Some Bernie Supporters Got Awfully Cocky About A Contested Convention That Never Happened.
People on all sides are guilty of this kind of behavior, and we will all benefit from that changing.
I can’t emphasize this enough: This is not about shooting down supporters of a specific candidate, this is about how people behave online. I’m using the convention example because it is an example I’m familiar with.
Bernie supporters had every right to express a desire for a contested convention. It’s also fine to share their rationale for why they believe it was likely to happen.
Unfortunately, some supporters viewed this possible event as certainty, and talked down to anyone who believed otherwise. Not accepting the inevitability of a contested convention was ignorance or Kool Aid drinking.
This kind of arrogant certainty ultimately hurts a cause, particularly if it is non-mainstream. It damages the cause in two ways
- It makes people angrier, which is not a good way to attract more support.
- Presenting it as a certainty gives the opposition ammunition to demonstrate that your side does not know what they are talking about.
Some may argue that a contested convention would have been inevitable had there not been any number of shenanigans. Whether this is the case or not, the damage is already done. People have presented themselves as knowing better, yet proven wrong only weeks later. This nuance needs to be front loaded to reduce the risk of discrediting the causes you support.
I have no doubts that the mainstream media is dishonest and ignorant in many ways. That said, you do yourself no favors by alleging that while simultaneously presenting something incorrect as a fact.
At this point, it may be difficult to see this as anything other than a Bernie attack, but I assure you it is not! All sides do it. This was simply an easy example for me to recall.
In fact, I’m not trying to put down any side. If the same ideas are expressed in a slightly-more-civil and slightly-less-certain tone, your side will be the better for it.