I'm "feeling the Bern"

[EffieBlack]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by LostOne4Ever (a host of the 2016 Postmortem forum).

and I don't like it. At all.

I have been pretty undecided in this primary. I like both Hillary and Bernie, as well as Martin O'Malley. I've been leaning toward Hillary but haven't made up my mind for sure and would be just fine with - in fact, proud to have - any of them becoming President. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but all three are good people, with strong qualifications, great experience, good hearts and solid platforms for moving this country in the right direction.

I'm a longtime DU member but stayed away because I know primaries are contentious and DU gets caught up in silly season until the general and I just wasn't interested in the drama. but I decided to venture back in recently, expecting to learn something from lively back and forths about the candidates

And I am apalled.Not only is it virtually impossible to learn anything, given the threads are dominated by "I know what you are but what am I" posts, the ugliness and snark and vicious accusations are astounding. And I will be honest - it is not a case of "both sides do it." The vast majority of it is coming from Sanders supporters, hands down. (Yeah, I said it ...) This place is swamped with thread after thread of Sanders supporters attacking, with varying degrees of vitriol, not just Hillary Clinton, but everyone and anyone who dares to support her or has the temerity to even gingerly suggest that Bernie Sanders is not perfect. If I didn't look at the DU masthead, I could easily think this was a right wing website, so identical are the majority of the comments to some of the nastiest anti-Clinton diatribes the right has been trading in for decades.. (In fact, a remarkable number of the posts here mere cut and paste jobs from those very sites)

Not only are these posts nasty, but many of them are obnoxious, childish, petulant and taunting - hardly intended to foster rational discussion, much less to persuade anyone to line up with their purveyor to support their candidate. Instead, there's a "We're the cool kids and you're not and if you don't like it, just stay out of our treehouse 'cause who needs you anyway?" quality and tone to far too many posts here.

As a result, I am really struggling to maintain the positive feelings I've had for Sanders, constantly reminding myself that the fact that he has so many rude supporters on an online political board should not take away from his excellent qualities, but it's difficult. I will try to keep an open mind, and not allow people Sanders is not responsible for and doesn't even know to sully the high opinion I have of him. It's not his fault that some people have begun to confuse his campaign for a cult and the candidate for a savior.

That said, I am going to step back away from DU for awhile. I used to see DU as an place for stimulating, albeit sometimes frustrating, political dialogue. But I have no interest in participating in or even witnessing what is going on here now.

I'll check back in after the primaries, hoping that some sanity and civility has returned.

Bye y'all. Take care.

[Number23]

1. "it is not a case of "both sides do it." The vast majority of it is coming from Sanders supporters"

This the ENTIRE FREAKING INTERNET already knows and has endlessly discussed.

[nc4bo]

2. I guess I'm weird because I've never EVER allowed some pols supporters

to make up my mind about a candidate.

I listen to each CANDIDATE and make comparisons on those candidates then decide which one is more in line with my beliefs.

I'll probably never understand this phenomena. Guess we all "do us" differently.

jmho

[Dretownblues]

3. I would suggest

You not fall into choosing a candidate based on their supporters, but that is up to you. Based on my experience here Clinton supports are just as bad. They use right wing attacks and buzz words(socialist, hasn't accomplished anything, not a real democrat, supporters are part of a cult) to attack Sanders supports. Also I would hope that since you have taken such a strong stance against Sander supporters "right wing attacks", that you find Clintons misinformation campaign against Sanders on guns and healthcare equally disgusting. Good Luck in your search.

[emulatorloo]

5. You've just been here a month, I hope you don't believe DU is like this all the time!

Welcome to DU!

Lots of bad behavior during primary season, but that's not how it is all the time.

[Dretownblues]

8. Thanks

I figured and the hypocrisy of it really upsets me. I have seen just as much vitriol out of the Clinton camp(candidate included) as I have the Bernie camp(candidate not included).

[WIProgressive88]

6. Yup. I don't care for the behavior of many of my fellow Sanders supporters at times, but to pretend

that there are not a number of Clinton supporters (not to mention the campaign itself at this point) who are playing dirty is to ignore reality. The recent healthcare debacle has certainly been very telling and exposed a lot of individuals' true colors.

[Dretownblues]

9. Excatly

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. Buh bye.

[litlbilly]

7. easy op to trash

[LostOne4Ever]

10. LOCKING THREAD

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