Thread by @boardingsoon

[THREAD] I know Bernie supporters resent that he is compared to Trump. They should, it is not flattering association. But let me expand on why that characterization is fair and unfair at the same time. I give Bernie the benefit of the doubt and say he believes what he preaches /1

is right for the country. When he says M4A, I think he sees that as remedy to an actual, real problem in America. Healthcare should be a human right, not a profit center. In comparison, I don't think Trump believes a word he says, if he can even remember it 2 mins later. /2

I don't think Bernie is a con-man, but I do think his vision is impractical and his approach is just awful. Even if he were elected, his vision would never come to pass unless he dissolved congress and courts and decided everything himself. Unlike Trump, I don't think Bernie /3

thinks of himself as Supreme Leader, even if he speaks favorably of despots like Chavez and Fidel. He admires the fact that they could get shit done, but I don't think he particularly likes that it could be done because they were despots. Trump OTOH admires the power in itself /4

not because it would enable him to enact a vision, because he doesn't have any. He likes power because he's a small, insecure man who only feels good when he's bullying or being adored. Both Trump and Bernie are hypocrites when it comes to wealth inequality, but to different /5

degrees. Bernie is a millionaire who thinks there shouldn't be millionaires. Trump is a millionaire who pretends to be a billionaire and a man of the people at the same time, which... snort. Bernie doesn't have Trump's too-numerous-to-list character flaws, but they do share /6

a "my way or the highway" attitude. Both think they don't need others to do what they want. Both burn bridges recklessly and relentlessly, even attacking the very people whose support could help them. And here I come to the most important - and damaging - similarity: /7

Bernie and Trump both owe their success to angry, disaffected people. Stoking that anger is easy if you give them someone to blame. Whether it's liberals, globalism, Democrats or "the establishment", they are adept at giving people someone to hate. Their stage personas are not /8

that different: indignation at the unfairness of their audience's situation. Outrage at the system that perpetuates it (even though they relish being an integral part of that system). Trump the NY millionaire developer born with a silver spoon up his ass says the urban elite /9

is to blame for why coal mining isn't coming back to WV. The crowd cheers. Those bastard coastal elite millionaires! Bernie the career politician who's been in congress for 30 years and had 7 bills introduced, two of them renaming post offices and one naming a holiday, /10

rants against the political establishment and says Washington is the reason people's lives suck.
And then there's Russia. Bernie and Trump tiptoe around Putin, but I think for different reasons. Trump is owned by Russian oligarchs. His image and lifestyle would crumble /11

like a sand castle if the debts are called. Russians put him in the WH and financed his billionaire farce for ages. He depends on them. Bernie, OTOH, I think has an emotional attachment to Russia as a country. He calls himself a socialist but I think he really is a communist /12

at heart. I don't mean that as a derogative. Communism is supreme equality, and I understand the appeal of the dream. Except hey, we've all seen that movie and no one in their right mind would want it. Sanders voted against sanctions on Russia. Enough said. /13

Last but not least, we have chaos. Trump is like a bull in a china shop if the bull brought fireworks. He creates chaos from ignorance, incompetence, hubris and indifference to consequences. Bernie would create chaos too, but deliberately. The system is unfair (it is), so /12

let's burn the system down (uh.. no thanks). Bernie in some ways reminds me more of Steve Bannon than Trump. Bernie is like a bull in the china shop if the bull was a sniper. His chaos would be a means to an end but I like neither the means not the end. To paraphrase smarter /13

people, my fear about Bernie is that he will almost certainly lose to Trump. But I must confess, my fear about Bernie is also that if he wins, chaos will reign for another 4 years at least. What the country really needs is some stability. And I need some goddamn sleep. /end

Ugh the numbering on the thread got all messed up. Sorry!

