2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumI Crashed A Bernie Sanders Rally — & It Was Awesome
Mar 25, 2016 5:45 PM
Elle Neubert
Editor's note: Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders recently hosted a last-minute rally in Los Angeles. Refinery29's Elle Neubert was in the crowd of 2,000-plus supporters who showed up to hear the Vermont senator speak. The views expressed here are her own.
When I heard a rare blip about Bernie Sanders on the local news last week, I threw my headphones down and shouted to my coworker. The amazing update wasnt a new poll or a win in a delegate-rich state but rather our pick for president was hosting a last-minute rally later that very day in Los Angeles.
Despite being home to millions of registered Democratic voters, Californians like me have largely sat on the sidelines for much of the race so far. Because our primary isnt until June one of the last in a long nominating process weve watched the candidates battle for voters in other states for months. But now, we finally had a chance to feel part of the campaign.
The tickets were free, but because of the demand, they were all reserved in a matter of hours. Although even without a ticket, I knew I still had to try to get in.
After work that evening, I went straight to the rally venue, a historic theater that typically hosts stars like Garbage, Adele, and Lady Gaga. I asked at the main door if there was any way that I could get in without a ticket. The answer was no, but I wasnt about to give up.
This year, many of us are hoping we could have a real impact on this election. And Bernie knows it.
As I walked down the long line asking people if they had tickets or were also holding out for a last-minute spot, something came over me. There were hundreds of people in front of me and they were all bursting with excitement. Chants of Sanders name and Sí, se puede filled the air. Supporters danced on the sidewalks, people signed up to volunteer for the campaign, and others registered to vote. Petitions circulated seeking to advance causes like ending the death penalty and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And there were signs everywhere. Latinos, nurses, feminists, students, veterans, all there for Sanders. They were making their political voices heard and I was overwhelmed. Viva Bernie!
Making my way through the crowd, I learned that the event was now first-come-first-serve due to issues with the online ticketing process. I beelined to the end of the crowd.
Walking past the people already waiting, I realized that it wasnt just hundreds of people, but there were more than a thousand trying to get in the rally. And the elation was intensifying. Two girls were shouting Free the nipple! A woman with rainbow-colored hair held a sign that read Unicorns for Bernie. Someone was skateboarding with a life-size cutout of Sanders. I even met a homeless man who hopes that his future might also improve if the senator from Vermont is elected. It didnt feel like we were waiting to see a politician. It felt like we were waiting for a rock star.
http://www.refinery29.com/2016/03/106893/bernie-sanders-la-rally-california-primary
haikugal
(6,476 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ghostsinthemachine
(3,569 posts)let's hope for hope.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)CaliforniaPeggy
(149,699 posts)A truly worth-while read!
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)been there too! Of course....you're very welcome, it was my pleasure to post the OP.
libodem
(19,288 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)libodem
(19,288 posts)In Idaho, and it was quite the delightful clusterfuck. Got in line early, before it started to curl aroud the block. A spokesperson hollered out that 8000 had signed up on line and the lottery wasn't fair to everyone so the tickets no longer mattered.
It was Uuuge!
We got in. And got out. I wear out in a couple of hours.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)CorporatistNation
(2,546 posts)In his day... This man, Major General Smedley Butler presented the nation with an answer that avoided much of WHAT we are attempting to avert i80 years hence, with the most authentic candidate ever to come to the forefront of American Presidential politics in my lifetime.
&ebc=ANyPxKqaypycCGWXzSsHqbGZipV0rUKraao2YF9iBK6iiPaWhayrVKcdhm9bjqEmzpgCOGW0CQjg5ku2FmVbuPuf-9IVAHdMBQ
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Gwhittey
(1,377 posts)at rally with George Clooney
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)That was a misprint-- they meant $$$, not people.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Buns_of_Fire
(17,194 posts)And I'm not kidding.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)ViseGrip
(3,133 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Samantha
(9,314 posts)I hope all of California feels this way!
Sam
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)renate
(13,776 posts)People are starting to understand that they really are not alone or are just being cynical in thinking that the system is rigged, or in feeling as though regular folks are being ignored and taken for granted by both political parties.
They were saying on MSNBC that both Trump voters and Bernie voters feel betrayed by the parties that are supposed to represent them--they blame different groups of people for their problems of course, Trump voters blaming immigrants and Bernie voters blaming Wall Street, but they're all pissed. Together there are just too many angry ordinary people to ignore any more.
And because love always trumps hate in any successful movement (or any successful positive movement, anyway), I think the way this all plays out will be on our side. Look at how much joy and happiness and love are with Bernie's movement, as shown in this article and at all of Bernie's rallies. Who wouldn't be drawn to that?