Photo by RoxandaBear.

Is it kind of insane to spend $5,000 for a trip to China in order to gather “clumps of fibrous, multicolored panda poop” produced by Tai Shan? Sure it is. But it looks like the Post’s attempt at reminding us that people still care about the big fuzzy thing that used to roam the corridors of the National Zoo’s panda habitat has brought out a small, yet very vocal minority of Washington’s panda haters.

I’m looking at you, TBD. It’s fairly obvious that DCist’s editor emeritus was not consulted before you green-lighted the latest iteration of The List. All I can say about it is that it’s no better than telling a five-year-old that Santa Claus is nothing more than a concoction by corporate marketers who want to nostalgia trip adults into buying things they don’t need. I kind of figured that the Chinese would trash talk our beloved panda. But media in our own backyard dissing Tai Shan? I won’t stand for it!

“Tai Shan might bite you or bore you nearly to death, but he certainly won’t reciprocate your affections.” Haha, joke’s on you guys! That’s how he shows he loves us, by clawing us to death. You can’t fool me with your anti-panda propaganda. “Pandas are boring”? Yeah? Well, so am I, so it works, okay? “Pandas attack when hugged.” Yeah, an attack…of cuteness. “Pandas communicate through spraying urine.” (Uh, let’s move on.)

Look, the point is, he’s not perfect. And yeah, he does spend a lot of time watching porn. But Tai Shan is just like that guy who asks to spend a weekend on your couch, but ends up mooching off you for a month — he might be a lazy slob, but he’s our lazy slob. Or, you know, he used to be.