So, Ryan Grim wrote a new book on AOC, and apparently AOC has some pretty negative views about so called "Bernie Bros." And I feel...mixed on this.
Now, Ive seen a lot of snippets that come out of the book, and I do think that I need to address this issue on multiple fronts given my own views on this issue.
First, let's clear the air. Im mixed on the Bernie Bros. I am an OG bernie bro as of 2016, but I've moved away from them over the years as they got too toxic even for me. The fact is, while the bernie bros were right to criticize the democratic establishment for basically forcing us to support hillary and weaponizing identity politics, they eventually got too toxic. And I see where AOC is coming from. Remember that WOTB guy who was calling her out and sounded deranged over force the vote? Remember Jimmy dore and force the vote in general? While force the vote looks mild compared to this israel crap the left is pulling now, i always kinda sided with AOC as a reasonable voice in the room, asking "what do you expect her to do? die on her sword for a symbolic own?" Im not gonna take a hard hard stance either way since the republicans recently went all "force the vote" on mccarthy and now we got mike johnson, religious fundamentalist, in charge, but I can at least respect why she refused to do it. Especially if the rest of the party would've effectively shut her out and she would've killed her career over it.
I mean, let's face it, the bernie bros these days are toxic. They're so dogmatic in their views and ideology they dont tolerate ANY dissent. You need to be 100% ideologically pure or you're bad. And they eat their own. Just look at how I ended up. Now I ain't one any more and ive gone in a more moderate direction. The more leftists screech about purity, the more they alienate potential allies and effectively isolate themselves, and I think that's part of where AOC is coming from here.
I even saw some quotes from her over this talking about how the guys more critical of her also dont help her build anything, they just talk crap from the itnernet. I mean, fair point, and im kinda guilty of that. But understanding that, that's also why im a least somewhat lenient on her. I know the crap she's dealing with and how she can only do so much.
At the same time, there's a big aspect of this I just full on DONT agree with, and that's this sexism nonsense. For example in the article I mentioned above, she's quoted as saying that Bernie Bros "'force an unnecessary choice between class analysis and race analysis' through their 'behavior, not so much policy', and she mentions how warren was getting all of the POC and LGBT and blah blah blah.
Now, I got some choice words to say about this. First of all, as an ex bernie bro, IT WASN'T US WHO FORCED THIS DYNAMIC! It was HILLARY FREAKING CLINTON and HER ilk. She pushed this extremely toxic version of feminism in which she basically accused us all of being toxic white males who didnt like her because she was a woman, when in reality, WE DON'T CARE ABOUT HER GENDER! We cared about POLICY. It was HILLARY who drove a wedge, forcing us to choose between healthcare and all of that post modernist identity politics bullcrap. If any of us moved in a direction hostile to that stuff, it's because OF HER.
Like, i've written extensively about this topic over the years. I DONT CARE. I really dont care. Thats the problem with leftist politics, people say its us evil sexist white males that are the problem, no, it's you guys. It's everyone the frick else on the left who insists that identity has to trump literally everything. How the left has to drop whatever they're doing and circlejerk about LGBT and women and POC and whatever and honestly? Again, WE DONT CARE. THis doesnt make us sexist or racist or homophobic, it makes us neutral. If we have any beef with those communities, its because those identities are weaponized against us where we're forced to choose between OUR priorities and all of THAT BS. I've said it from the beginning, politics are about coalitions, and to be blunt, I'll say it, the left has a cis, straight white male problem. They focus so much on "diversity" and identity nonsense that they actually drive a lot of white males and the like away from the democratic coalition together. And a lot of them become trumpers in response. If anything, you should be glad at least the "bernie bros" MOSTLY (I have to point out some vocal exceptions like jimmy dore and the WOTB crowd) see through that nonsense. But yeah. When you make identity the primary issue, YOURE the one driving a wedge in coalitions. It's the hillary clintons and elizabeth warrens of the world who are the problem there. This stuff is like a cult and only those who are outside of the cult seem to be willing to acknowledge it, and then those of us outside of the cult are also accused of being hostile to those groups. No, we're not. We just hate this forced circlejerk nonsense on the subject.
