Do you feel a need to defend Bernie? Or yourself?

[Rebkeh]

6. Hate is a word I don't use loosely and

I do not hate Hillary. I don't even hate Trump. Hate is not a regular part of my emotional make up, I dislike a lot of what people do, say, believe, affirm, elevate, etc. But it's rare that I hate people or a person, much less people I've never met or don't know on a personal level. There is a distinction, which the OP clearly demonstrates. I couldn't have said it better myself. +1x100

I don't feel persecuted but there are Hillary supporters that go too far, sending rude private messages and the like. I'm sure there are Bernie supporters that do the same, but these people are the exceptions, not the standard. None of them represent their candidate. It's also the nature of social media, there's always somebody acting a fool.