I still very much love the ideas of Bernie Sanders, but I quickly became burned out in 2016 by the way SOME of his loudest online supporters indulge in conspiracy theories and, even worse, cannot seem to let go of past grievances. (If you’re about to jump to the comments about how OTHER people cannot let go of the past, please wait! Read on, I think this point is important.)
In fact, I fear that last point is pretty harmful to Bernie’s road to the nomination and unifying the party against Trump if he is the nominee.
There’s a diary here today that I think is the exact opposite of what I would do if I was currently a Bernie Sanders supporter. The writer says he isn’t a Bernie Sanders supporter but the entire point of the diary is “dark comedy” to make fun of people who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 and still do not trust or like Bernie Sanders.
In the comments, someone points out how unpleasant some of Bernie’s online supporters can be to those who don’t agree with them, and the reply to that is extremely telling of the problem I fear we face:
How dare they react unfavorably to the unpleasant zealots who still blame Sanders for 2016?
Supporters of Bernie Sanders: your guy is the front runner in many of the polls! He's the big dog now! Enjoy that!
But please also consider that if he wins the nomination, you will need the support of the people you are arguing with and calling names!
These are Democrats who want a Democrat to win! Bernie Sanders is running as a Democrat and he has supported policies to the left of the Democratic party for his entire life, so you want these people to want to vote for him, right?
And most of them probably would, even if they HATE him… but, you really don’t want them to be “on board” solely because you can taunt them with “well, are you going to vote for Trump?”
You should want them to become enthusiastic advocates for his policies, too! His policy ideas are great!
And if he’s elected President, he can’t just snap his fingers and everyone gets free college and free healthcare. There will be HUGE forces in Congress working against his goals!
You’re going to need EVERY LEFT LEANING PERSON YOU CAN GET to push on Congress to actually get even some of his ideas enacted!
AN IMPORTANT DIGRESSION ABOUT SOMETHING I STRONGLY BELIEVE:
Before I finish, I want to share something I strongly believe about promoting your candidate that really ties into what I’m saying here:
When you post a diary or a comment or a Tweet online, it isn’t just for the people who respond, it’s mostly for the people who are PASSIVELY WATCHING. How many people come to this site and ONLY READ?? Way more than post, right?
So when you get pulled into a name calling contest over whether Bernie is a millionaire, you might think you’re “winning” because of your “sick burn” on that “dumb Hillbot,” but to the people who are watching — especially those who still love Hillary Clinton -- you’re really losing. They see “yet another” Bernie Sanders supporter “acting like a jerk.”
You are NOT HELPING the cause!
MY ADVICE FOR SUPPORTERS OF THE FRONT RUNNER:
Ignore the trolls and those who cannot let go of the past! You’re living in the NOW! Heck, you’re living in the FUTURE!
Focus on promoting Bernie and his ideas through positive promotion!
You want to ATTRACT more supporters, and you don’t attract people to your cause by people an asshole, even if someone else was an asshole first!
So, if someone posts something dumb or inflammatory, either ignore them OR, even better, respond with a positive fact about Bernie or his platform: “Did you know Bernie’s plan calls for XX million Americans to get complete health care coverage in the first...” Use their trolling as an opportunity to promote Bernie in a positive way.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT TAKE THE BAIT!
Remember, when you post online, a lot of people are WATCHING.
Just my two cents from someone who actually wants to support Bernie Sanders, and will happily vote for him in the general if he’s the nominee, and would love to see his agenda enacted.