Do nothing (What??? Certainly there is something I should be doing.)

Weak, transient effect: This influence, although brief, can have a disruptive effect on your relationships (great, now I have another thing to worry about). The problem is that it tends to make you feel very lonely and isolated, as if there is no one you can communicate with (and that would be different because?). And this can be a self-fulfilling prophecy (all of my prophecies are self-fulfilling). Perhaps unconsciously you send out signals to others declaring that you do not want to be bothered. (that would be correct). You may get into a depressed mood that baffles the people around you, so they give up on you for the time being and stop trying to help you (I hate baffling depression) . There is a strong tendency to look on the dark side of life and to react much more strongly to disappointments and failures than to reinforcement from others and success (but the disappointments and failures make a better story). The best way to handle such feelings is to do nothing (What?). Don't take them seriously and don't make any decisions based on the way you feel now (Okay, now what?). " -astro.com In this techno age of instant everything, how does one do nothing? Are we even allowed to do nothing? Doesn't 'do nothing' equate with helplessness, victimization, passivity, or laziness? I always look to the dictionary for clarification when unclear: do-nothing  noun          /ˈduˌnʌθ ɪŋ/      1. a person who chooses to do nothing; a lazy or worthless person. adjective 2. characterized by inability or unwillingness to initiate action, work toward a goal, assume responsibility, or the like: a do-nothing government. -Dictionary.com See what I mean. Can anything good come from doing nothing? The Western world sees weakness in doing nothing. This is an age of sound bytes, clever quips, and reassuring rationalizations. The lack of motion is also akin to being indifferent and apathetic. We are discouraged to take the time, sit tight, and remain undecided. But there is another side to 'do nothing'. Do nothing can encourage an objectivity, a connection and trust of one's universe. One can do nothing by meditating, praying, and letting go. The hardest battles within are trusting oneself to 'do nothing', say nothing more, and forego. Our compulsive behavior wants us to believe the only option resides within ourselves to 'do something now.' I love this quote from "Women Who Run with the Wolves" on foregoing: "Take a break about thinking about the person or event for a while. It is not leaving something undone, but rather more like taking a vacation from it. This prevents us from being exhausted, allows us to strengthen in other ways, to have other happiness in our lives. Leave the situation, memory, issue as many times as you need to. The idea is not to overlook but to become agile and strong at detaching from the issue. To forego means to take up that weaving, that writing, to go to that ocean,  to do some learning and loving that strengthens you, and to allow the issue to drop away for a time." I am not going to start weaving but maybe I'll go to the ocean.

A Taurus Full Moon November 6th

"Full Beaver Moon – November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon." -Farmer's Almanac

This frosty Taurus full moon arrives November 6th at 2:22pm PDT. What do we get we when combine the Taurus penchant for wealth and beauty with Scorpio's sultry smoldering spiciness? A seductive awe-inspiring full moon that might melt the frost off our inhibitions. But before we can get to second chakra, we have to deal with the first. What makes us feel secure, grounded, planted? What needs to be harvested and what needs to go fallow? What is the next step? What is waiting for us? What fears need to be overcome?

Time to set down the old and pick up the new. The themes of this full moon are about being honest with yourself and having the courage to change. Facing our shadow side doesn't mean rejecting it. It means examining what deep seated beliefs are holding us back. Our shadow side is illuminating where we are and what we need to do next. Disliking where we are at is an important element to harnessing the energy to move forward again.

So, for this full moon, the sky is the limit as long as you can hurdle over what's keeping you from it.

Happy Birthday Scorpio!

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November-Guy Fawkes Day

"Remember, remember
The fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot." -Traditional verse recited on Guy Fawkes Day

So, who is this Guy Fawkes and why is he celebrated on November 5th?

Guy Fawkes
George Cruikshank's illustration of Guy Fawkes, published in William Harrison Ainsworth's 1840 novel
Details
Parents	Edward Fawkes, Edith (née Blake or Jackson)
Born	13 April 1570 (presumed) York, England
Alias(es)	Guido Fawkes, John Johnson
Occupation	Soldier; Alférez
Plot
Role	Explosives
Enlisted	20 May 1604
Captured	5 November 1605
Conviction(s)	High treason
Penalty	Hanged, drawn and quartered
Died	31 January 1606 Westminster, London, England
Cause	Hanged

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Fawkes was born and educated in York. His father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant Catholic. Fawkes later converted to Catholicism and left for the continent, where he fought in the Eighty Years' War on the side of Catholic Spain against Protestant Dutch reformers. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England but was unsuccessful. He later met Thomas Wintour, with whom he returned to England.
Wintour introduced Fawkes to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters secured the lease to an undercroft beneath the House of Lords, and Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder they stockpiled there. Prompted by the receipt of an anonymous letter, the authorities searched Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and found Fawkes guarding the explosives. Over the next few days, he was questioned and tortured, and eventually he broke. Immediately before his execution on 31 January, Fawkes jumped from the scaffold where he was to be hanged and broke his neck, thus avoiding the agony of the mutilation that followed. Fawkes became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in Britain since 5 November 1605. His effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by a firework display.  -Wikipedia

Guy Fawkes gained a resurgence in popularity with the release of the film, "V for Vendetta":

"V for Vendetta is a 2006 American-German political thriller film directed by James McTeigue and written by the Wachowskis, based on the 1982 Vertigo graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. Set in the United Kingdom in a near-future dystopian society, Hugo Weaving portrays V—an anarchist freedom fighter who stages a series of terrorist attacks and attempts to ignite a revolution against the brutal fascist regime that has subjugated the United Kingdom and exterminated its opponents in concentration camps. Natalie Portman plays Evey, a working class girl caught up in V's mission, and Stephen Rea portrays the detective leading a desperate quest to stop V." -Wikipedia

This is my kind of holiday. We are celebrating a rebellious freedom fighter anarchist leading a socialist movement to take back civil rights from an oppressive government by bombing the seat of authority. What a minute, wouldn't he also be considered a terrorist?