I’m sure everyone is familiar with the “Bernie Bros” term that was popularized as a smear by the Clinton campaign in 2016. The idea is that Bernie’s supporters are white, male, and laden with misogyny. The term is still used by liberals that pledge allegiance to the Democratic Party over Bernie Sanders. They consider him a divider. And with Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris being in the running this time around, the opposition to Bernie are quick to claim support for him is synonymous with misogyny and racism. Because why would you support him when you have “two progressive women” to choose instead? (If you’re reading this, you probably already know why. If not, sorry, but explaining why they’re not progressive is for another time.)

Even if the majority of Bernie’s supporters were white men, the Bernie Bro smear would be erasing any POC, women, and LGBTQIA+ supporters. Sadly for their position, the majority of Bernie supporters are NOT white men.

According to this research, Sanders has more support from women than any other candidate. And it is over half his supporters at 53%. On top of this, the research shows that he has the least support from white people among Biden, Warren, and Harris. 49% white means 51% POC. That’s a majority folks.

The grassroots continues to grow in power, and the unbiased truth about Bernie keeps surfacing above the mainstream media. Liberals consider us sycophants and cultish like Trump fans. But the projection of their “any blue will do” sentiment can easily be pointed out. Such support of a party over policy is what is cultish. Their arguments for why they despise Bernie are crumbling. They have resorted to just turning a blind eye. They would rather shut us out than consider our stance.

They simply refuse to care, swearing off from anything that would waver their support for anyone-but-Bernie. If you spend too much time on Twitter like I do, then you have seen this. Supporters of the establishment abuse the reporting mechanic. They call out Bernie supporters critical of their liberal bias so as to mass report them and/or block them.

We do not support Bernie because he is white. We do not support Bernie because he has a penis. Bernie Sanders is fighting for the working class like no other politician is. Anyone who has been able to see through media bias can understand this, and that is reflected in the image above by his support in urban areas. There are poor people with dire need for health insurance; their lives depend on it. There are poor people living in tent cities, pushed out of metropolitan areas as gentrification ravages communities. There are poor people who live in cars, who can’t afford their car to break down. There are poor people who wish they had a car.

(Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

It is absolutely important to understand one thing: poverty is violence. Most Bernie supporters understand this, and are living under this violence. We are mass reported/blocked/silenced on social media. Mainstream media outlets smear Bernie on the daily. For us, opposition to Bernie is opposition to the policies which may save the lives of so many. He is the candidate leading the fight for the poor, working class, and disenfranchised. Our support for him is a manifestation of hope. Anti-Bernie sentiment is anti-poor sentiment. Blocking us and reporting us on social media is akin to putting spikes under bridges, and kicking the sleeping homeless off of benches. It is the same gentrification that happens in our communities. It is an attempt to erase our existence. Our lives depend on fighting back.