As for warren, because warren asked AOC to sit out endorsing bernie in 2020, she also pulled this nonsense. Warren wanted to tank bernie because she wanted bernie's lane and coalition. And she wasn't as good as bernie, or as established as bernie, so bernie won out. But Warren tried to lean hard into sexism and the whole "bernie doesnt think a woman can be president" nonsense, and it is...nonsense, at least for me.
It makes little difference to me what gender someone is. What matters is their policies. Warren was Bernie Lite. She would embrace very similar policies to bernie, but then stop JUST short of bernie's policies. She was the first to suggest capping student debt forgiveness to an arbitrary number like $50,000. We could've just said "forgive it all", but no, she had to have an arbitrary limit ebcause blah blah blah we dont wanna forgive rich people" or something. No. FORGIVE. IT. ALL. But yeah, that kind of stuff is why i never particularly liked warren. Warren also said she was "capitalist to her bones" which in retrospect i agree with given how crazy the bernie bros have gotten over "socialism" as of late, but at the time, it seemed like she was literally just playing the"bernie but more moderate" angle.
And the reason people in the left communities percieve her as a "snake" is because she basically went after bernie dishonestly and accused him of sexism. Like, if you wanna not alienate white males and the like and so called bernie bros, maybe dont lean into the sexism angle so much? its not a good look when a candidate and their supporters are dishonestly accused of sexism for cynical political gain. And that's what happened with Hillary and Warren.
And now AOC is pulling this crap, saying "I was most depressed at the time by the misogyny I saw within the left and how differently [the Squad was] treated."
Hint...IT'S NOT SEXISM! If it's anything, its persecution complex and claiming the reason people dont like you is misogyny. Seriously. I hate this crap. The left are just purity testing buttholes, it has nothing to do with sexism. They do it to me and im a white male. They just attack anyone they disagree with vitriolically. As a Yang guy, Ive seen yang and his supporters get it worse than AOC does.
The fact is, as a straight white male, i cant call any of this some sort of ism. Because it isn't, and if anything I lose respect for female politicians who act like this IS all about sexism. It's cheap, it's dishonest. No, some people are just buttholes. And the Bernie Bros ARE toxic. I've washed my hands of them myself over the past few years. They crap on UBI supporters, they crap on people who aren't socialist. They crap on people for not being 100% ideologically pure on everything. They just attack people they have minor disagreements. And yes, it sucks, and often times, it's not fair. And I've defended AOC myself on here.
As a matter of fact, this is why AOC and the squad are often attacked. Because to the left, they see these people as the ones who SHOULD know better and who SHOULD stand for the "right thing", but don't. And they just end up ripping anyone who doesn't. And honestly, I could have AOC's seat in NY, and be a justice dem, and you know what, these same people would be crapping on ME right now too. Same thing. And im a white male.
Again, it's not REALLY about gender, or race, or anything. And while Bernie's fan base has some serious issues with purity testing, let's keep the identity politics out of here. As someone on the other side of that divide leaning into that just makes me think less of them. Because Ive seen it weaponzied so much in recent years that I just have no tolerance for it any more. Im to the point im literally openly hostile to the identity politics nonsense. Because 98% of the times it is invoked, it's done so as a way to virtue signal, or start an argument, or weaponize guilt against a certain party on the basis of their so called "privilege." And im sick of it. Screw that crap. While there is a valid basis of these theories in academia, they dont translate well to actual politics at all and actually serve to alienate and turn people off hard.
As such, my honest stance? AOC has a point about bernie bros, I cant stand them either these days, but for the love of god she needs to lay off the sexism narrative. It's not sexism, that narrative is toxic, the reason bernie's supporters arent big on intersectionality is because it's a toxic cesspit often weaponized against them/us. Bernie supporters are just extremely toxic purity testing butthats these days who screech at everyone who dares disagree with them on one of their 700something priorities. That's the real problem. it's not sexism. So let's be honest about it.
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