(TW: Lots of talk about sexual assault, albeit mostly indirectly)
Our warmup act is the walking example of our header tweet, Amanda Marcotte– most famously seen lying about Bernie Sanders supporters throwing chairs in Nevada and then saying the facts didn’t matter– finding a way to blame Bernie Sanders for the toxic behavior of Kamala Harris supporters.
Now to get a little more serious. Apparently the latest talking point from the most toxic white liberals online is that Bernie Sanders merely running for president is re-traumatizing them.
— 🎄⛄️ Eoin Jinglins ⛄️🎄 (@EoinHiggins_) December 20, 2019
This fantastic thread details why this is such a fucked-up talking point and concept.
The drama about being "retraumatized" by Bernie Sanders has been on my mind since yesterday. It's been said many times but again, liberal feminists are willing to weaponize rape and trauma and co-opt language used to describe abuse. And it's not an isolated incident.
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
As you can see if you click through here, a lot of the worst white liberals online, led by Sady “Bernie Sanders running is a personal attack on my mental health” Doyle, are challenging, mocking, and belittling Cari for her great, honest, and true thread here.
Honestly really impressive that you managed to make this about you when you literally had nothing to do with any of the tweets. Is this what you do for a living or?
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
You don't have to tweet it yourself, you've cultivated enough of a toxic following that people do it for you when you QT people. You can't say someone else is responsible when people harass you and then pretend you're not QTing people in order to target harassment at them.
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
This right here is exactly what this thread is about. This is liberal feminism. Check the timestamps. pic.twitter.com/nKoRKzpZ8F
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
Let’s take a quick look at what else Sady gets up to online.
and here is Sady, in response to a polite/mild criticism, accusing the poster of threatening her & her family with violence & rape pic.twitter.com/w0SZuDNyjw
— tuunbaq for what (@woke_hoover) July 13, 2017
Outstanding. Just. Out. Standing. pic.twitter.com/cNmW42VV1Z
— Ugly Christmas Sweater Weather Underground (@h00rayforstuff) December 22, 2019
Of course, the people weaponizing trauma in this way were rabid Bill and Hillary Clinton supporters. Apparently an ACTUAL rapist and the woman who tried to destroy his victims isn’t traumatizing. But a guy who wants to give everyone health care is. Donald Trump, also an actual rapist, is the current President of the United States, but these people are more “re-traumatized” by, and have more vitriol for, Bernie Sanders. (Of course, the group engaging in this behavior is the same group of toxic white feminists we’ve seen online for the last four years, whose hatred– with a side dish of anti-semitism— is directed at Sanders entirely because he dared to run against The Patron Saint Of Slay Queen Girlbosses, The Perfect Feminist With No Flaws, Hillary Clinton.)
white women claiming that a Jewish man has a certain unidentifiable je ne sais quoi that makes them feel like he might be a rapist, he just has an aura, etc is a tactic literally hundreds of years old.
— ghost wife (@eponawest) December 21, 2019
Normal people with normal feelings pic.twitter.com/QVqrDwvlgU
— Margot Hammurabi (@TankieSanders) December 21, 2019
The other side of this is the idea that you’re not allowed to criticize this absolutely toxic behavior, because if you do, it means you hate victims and hate women. (There are entire websites and communities run by people with this mindset.) Of course, to the people who say that, if you don’t agree with them, your own trauma doesn’t matter and deserves to be mocked. And of course, you’re expected to take their word on how toxic the behavior of Sanders supporters toward them is, but they never have evidence, and asking for it is belittling all women everywhere. But if you actually show up with evidence of how the rabid Clinton Cult of rich white feminists harasses Bernie supporters and mocks their trauma, well, that just doesn’t count.
Bernie supporters are continually accused of attacking people. Here are hundreds of examples of us being attacked. The only time I am aggressive is when I am attacked. Even then I don't attack people. I try to get them to read.https://t.co/hBdWEX3V6E
— Jackie (@jackiembouvier) November 24, 2019
I've been raped, so have far too many other women I know personally, including the woman you're attempting to have dogpiled by your followers…what does this have to do with Sanders, Sady?
Has Sanders been accused of sexually assaulting someone? https://t.co/o1uSATur3z
— Joe Biden is a Racist (@BethLynch2020) December 22, 2019
Candice Aiston used @SloughWitch's rape survival story to score cheap anti-Bernie points. Here's the entire thread in case you're blocked: pic.twitter.com/qoAQ4SU7jj
— Voodoo Pork (@Voodoo_Pork) December 11, 2019
@SloughWitch, the actual victim here, responds: pic.twitter.com/dwTpUSe2uL
— Voodoo Pork (@Voodoo_Pork) December 11, 2019
If you forget who Candice Aiston is, she’s the estate lawyer (class interests) whose avatar on Twitter for a long time was Hillary Clinton’s face laid over her own face (cult mindset) and who originally got banned from Twitter for racism (white feminist).
Doesn’t count, though. Civility for thee, not for me. You can’t mock me, but I can mock your worst traumas and lived experiences, because I am a rich white feminist and you are a plebian Bernie Bro (doubly so if you’re a woman, doubly so if you’re a POC).
And you know what especially doesn’t count? Openly talking about hiring women to make fake accusations of sexual assault against Bernie Sanders.
cc: @AnaKasparian Just a heads up, the Wonkette writer you mentioned has been kicked off Twitter three times, once for offering to find women to falsely accuse Bernie Sanders of abuse.
Please don't give a platform to someone this vile. Here's just a few of her tweets. pic.twitter.com/K0a7MHZ1Hp
— beth, christmas being over enthusiast (@bourgeoisalien) August 31, 2019
This is a difficult subject to write about because you have to tread lightly. It’s easy to say the wrong thing and be accused of mocking or diminishing someone’s experiences. But I think it’s pretty clear who’s acting in bad faith when they mock and dismiss other people’s assault and trauma. They mock and dismiss that trauma in order to weaponize it against Bernie Sanders, or because those people aren’t willing to weaponize their own trauma against Bernie Sanders.
White liberal feminists act like their experiences are the only ones that matter, and if you don’t agree with them, you and your experiences are worthy of mockery and scorn. You’re not people to them.
And that’s why it’s so important to push back against that attitude and stand in solidarity with each other. We cannot let toxic white feminists with overt financial incentives warp how we talk about trauma and assault and who deserves to be heard and why all so they can score points against Bernie Sanders and the left. Those people don’t care about anything but their own power and letting you know that you’re lesser than them. Don’t give them an inch. Stand up to toxic malignant narcissists and call out their gaslighting and other abusive behavior. You are not alone.
If you don't have trauma, then they will silence you immediately. If you do have trauma, they will belitte it and ridicule you. They're sick people.
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
If it were about a simple disagreement, simply supporting a different candidate, they would not be this way. They need everyone to know that if you disagree with them you are worthless. But you're not. And we're absolutely going to win, no matter how much they scream about it.
— Cari (@eatinginmycar) December 22, 2019
Shit, we didn’t even cover the broader smear machine working against Sanders today. That might have to wait for another day.
(Thanks to everyone on Twitter who contributed, directly or indirectly, to this article.)