Greetings, my sisters, my brothers, & my others, whoever you may be —

Today was a hard day for many of you & there is nothing — no numbers, no words — which I or anyone else could offer that will change the fact — nor would I desire to say it, even if I could. You who find yourselves grieving, grieve! You are right to grieve because what many of us had hoped would never happen has happened.

And here we are.

Many of you may feel betrayed — & perhaps you were — some of you are angry, others devastated, & many more are grasping for some hope, for something to hold on to, some reason to believe it isn’t over, not now, not when we’ve come so far! You wish it all somehow could be undone or unsaid or –! You may even be all of these things or none at all — maybe there is no word for how you feel & that’s okay. Do what you have to do & feel what you must feel — so long as you do not give up.

My friend, I do not know your name or who you are or where you’re from — yet I am asking you, the one who’s reading this, not to give up. If you give up, you will never get to see that what you grieve for now & what angers you now is the very same thing which encouraged you & moved you & set you on fire — rejoice, if you can muster the courage, because your grief & your anger is also proof that it is still burning —

Whatever you do — do not give up that thing.

We have not lost, so long as we possess that. Besides, if we gave up now, then we never would have succeeded, anyway — no individual, not even Bernie Sanders, can accomplish our revolution for us. You know this.

I am grateful for all that Bernie Sanders has done for us. If any of us expected him to single-handedly fix our world, we expected too much — but, when the darkness of our grief & anger passes (as it always does), we’ll find that our respect, our love, & our gratitude will prove to be more enduring. Until this storm subsides, we must remember to be patient with one another. Do not be divided — continue to ready yourselves for the marches, fund our delegates, & do not lose hope — there is more to this situation than meets the eye…

Why would Bernie choose to endorse the opposition on the eve of the convention? I do not know — it doesn’t make much sense, does it? What I do know is this:

Bernie Sanders is doing what he believes is right



Many are saying that all of this may be a clever feint and, perhaps, it is — he is a very clever man. Others are saying that the DNC blackmailed him & he had to or that it’s just a part of the secret master-plan. I wouldn’t rule it out — he hasn’t conceded & he is still taking our delegates to Philly, isn’t he? They may be right. I hope they are — we all do. But we shall have to wait & see. Meanwhile —

Here we are.

Our nation is in turmoil — communities are rising up to protest violence & injustice, while our treacherous mis–representatives consistently place profit above human-rights, quietly passing laws which poison our planet to enrich the 1%, who’re using that money to corrupt our elections — & the whole world is watching as a criminal & a clown bicker over who gets to assume command of the largest & most technologically-advanced military that has ever existed.

We do not know what will happen at the national convention & I urge you all to keep the faith, at least up to then. Then — when the dust settles — I trust each one of you to do what you believe is right because I’ve known the Sanderistas to be people of both courage & conscience. That is why I trust & love you all. But, as for me —

I cannot, in good conscience, vote for Hillary Clinton —

nor could I, in good conscience, vote for Donald Trump —

which appears to put me in an admittedly difficult position

— So be it.

The establishment has given us no other choice

but to become the leaders of our own revolution.

And, perhaps, that’s the way that it’s supposed to be. Who knows –? Soon, we may look back & find this awful day was only another gift — but a gift we didn’t understand, at first. We may look back & see the heaviness that burdened us today was really just the bending of our future’s branch beneath the ripening of a million hearts, as pure & strong & thirsty for a better world as Bernie’s.

Hillary Clinton & the DNC believe they’ve won, today — now, I don’t think they have — but, if they’re really foolish enough to believe that we’ll go quietly, we should see how very, very wrong we can prove them. Right now, they’re under the impression that we’re supposed to just magically fall in line —

Can you imagine the look on their faces when we don’t? There are many many reasons to march — but that’s really the only reason I really need to #SeeYouInPhilly…

In solidarity,

John Laurits #SeeYouInPhilly

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P.S. Don’t worry, I’ll write something more informing & “strategy-y,” tomorrow…

P.P.S. It is not my wish to mislead any of you — so, just to be exceedingly clear — all of this is what the unimaginative would call “unrealistic.” But, in my humble (yet frequently accurate) opinion, calling something “unrealistic” is a stupid criticism. We’re “unrealistic?” Ha! So were the people who were crazy enough to invent flight & I’d like you to notice “who’s laughing, now,” as it were…

Other Recent Articles by John Laurits

Mathematical Proof That You Are Not Alone (7/10) New!

To: Bernie — From: #NotMeUs (7/8) New!

Once More Unto the Breach — #DemocracyOrBust! (7/7)

The Delegate Math + An Urgent Call to Action! (7/5)

New, from the People’s Math Front: The News-REAL (7/4)

#ShowMeTheBallots or No Unity! (7/3)

Let’s Talk About Voter-Suppression (w/ math!) (6/26)

Why I Am #BernieOrBust (& why you should be, too) (6/23)

“How We #BernTheConvention, w/ Updated Math” (6/22)

“No Democracy, No Unity” (6/20)

“What is ‘Democracy?'” (6/14)

“What is #ExitPollGate?” (6/11)

*You can follow John on Twitter @JohnLaurits. And, if ye’d like, you can also help out by buying John coffee HERE, which he is always very grateful for.