>
>>Since when is Bernie immune to criticism? He's not
>everyone's
>>cup of tea. To those of us not enamored with him, or to
>those
>>who have the misfortune of rooting for one of the
>competitors
>>his base hates, yes his movement can come across like the
>left
>>version of 45s. Eerily so.
>


>I disagree on the Trump comparisons except on the very
>thin-thread of how animated and legion-like they may be.
>
>it's a difference between people wolfpacking over a social
>safety net and niggas wolfpacking over a border wall and
>imaginary "illegal rapists"
>
>and lowkey, I see way too many people conflating the two.
>


I understand what you mean. I think, as someone that definitely sees it, it's an aversion to the wolfpacking as a *tactic*... not necessarily what the wolfpacking is for. Like, I get that the whole theme underlying his movement is to activate a revolution of the 99% to produce social democratic outcomes. Even though that's not my preferred style of politics, I get that it is for others and I share a desire to see improved social-democratic outcomes.

But in democracies, there's supposed to be room for debate and consensus-building right? And it's possible that many of those same social democratic outcomes (eg. universal health coverage) could be achieved by different means. I think some segments of Bernie's base lose sight of this context, and suddenly everyone/thing outside of the movement becomes the enemy.

I just think that (successful) democratic politics and consensus-building requires a certain level of civility and inclusion. The constant negativity, swarms, and intolerance can at times be overwhelming. Perhaps it doesn't seem as bad if one is inside the base/movement and not on/witnessing the receiving end of it.. but it's real.

Other thing is, the right-wing capitalizes on the wolfpacking right? Like it's so easy for them to exploit. Look at this right-wing oppo of some Bernie staffers going full tankie, glorifying Stalinism/state-sponsored violence, and calling for political/class opponents to be sent to gulags: https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1220108611583606784

To non-supporters/potential supporters, it becomes harder to believe the "Bernie wouldn't be an authoritarian socialist" defense when you piece together over a year online harassment of political opponents by some of his staff/surrogates/supporters, a growing culture that discourages any Bernie criticism, and the fact that people like the dude linked are not only in his base but staff his campaign. The whole vibe just becomes something you don't want to entertain or be around. Especially when there's other candidates pushing for the same/similar social-democratic outcomes but without all that.