I know a number of Bernie supporters in real life.

[yardwork]

Last edited Thu Mar 10, 2016, 08:56 PM - Edit history (1)

They are my friends and colleagues. Two of them are my sons. They are all good, kind people - strong progressives. Not one of them would ever say the kinds of things that are hurled at Hillary on DU. For instance, that thing with a brick.... They would be appalled.

I have no doubt that they will support the eventual Democratic nominee even if it isn't Bernie (well, maybe not the one son.... and one friend.... They'll probably vote for Jill Stein, but they were going to anyway.)

So. I don't know these hateful losers talking about bricks and do forth, but I'm not too worried about them. Lot of trolls on the internet.

We have two great candidates. The Republicans have Trump and Cruz.

[liberal N proud]

1. I know a few

But I know a whole lot of Republicans who are in a quandary!

[metroins]

2. I know some as well

My sister and her husband.

They're not actually nice people and are likely trolls on this board in the Sanders camp, but I think they spend more time on Reddit.

My mother in law is a staunch republican and she's a billion times nicer than I am. She spends more time listening than stating her beliefs.

I don't think who you support really determines if you're a jerk or not.

[yardwork]

5. Your conclusion is the same as mine.

I don't think who you support really determines if you're a jerk or not.

My point is that supporters of either Bernie or Hillary can be - and are - wonderful people. (I'm not sure that I could say the same of supporters of Trump, though.)

It's how one treats other people that determines whether or not one is a jerk.

[metroins]

7. Oh, I was agreeing with you.

Sorry, I didn't make that come across.

[yardwork]

8. Now I get it. Your mother in law sounds like a nice person, too.

I have a very good friend/work colleague who is a Republican. One of the nicest people I know. She just stays permanently sort of clueless about what the Republicans are actually saying.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Everyone is entitled to make their decisions, it is upsetting when some do not react well to

others choosing differently. This is the USA, we can vote like we want.

[yardwork]

6. It's not remotely upsetting to me that many people support Bernie.

What's upsetting is to read on DU that Hillary should do things with bricks, etc. That was allowed to stand by a jury, by the way.

[LisaM]

4. I know a few. They vary in tone, but are mostly pretty low-key.

I don't think that they are the type who are trolls or who go on boards like this and spew venom, but I do sense that they are responding on a very basic level to Sanders' rhetoric and not really interested in doing any deep digging. And - there is some of the "I know guys do {fill in the blank} but I'm not that guy...." syndrome, kind of tuning out that it exists because they don't act that way. I have this problem with my SO, every time I try to tell him about it, it bothers him so much that I'm trying to explain my feelings about a candidate in terms of his supporters that we can't have a discussion, which of course has the circular effect of making me more frustrated.

But, most of my Sanders-supporting friends fall into a couple of camps. There are the ones who always, always pick whom they consider the most left-wing candidate (the Nader set), and then there are the ones who are in reality more libertarian and like someone outside the system (for example, someone who was all over Ron Paul in 2008 - at first - but has obviously evolved from that and now, I know, likes Sanders).

We spend time in the San Juan Islands, and they are sort of representative of the camp that just likes outsiders. IIRC, they voted for Ross Perot, they went for Nader, and if they don't go for Sanders this caucus cycle I'll be absolutely shocked. There is almost no reason for them to hold a caucus except to build up numbers, though I do remember in 2008 there was one brave woman who defiantly kept a Hillary sticker on her van for a few years.

[KitSileya]

11. Yeah, the few of my acquaintances who were Ron Paul supporters then

are Bernie Sanders supporters now.

[LisaM]

12. So something about both candidates appeals to a certain mindset

I have lots of muddled theories, but can't pinpoint precisely what the draw is - what would attract the same person to Ron Paul and then Bernie Sanders (except maybe immigration issues, but I think it goes deeper).

[yardwork]

17. I see the same thing.

I believe that many Bernie supporters see him as a rugged individualist. He taps into this for people on both the left and the right. Younger people see in Bernie the DIY, anti-establishment values of the punk, anarchist, and left-libertarian movements. Older libertarians - especially rural whites - think that Bernie embodies their values: protect the right to own guns, self sufficiency, keep government off my farm. Older lefties love that he's Jewish and participated in protests back in the day; he reminds them of the golden 60s.

All these seemingly different people share a belief in the value of traditions that are a big part of our national identity. Each of them sees what they want in Bernie and for now, while he's the underdog, they ignore what they don't like.

If Bernie becomes our nominee, I fear that many of his supporters will fade away as they learn more. The rural whites in particular will run screaming from the polling places when they hear about the communism. They will line up to vote for Trump.

[LisaM]

18. What a thoughtful analysis - thank you!

In the event that it's Hillary and Trump (and I still, deep down, do not believe that Trump wants to be president, other than as an exercise in stroking his ego), I think there will be massive GOP women crossover for Hillary. Mind you, this is all a big "if"; I don't take her nomination for granted. But I think that moderate GOP women will not be able to vote for Trump.

[Cha]

9. Yet it is allowed on this board.

Thank you, yardwork~

[CajunBlazer]

10. Most of my friends and associates are Republicans

That is inevitable here in Alabama. I know not one person who supports Sanders. (Which is probably why Hillary won Alabama 81 to 19.) Most of the people here are conservatives because their parents and most of those they have around all of their lives are conservatives have been conservatives. However as a whole they are much more open than their parents on racial matters, or at least appear to be. That is even more true of their children.

Most of them are very good people, more than ready to help a neighbor in trouble. On the other hand most of the people I know are educated professional folks who have been exposed to the wider world. I can't vouch for the uneducated rednecks that also populate this state.

[Blue Idaho]

13. It's a democracy

Every individual has the right to support whoever they like. As others have said I have zero problem with anyone who supports the Senator. Living in ruby red Idaho I don't have much daily contact with the Senators supporters - but most seem pretty level headed and are far better than talking to any run of the mill republican teabagger in these parts.

However (you knew that was coming) when groups of supporters start acting more like the red guard than people involved in a democracy - it worries me. Revolutions are worrisome things. All sorts of hurtful short term tactics and denial of rights are seen as "necessary evils" in order to reach some imagined utopian dream.

My apologies if my second paragraph causes an intolerant revolutionary to alert your thread.

[yardwork]

16. I figure the OP was already alerted, so no worries!

I agree with your post, too.

[book_worm]

14. Not sure who are the BS supporters on line but there are lots of complaints about them

not only on DU. I, too, know BS supporters in my own personal life and like you they are very nice and some are my friends.

[Ratty]

15. Me too. The important point is they will all vote for the Democratic nominee

I don't know a single Bernie supporter who spews anything like the bile we see on the internet.