The Divide

I have spent a significant amount of time trying to understand through debate, research and just observing the divide between supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Being a Bernie Sanders supporter, I find it difficult to fathom why an intelligent, liberal and justice minded person would support Hillary Clinton over him. People that I have respected for having shrewd intellect and a discerning nature have disappointed me to no end. There has never been and never will be a time when a candidate like Bernie Sanders will ever get this close to being President of the United States. Hillary Clinton is a politician bred for the oval office. There is no better person running for president that will maintain the way things are. From what I have observed this divide has four parts.

1. Comfort: A familiarity with Hillary and a view of Bernie as an outsider, a weirdo, or just simply with disinterest.

2. Doubt: The belief that the powers that be would never let him become president.

3. Fear: The need to get a strong backing behind Hillary as soon as possible to keep Trump out of the White House.

4. Self-assurance: The belief that things aren’t that bad and are getting better with time and that Hillary is the best person to maintain balance and order.

Hillary Clinton was the first lady during the presidency of a very popular democratic president. For eight years it felt like we got to know this couple through the sax playing and sex scandal.  We know Hillary right? Who’s this Bernie guy? Well Bernie doesn’t get much publicity.  He’s the guy that stands in an empty Senate talking energetically to himself about classism, sexism, racism and capitalism. He’s the guy who keeps popping up in all these Civil Rights photos chained to Black Americans and marching beside them and being arrested with them.  Hillary was around at this time too, but she had a different calling. She whole heartedly supported Barry Goldwater, a man who stood against many of the tenets of the Civil Rights movement, specifically integration. Now people can change, that is true. But I find it remarkable when people put their lives on the line to go against unjust and popular laws. To do so because it’s the way now or because the law changed or because it’s the PC thing to do is nothing to be commended for.  Bernie has maintained his justice minded view for well over half a century. His unwavering pursuit of justice and equality for the common man is inspiring. Get to know the man, listen to him.

If the powers that be can stop Bernie Sanders from becoming president then there is no democracy. If they will allow Hillary to become president and not Bernie that should tell you all you need to know. I think it is clear to anyone that has being paying attention that everything that can be done is being done to discredit Bernie Sanders. The mainstream media has done everything in their power to first ignore Bernie, then writing him off, to slandering him. Six men own all major media outlets and their interests will not be supported by a candidate like Bernie Sanders.  Why not do all in your power to topple a corrupt system where the bottom line is the bottom line? Wealth should not dictate the state. NO ONE in power wants Bernie Sanders to become president, but if we back him and they don’t make him president the façade is pulled away. We know exactly where we stand. A Clinton presidency will just keep that façade in place and we will just keep living in an illusion of democracy. If you truly want to know if you are powerless or not, if you want to know whether your vote matters or not, if you really want to know if the game is rigged then you have to back the guy that the game changers don’t want in the game.

Donald Trump is a loud, racist, sexist, clown with a Hitler fetish. He is drawing the worst people in our society in droves. You know, all those people that POC have to deal with daily in micro and not so micro aggressions. These people are becoming emboldened to be what they couldn’t be under sane candidates, openly racist, sexist and dangerous. You are scared and you should be. The reason that people are supporting Trump and he is wining state after state, besides being hate filled and uneducated, is that he does not sell himself as part of the establishment. Many Americans are tired of the establishment, the order of things, the way decisions are made for them and some of them see Trump as his own man who won’t have to answer to anyone. While this is not a well thought out motivation, it has big impact and implications on the political scene. In a political climate where the establishment is the enemy and is untrustworthy, the only way to make sure you are going to beat a candidate with a reputation for being outside the establishment is with another candidate outside the establishment. That candidate is Bernie Sanders, but unlike Trump he is as he has all his life represents and fights for the common man.  Hillary Clinton could not possibly be more establishment. As I mentioned before she is the perfect person to maintain things the way they are now.  In poll after poll Bernie beats the pants off of Trump while Hillary loses to Trump. If you don’t want Trump in office, do everything in your power to make Bernie Sanders the DNC nominee for President. If you don’t you are gambling with your future and are giving Trump a better chance to become President.

This point is the one where I am most passionate. Here is where the biggest divide exists and where the greatest animosity comes from both sides. If you think things are not too bad in the U.S., if you think we just need a little tweaking, if you think you need a candidate that will go for incremental changes and thus be more successful – I will never see your point of view. Every day at least one unarmed Black male is shot by the police. Everyday Black elementary school children are disciplined more harshly and more often than their white counter parts. Everyday a person of color goes to prison for drug related events at a much higher rate and with higher percentages than their white counterparts. Every day POC from a middle class family sinks into the lower class. Every day I wonder how I’m going to get out of debt. Every day I wonder how I’m going to pay rent and take care of my family. Every day I wonder how to best protect my son in a society meant to enslave him physically, financially or to outright kill him with no repercussions. I’m voting for Bernie Sanders because he is the best choice for giving my son and his child and so on a better future. Money cannot be the driving force behind our government. The people that suffer are the minorities and the poor, every single time. Hillary is entrenched deep into this system. She has friends here, she has millions invested in making sure the system remains running the way it is. Incremental changes will not keep me or my family or my friends from being shot today. They will not keep people from rotting away in a cell today. They will not protect my son from a system made to bleed him dry today. If today is too soon then you need to get the fuck out of the way. If the pile of black and brown bodies isn’t enough to get you fired up and ready to change this oligarchy, then what the fuck good are you? And you know what? This isn’t a simple thing. Bernie won’t become president and then BAM utopia. There is a whole lot of bullshit to amputate and get rid of. This is a movement and once we get momentum there will be no stopping it.

So you want me to tell you I’ll vote for Hillary if Bernie doesn’t get the nomination? My answer is no. I will not reward corruption and devious tactics and the oppression of my people with my vote. I will not insure that the status quo remains. You may fear Donald Trump, but I do not. Once you have lived 38 years in a world that treats you as a second class citizen and takes every chance it can to remind you of where you stand you learn to handle tyrants pretty well.  Maybe when you have to fear for your lives and the lives and well-being of your children you’ll finally listen. My vote is for Bernie Sanders alone. The one who has remained on the right side all along. The one who is not a millionaire. The one who is the outcast. The one who is not a part of the system. The one who does not take our plight lightly. The one who does not change with the season.

When I say Bernie or Bust I mean it. I do not support Democrats. I do not support things as they are. I support the movement. I support the revolution.