A feature: The Bernie Sanders Rally in Philadelphia, 2016
It was a blazing Wednesday afternoon, and the Bernie Sanders supporters out in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park weren't angry. They were spread out on the grass, peacefully, with signs like "Hillary is a lying cunt" and "F*ck you Hillary Clinton I hate you!" and "Peace is sexy" laying unused by their sides.
And from where I was sitting, I could actually make out at least 13 people marching across the park and holding up a joint.
It's actually a giant, inflatable joint emblazoned with the fiery words âLegalize. HILLARY, DESCHEDULE CANNABIS NOW!â These kinds of things come and go on the regular at FDR Park just outside the Wells Fargo Center, where dozens of Bernie supporters have pitched tents during the Democratic National Convention. One of the main protest zones during the four-day convention, this tent village has faced little to no opposition from nearby police, who seem to be allowing the situation to easily commence.
THE GROUP is culturally diverse. These dedicated supporters come from all over the country, and frequent places like City Hall to march in the late afternoons and evenings. At three o' clock, however, most of the protesters are gathered around the stage provided by Philly.fyi and Team Bernie L.A. at the park to hear speakers and activists rally against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the non-labeling of GMOs.
For some campers, the rally is nothing more than a diversion, a spectacle. Election rigging, according to a camper from Oregon, is what people should really be out protesting against.
âLike, what the fuck?â Jacob Yona says in bewilderment, gesturing towards both the stage and the blunt. âThis is whatâs distracting people from the real issue. People are sitting down, they're just watching, this is just like watching television. Why not just stay at home then? â
Others, like Bernie fans Hannah Shuetz and Silvia Dominguez still insist that such rallies and meetings are what keep hope alive for Bernie supporters after Hillary Clinton's nomination. They're looking forward to hearing the speakers and getting riled up, Shuetz and Dominguez said, despite Tuesday's blow.
"[Sanders] was a long shot and just because he wasnât nominated doesn't mean it's a dealbreaker," Hannah says with enthusiasm as we walked briskly with the group ahead of us that is heading towards the stage. "It shouldnât end everything."
It's precisely this optimistic spirit that make campers Destine "Dee" Madu and Leo Crudup unwilling to succumb to the antagonism some Bernie supporters have demonstrated.
After introducing myself, they generously invited me to sit with them at their tent. "I smell a lot of weed," I noted.
Laughing, Leo explained, "That's how the peace is spread."
THE SMALL COMMUNITY that the campers have made at the park is inspirational, Leo said. Gesturing to the row of tents next to theirs, he explains that they take turns watching each other's belongings. The last time Leo went camping was over 15 years ago, and he thanks Bernie for allowing him to relive his childhood memories.
"Bernie ignited something in me," Leo says, shaking his head fondly. "And I wasn't political before, but I finally feel inspired to do something."
Dee insists that just as people have gathered in the park, others can also continue the political revolution that Bernie started.
"Nobody's killing anybody, inciting riots or anything like that," Dee says. "This can be done and it doesn't have to be tense. This isn't some fantastical, mumbo-jumbo fantasy, like everybody's smoking fairy dust and singing kumbaya around the campfire."
"That's fun as hell, actually," Leo interrupts, smiling.
"I mean, yeah, that's fun," Dee agrees, "but what I'm saying is that this is attainable. Where thereâs a will, thereâs truly a way. And if enough people will it, thereâs a way."
For the next half hour, we talk about how Tuesday's "coronation" of Hillaryâas Dee puts itâhas changed the direction of their political orientation. Both of them agreed that they cannotâ"in good conscience"âvote for the Democratic nominee in the general election, swiftly deregistered from the Democratic Party, switched their political affiliation to Independent, and have firmly decided to put their backing behind Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
"I just want a politician thatâs willing to get in the streets with us," Leo says. "I think Iâve seen Jill Stein about three times this week, because she's just dedicated to being with the people."
Leo then points to the chain-link fence that divides the park from the Wells Fargo Center. "Theyâre getting on Trump for that wall, but theyâre building a wall for us here in America."
"We're not even being seen," he continues. "People are gathered here, roughing it out, we're with the whole socialist movement and this is FDR, you know? While theyâre over there in their corporate, air-conditioned rooms. Itâs a wall, a four-mile radius wall to keep us out."
Over time the New Jersey campers still believe that with persistence and love, the people will win.
"Look at this all, isn't it beautiful?" Dee says, nodding towards the groups of people gathered around.
Our conversation is cut short by a new sojourner who introduces himself as Diamond Day and sits with us for a while. He notices my reporter's notebook and recorder, and with a flourish he declares that he will recite a poem.
"Love will get you everywhere, hate will get you nowhere!" Diamond shouts.
He stops to peer over at my notebook.
"Are you getting all this?"
MICHELLE MANOS believes that Bernie Sanders has now become a feeling or an idea. But it's a good thing.
"What happened yesterday was a loss and we're heartbroken, but we're not going to stop because [Sanders] handed us a revolution," she says.
Michelle's been here at the park for the past two weeks. She's also one of the organizers of the Main Stage at FDR park where the GMOs rally took place, working for Team Bernie LA, a volunteer-run campaign office for Bernie Sanders based in Los Angeles. The organization teamed up with Philly.fyi, who had secured the permits for utilizing the park space, to build the events calendar. Team Bernie LA also helped throw Josh Fox's rally on climate change on Sunday and assisted activist YahNĂŠ Ndgo's Bernie or Bust rally at Thomas Paine Plaza on Tuesday.
"Regardless of what the man does, weâre going to take our Bernie family and elevate Berniecrats running for office," Michelle says. "The fact that Bernie has become an idea is really a testament to what he was able to do during the past six months."
So do agree the Bernie protesters Coral Burriss and Amanda Harwood, from Frederick, Maryland, listening intently to the speakers near the stage. As we talk about what Bernie has come to mean for them, Amanda is first to speak.
"Bernie was just the fire that started this and luckily he woke up a lot of people," she says. "The media teaches us that anyone thatâs different, a lower class or different race from us is inherently evil ... but all of a sudden when the Bernie Sanders movement came up people started to connect to other people and they started to realize that everything theyâre being told is a lie."
The notion that Bernie set off a flame is a sentiment that seems the most universal at the moment. Even Jacob Yona, who criticized the GMOs rally earlier for being off-topic, carries the metaphor.
"This is the first time Iâve felt that people in my age range are gathering and thereâs a sense of power," Yona says. "Itâs being subverted here with all this shit but thereâs a reason why tens of thousands of people are here, and thatâs what makes me happy. Yeah, Bernie stepped down, but it feels to me something was ignited."
Whether he's a flame, an idea, or a mere symbol, the man Bernie Sanders has come to represent different things for different people after Tuesday. While many are rallying behind Jill Stein, Michelle still believes that Bernie will go down in the history books for starting something big. "We don't have to choose the lesser of two evils anymore, so we'll continue instead of going back to complacency. We can't go back."
