It’s not his Followers, the Problem is Bernie

We’ve all heard of Bernie bros and many of us have dealt with them in some shape or form over the past few years. They are a passionate bunch who believe that revolution is the only acceptable form of change and, anyone who won’t go to the bleeding edge with them, is against them. The revolution or bust Bernie supporters are a specific kind of unpleasant. They are self-righteous, aggressive, and have no problem issuing threats, hurling insults, and just being all around abusive to others.

Sanders’ rivals have repeatedly called upon him to reign in his base’s aggressive behavior. Bernie has obliged, denouncing his more vitriolic supporters, and calling upon his base to be civil. This is fine and good but, in my view, it’s not nearly enough. And this is because Sanders’ admonitions will do nothing to stop his base’s bad behavior. Truth is, Sanders’ own behavior belies his claim that he finds his supporters’ conduct unacceptable. You may ask why I say this. It’s simple. Bernie, himself, is a bully and his followers are merely following suit. They are learning by watching.

Look at Bernie’s performance during the debates. When called upon to explain his apparent affection for Fidel Castro’s “literacy program,” i.e., indoctrination machine, Bernie was confronted with boos from the audience. These boos were a result of a very reasonable and specific fear. If you can praise part of the Castro regime, despite the atrocities, the murders, the cleansing of those who dared cross Castro, you are reflecting a certain attitude. The attitude is that the horror and atrocities were, in some ways, worthwhile because of an allegedly successful so-called literacy program. Now, setting aside the fact that I would argue that security in one’s personhood and freedom of thought clearly take precedence over improved literacy, this was not Bernie’s most egregious misstep. The most telling and frightening thing about Bernie’s defense of Cuba’s literacy program during the debates wasn’t its warped perspective on what matters most in life. Rather it was the way Bernie, himself, behaved in response to the audience’s disapproval of Sanders’ statements.

When faced with the audience’s dissatisfaction with Sanders’ attitude toward Castro, Bernie chose not to clarify his position. He did not try to persuade people of his beliefs or even work to help others understand. He also could’ve simply said “I made a mistake.” But Bernie is not the kind of politician who really demonstrates a lot of humility. Sanders’ reaction was to go on the offensive and attack. Bernie looked down at booing members of the audience and, in an accusatory tone, goaded them saying “oh, so you don’t think literacy is a good thing?”

This is fucked for so many reasons. I don’t believe for a second that Sanders really believed that the audience members thought literacy was a bad thing. Everyone, Bernie included, could see that no one would ever condemn literacy. What people were condemning were his warped priorities. I don’t care if the whole world learns to read. If we have to go through murdering hundreds of dissenting voices to usher in this newfound widespread literacy, I think most of us would agree, it’s not worth it. That is clearly what upsets people about Bernie’s comments. Sanders, however, tried to distract from this reality. Rather than addressing people’s valid concerns and assessing them honestly, Sanders made the far-fetched accusation that the audience members didn’t believe in teaching people to read. Mind blowing that a 78-year-old man would be this divisive and intentionally misleading simply because he faces opposing views.

This kind of behavior matters and it’s important to unpack it and see what is really going on. What Sanders did by spinning the audience members’ boos as simply a lack of concern for literacy in Cuba, is that he demonized those who believe differently than he does. It’s a tactic his followers put into practice every day. If you don’t allow Bernie’s comments expressing fondness for part of Castro’s regime, then you don’t care about literacy. It’s that simple. And that is fucked up not only because it’s a grossly irresponsible oversimplification of reality (so oversimplified that it no longer reflects reality), but also because it shows just how quickly Bernie can turn on someone who disagrees with him. It also shows that, when backed against a wall, Sanders has no problem going on the attack and accusing people of ridiculous and unfounded things.

So, are we really surprised by Bernie’s supporters’ toxic behavior? I’m not. It makes total sense that, when dealing with people who don’t support Sanders, the default response of the Bernie base is to claim that people are merely privileged and don’t care about anyone other than themselves. This dismissive bullshit is just a distraction and a dangerous one at that. We live in a complex world. We must approach it with nuance, an open mind, and an awareness that we often will not be right.

Bernie supporters can’t handle anyone believing differently because Bernie can’t handle it. That should give us pause. I, for one, don’t want anyone as the head of the country who isn’t mature enough to consider others’ differing views and respect them. This behavior is actually very reminiscent of what we’ve got going on in the white house right now. And for a guy who claims he is all about the revolution, he certainly seems like just more of the same.