MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Bernie Sanders announced his intention to run for the Democratic presidential nomination on April 30th, 2015. His call for a “political revolution” included criticizing income inequality, money in politics, and other structural issues - a significant change in the discourse of modern political campaigns. Over a year later, despite the support of numerous national, regional, and local grassroots groups, millions of volunteers, and billions in individual donations, the senator’s run was starting to end. In popular media, his supporters were often called “Bernie Bros” or “Bernie Bots” and dismissed as naïve or prone to violence. These supporters, assumed to be stubborn young millennials, were lumped together as being “Bernie or Bust,” implying their lack of loyalty to the Democratic National Committee. Media stereotypes of these supporters overshadowed a political activism aimed at continuing the progressive movement past November and attempting to change American politics.

This presentation introduces a current independent ethnographic project on the creation and sustainment of grassroots political movements. I argue that many Bernie supporters are burgeoning political activists and draw on Michel de Certeau’s “tactics” and “strategies” to explain how their behaviors contradict media portrayals. Using ethnography as a tool of investigation, I examine the status of the contemporary progressive movement. My ethnographic research has taken place both online and on the ground, including rallies, protests, and the day to day aspects of the campaign. I focus primarily on D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area activism, but also consider National events such as We the People Co-op and Brand New Congress. This presentation will question the media’s portrayal of Bernie supporters and make a case for the emergence of a strong segment of supporters as activists in new progressive movements.