Addition:
I failed to mention two other important points about Trump and Bernie. The first is the extreme behavior of their followers. Most of us are not passionate about a political candidate to the point of harassing or threatening someone. My take on it? /17

It’s because of the messianic overtones of their campaigns. Trump famously said “I alone can fix it”, while Sanders tweeted “I've got news for the Republican establishment. I've got news for the Democratic establishment. They can't stop us” /18

The implication that they are all-powerful, along with their “go-it-alone” attitude and exploitation of their followers’ resentment towards “others”, makes for a dangerous cult-like energy. Like cult members, Trumpers and Bernie Bros will dismiss crucial information about /19

the cult leader, leading to what I consider to be the most destructive effect of all: discrediting the institutions supporting democracy. It’s one thing to blame immigrants for your stagnant wages, or free trade for income inequality. It’s quite another to say the free press /20

is an enemy of the people, or that there is a corporate media conspiracy to “manufacture narrative” against your campaign. I apologize to my followers who have heard this from me a million times but having grown up in a military dictatorship, under full censorship makes me /21

hyper aware of attempts by candidates to become the only source of “real” information. “Everyone else is lying. They conspire to turn you against me” is very cult-like, of course, but when directed at the free press it amounts to something else entirely. The fail-safe recipe /22

of dictators. First you make people question not just facts but the established channels by which facts are distributed. People become isolated, slightly paranoid, and ripe for manipulation by the person they perceive as their leader and savior. At this point it’s easy to /23

discredit other institutions like courts, Congress, law enforcement, government agencies. It’s not just a hostile takeover of the system, it’s a hostile takeover of our critical thinking. Trump is a master of this, but here he is the sniper, aiming at very specific demons /24

like CNN, FBI, Obama, certain judges. He names people his followers should hate, like throwing clay pigeons up for skeet shooting. His followers naturally oblige. I’m actually surprised no one’s been murdered in his name yet. In comparison, Bernie looks benign. Not so fast. /25

Bernie is showing alarming signs with his ranting against “the establishment”. That is a shrewdly generic umbrella. What is the establishment? Is it government? Political parties? Media? It can be whatever the audience resents most, making it a one-size-fits-all hate target. /26

In a sense that scares me more than Trump. I remember a discussion I had in high school about @StephenKing’s The Shining. The movie scared the shit out of me but it didn’t hold a candle to my sleepless nights after reading the book. Why? The mind conjures up horrors no movie /27

can match. That’s why blanket statements about “the establishment” worry me so much. People will conjure up conspiracies and misdeeds and tie them to any group, race, country, or institution that fits their bias. And the final (maybe) point about Trump and Bernie: /28

both are old men. Trump has at least two heirs apparent, Ivanka and Don Jr. Although they are very different from each other in their approach, I have no doubt both aspire to follow in Trump’s footsteps and inherit his followers. Bernie has no such heirs, by chance or design. /29

Even without main disciples, though, the formula for their cults is easily replicated. It will always work because there will always be people who are resentful and people who will want to leverage that. We can’t hope to prevent it entirely but it can be mitigated. How? /30

By giving people a clear and easy way to be heard and have their concerns validated. I am removed from a WV coal miner in almost every way, but that shouldn’t lead to my dismissing their reality. Their way of life is disappearing. It’s scary and unfair, even if it’s a /31

necessary shift to clean energy. They shouldn’t be dismissed. Their voice is as important as mine. There are many other groups who feel isolated and ignored by government, and listening to them openly is a good first step. But what will really fight the cults is reinstalling /32

in people a love and respect for the institutions. I don’t mean the chest-beating type of patriotism that has people outraged because someone kneels during the anthem or burns an American flag. I don’t mean reciting the pledge at every turn. I mean a deeper learning of civics /33

and world history. This country is a marvel. There is so much to be proud of beyond symbols like a flag or a song. Those are the decorations. We should learn to appreciate the architecture. And lest we get an America First mentality, let me point out that other countries are /34

marvels too. The world is populated by humans, and human nature runs it. The same human nature that produced the Declaration of Independence produced other amazing things around the world. If we learned about it more we wouldn’t be so condescending. If I ever win the lottery /35

(Ok if I buy a ticket AND win the lottery), I’ll start a foundation that gives kids an opportunity to travel and learn about the world beyond our borders. Knowledge and empathy are our way out of this circus. /end for real now. Maybe 😛