What is WayOfTheBern?
WayOfTheBern is named for Bernie's Way of building coalitions across ideological divides, from his time as Burlington's mayor to the work that won him the nickname of "the amendment king" on the Hill. The Way finds clear expression in these words:
"It is harder, but not less important, for us to try and communicate with those who do not agree with us on every issue. And it is important to see where if possible, and I do believe it is possible, we can find common ground."
Our politics: We don't see politics along a Left/Right divide; we see it along a Top/Bottom divide, and it is especially on issues of economic justice where people from across the political spectrum can meet and engage.
Many of us are newly awakened and angry at what we see.
Hopefully this is a place to channel that anger, to vent those
frustrations, to laugh at the absurdities and cry at the inhumanity, and in the process find ways to expose those in
positions of authority who have long since forgotten who they
serve, and replace them with those who do.
But a caveat is needed, it's the only way to keep chaos from reigning in this environment of Freedom to Express Opinions Others Don't Like: users don't get to be assholes about it (see Rules below).
Trolls: There's nothing more terrifying to the ruling elite than the prospect of working class people of all political stripes joining forces over their shared grievances. So periodic invasions and brigades by their paid shills and bots and corporate party True Believers™️ comes with the territory. Don't Feed the Trolls is still the best advice but the mods can't always resist the catnip appeal of pinning a troll post.
Bans: We rarely ban but we do have an arsenal of tools we don't hesitate to use to put a leash on bad faith actors who come here just to disrupt and distract.
Town squares, official orthodoxies and participatory democracy
Rules
We don't like rules. Shocking, I know.
But we need one, so here's the one rule:
“That which you hate, do not do to your neighbor."
Aka "The Golden Rule," "Play Nice," "DBAD," and "Be excellent to one another!" If you have trouble with this, no length of rules will have any greater effect.
(Graffiti and sharp objects are removed at the discretion of whichever mod or user is trying to help you understand our one rule.)
Guidelines, requests, and suggestions:
Agreement is not a goal; Civil engagement is.
Unity is not a goal; Tolerance of others is.
Conformity is not a goal; Enlightened debate is.
Many of us are newly awakened and angry at what we see. Hopefully this is a place to channel that anger, to vent those frustrations, to laugh at the absurdities and cry at the inhumanity, and in the process find ways to expose those in positions of authority who have long since forgotten who they serve, and replace them with those who do.
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