• banshee@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I understand they were accused of being violent. The descriptions I read didn’t seem violent though, although they might be inaccurately biased.

    I think protesters will always be accused of violence whenever possible. I just don’t understand how this makes Bernie’s statement inconsistent.

    • cecinestpasunbot@lemmy.ml
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      2 days ago

      You need to read more news articles from the times then and not just modern accounts of the civil rights movement. The media definitely portrayed the demonstrations as violent and destructive even when most demonstrators were peaceful.

      I just don’t understand how this makes Bernie’s statement inconsistent.

      Bernie’s focus is the problem here. The anarchists and provocateurs who want to engage in property description don’t care what Bernie has to say. The vast majority of protestors who are peacefully demonstrating are not responsible for their actions. Even then there are many instances of peaceful demonstrators trying to intervene and stop property destruction and violence. “Peaceful protest” is a common chant at these events.

      If you have familiarity with all of this, then you’ll recognize that Bernie is just being needlessly condescending to those who are already doing the best that they can. Nobody needs lessons on how or why peaceful protests can be effective. What we need is leaders who are focused on the obscene violence being perpetrated by law enforcement and the current administration.

      If you want a better example of how to respond to the current situation you don’t have to look far. AOCs statement is much better.

      It is 100% carrying water for the opposition to participate in this collective delusion that Dems for some reason need to answer for every teen who throws a rock rather than hold the Trump admin accountable for intentionally creating chaos and breaking the law to stoke violence. They are in charge.

      • banshee@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Thanks for the discussion. Just to restate - I absolutely believe everyone that the protests in which Bernie participated were described as violent. I was not disagreeing with this whatsoever.

        You mention having “familiarity with all of this,” and I do not. This is the only comment I read from Bernie about the protests.