Letters to the Editor: ‘Bernie bros’ gets so much wrong about Bernie Sanders supporters

To the editor: Writer Rich Benjamin, not Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is the one who should “stand down” and defer to younger people, who overwhelmingly support Sanders.

In an Oct. 8 Chegg-College Pulse Poll, Sanders led in support among college students with 31%, an increase of 1 percentage point over the same poll taken the week before his health scare, which apparently didn’t bother young people.

In pushing for Sanders to drop out of the presidential race, Benjamin not only dismisses the youth vote, but also marginalizes women and people of color with his lazy use of the tired and easily debunked “Bernie bros” trope. In fact, about half of Sanders’ supporters are women, and less than half are white, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.

As for the need to avoid the perception of weakness against President Trump, let’s remember that the last time Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tangled with Trump, he baited her into an ill-advised and offensive decision to reveal DNA test results indicating a distant Native American ancestor. She apologized and was largely forgiven, but the incident does not inspire confidence in Warren as the best candidate to defeat Trump.

Mary Paster, Upland

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To the editor: Democrats are running against an unstable president with the mind-set of a mob boss, and Benjamin thinks a mild heart attack should take Sanders out of the race? Really?

As a huge Sanders supporter, I beg everyone to let the voters decide. We the people will choose the person who has the character, honesty, record, ideas and agenda we believe in and trust. Sanders can recover and be stronger than ever; whether he was done so enough is for voters to decide.

His position in favor of public ownership of utilities looks really good in the wake of the Pacific Gas & Electric debacle we have watched unfold, where ratepayers always take the hits while their stockholders cash in.

Sylvia Hampton, San Diego