Brother Ivan, one of our best Bernie supporters and a POC seems to have been run off.

[Bonobo]

Last edited Fri Aug 21, 2015, 10:42 AM - Edit history (1)

His last post was on July 19th. He is a person of color with mixed heritage.

A strong and vocal supporter of Bernie, I could see the hurt when a certain poster told him he wasn't black enough.

If you are reading this, Brother Ivan, please come back. You are missed.

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Yes, please come back, Brother Ivan.

You are missed. Some people around here just don't have any manners. Using Ignore and some other features can improve your experience here exponentially.

[LiberalElite]

8. I have a certain

strong man on ignore myself.

[Live and Learn]

2. Not sure he was run off but he is sorely missed.

Hoping he was just taking some time off and answers soon.

[merrily]

6. Someone else posted something similar a couple of days ago.

Of course, the fact that two posters post something doesn't automatically mean it's right. But, I suspect there may be something to it. I didn't see anything on the board, but, then again, I tend to stay in this group a lot.

[Live and Learn]

7. I sure hope not. Hope he is just taking a short break or volunteering for Bernie.

But that is quite a long stretch. Now i am getting worried.

[merrily]

11. By "run off," I don't think the OP or the other poster meant "banned," if that's

what you're worried about. I get the impression he can post whenever he feels like it.

Sometimes, this board can feel too ugly to bother with. Jurors seem too busy worrying about their own respective candidates to worry about the ugly. Insult a politician who will never see the insult, you risk a hide; say something ugly to your fellow DUer, proceed to GO and collect $200. Seems backasswards to me, but I'm not in charge of juries. Or of anything on this board, really.

[carolinayellowdog]

28. I mentioned missing him when TM99 stepped away for a while

Speaking as a person of mixed ancestry, although not a visible POC as they are, the racebaiting hatemongering directed against Sanders supporters has been excruciating. And I strongly suspect that those who are POC have been especially targeted.

While I'd love to see them both return, the return of Catherina has been a wonderful surprise and brings a "new" African American voice to this group.

[merrily]

3. I miss Brother Ivan a lot.

[Bonobo]

4. Did you miss me? nt

[merrily]

5. Meh.

Of course I did. I miss all of Bernie's supporters.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

17. Definitely!

[MrMickeysMom]

9. I got an e-mail talking about Bernie Sanders events coming up this weekend...

Regardless if he took a break in any DU tasking (the nastiness sometimes makes you do that), I'm sure he's working for Bernie Sanders…

… As we all are.

Go, Brother Ivan, Go!

[Admiral Loinpresser]

14. +1 n/t

[magical thyme]

10. be well Brother Ivan

and come back to visit us when you can. We miss your voice...

[Doctor_J]

12. Ivan was too outspoken and unwavering in his liberal politics. The bullying of lefties over blm has

gotten really bad.

[RoccoR5955]

13. I hope Brother Ivan is well.

Maybe he's just taking his own time out. I know that I should probably take a time out from this place from time to time, as it gets too toxic at times.

[Autumn]

15. Yes his voice is missed. I'm hoping he will be back soon.

Last edited Fri Aug 21, 2015, 10:24 AM - Edit history (1)

So many have stepped away lately, their voices truly silenced. The hatred is hard to deal with on a daily basis.

[sabrina 1]

23. They're not silenced though, it's a far bigger internet than it used to be, not to mention what

Bernie's supporters are doing in RL. Silenced here maybe, and yes, that is wrong. Watching some of the vitriol against Benrie and his supporters here, by a FEW, can be upsetting, however my advice is to simply skip over certain names and don't go into their threads.

[Autumn]

24. Their voices have been silenced here. Not by jury hides because I have found for the biggest part

the juries get it right, but by the vitriol and attacks on them. That's what I try to do, there are OPs that I won't even click on.

[sabrina 1]

25. Yes, I agree. And some have just moved on to more productive venues where they can do more

to get their candidate elected. It's pointless imo, to argue with anyone whose agenda is merely to distract. It's a waste of valuable energy.

[Puglover]

16. He didn't speak the Kool Kid speak.

Therefore was not loved by that crowd. A badge of honor as far as I am concerned.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

18. Which person told him he wasn't Black enough?

That's disgusting! I miss Brother Ivan - come back!

[Bonobo]

19. I promised I would not say publicly.

It wasn't in those words of course, but the message was unmistakeable.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

35. I see

thanks

[Puglover]

20. I would love to see him return.

He was a gentleman and a very thoughtful poster. Thanks for the tribute Bonobo.

About the last thing I would term GDP these days is thoughtful.

[Enthusiast]

21. We need all the Bernie champions we can get and Brother Ivan is one of the best.

What a cruel thing to say!

We need you!

[sabrina 1]

22. That would be really sad, if true. Brother Ivan is one of my favorite DUers.

Please come back, BI!

[still_one]

26. If someone told him that, it should have been Alerted. Those kind of remarks are way out of line

[notadmblnd]

27. not black enough?

Wow, I didn't think there were any bigoted black people here

[TBF]

29. I like Brother Ivan -

very thoughtful poster. Hope he returns!!

[SoapBox]

30. Come back to the nice, warm, cozy, FRIENDLY Bernie Group, Brother Ivan!

Overall best to stay in here for the most part.

And I know EXACTLY who you all are talking about...I was so bloody mad at some of what they were posting that I did an alert or two...finally blocked them and trashed the group where he usually hangs...all of it was ridiculously nasty.

So...Brother Ivan (and some others I'm not seeing) come hang around in here!

Go Bernie! Go Team Bernie!

[KeepItReal]

31. I don't know Brother Ivan, but I'd encourage him to come on back

I've been mixing it up in posts with folks (mainly on racial issues and Sen. Sanders who I support) more than I ever had during my time on DU.

I enjoy the back and forth with fellow DUers, even if it's frustrating.

Nobody has ever had the gall to call me "not Black enough". I *wish* someone would. That's the kind of brotha I am.

[azmom]

32. You are missed.

[Luminous Animal]

33. I follow him on twitter.

[immoderate]

34. BBBI!

--imm

[Scuba]

36. Brother Ivan is missed in this corner. Hope he returns.

[Babel_17]

37. It's smart to take breaks

People who play dirty pool in order to win this particular game, win nothing. Only in the narrow context of a barrage of posts in a single thread on a lone forum might it seem that those tactics were decisive. The internet never forgets and you can't hold back forever the larger context of the real world.

The big lies against Sanders have been widely discredited, and they could never find real traction. Kudos to those who didn't just hunker down and let that barrage of abuse go unanswered. Sanders record, and life history, got help up in a cruel light, true, but he easily passed that examination. Those who hurled the big lies came off as looking ridiculous and/or disingenuous and have lost credibility.

Time passes and Sanders supporters remain, having an inspiring candidate they can support with pride. The sand isn't constantly shifting beneath their feet, their movement is solidly grounded on great principles. With Senator Sanders there's no doubts about sincerity, integrity, or commitment.

So some opposing his nomination find it too challenging to deal with all of that in an honest fashion. Enter the ad hominem attacks on his supporters on the internet, and the stacking of the deck by the system in the larger world. The system is geared to churning out candidates who will reinforce the position of the establishment. Patently so, imo.

So, Brother Ivan, we'll see you when we see you, and have fun with whatever you're doing!

[davidpdx]

38. I don't know Brother Ivan well, but every interaction I've had with him has been a good one

I can't say that about many people. When you are ready Brother Ivan come back. We'll keep your seat warm for you.