"...rather than being a pest, mistletoe can have a positive effect on biodiversity, providing high quality food and habitat for a broad range of animals in forests and woodlands worldwide."
— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe
Turns out the the little misfit has enormous value after all.
Institutions deeply rooted in traditions and hierarchy can hastily dismiss their mistletoe workers and never count the loss in human terms. People drunk on their own power can treat their staff like pests to be eradicated.
"But mistletoe is also capable of growing on its own; like other plants it can produce its own food by photosynthesis."
— http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/mistletoe.htm
Mistletoe brings people together. (People kiss under it!) That connection, multiplied globally (over cyberspace, in this instance) sustains the mistletoe when arrogant trees refuse to lend their branches for support.
Long live mistletoe!
Shooting Down Mistletoe
