Stop telling the kids to get off the lawn. It isn't going to help your cause.

[phantom power]

I don't care who you vote for in this primary. As I'm someone sympathetic to The Left I'm somewhat sympathetic to Bernie, who currently is The Left, but I think there are good reasons to vote for both Clinton and Sanders. I'm sympathetic to The Left because many years of watching this stuff (cough Obama cough) has taught me if you want to end up in the mythical center you'd better start on the left. But I have zero interest in advocating for either candidate.

Besides being sympathetic to The Left, I'm sensitive to how The Left is treated by the press and basically all of our mainstream institutions. Like crap. That might be ok if The Right were treated similarly, but they aren't. The Right are always treated with deference, and their nutcases of the week are always given glowing profiles in all of our mainstream news outlets.

Anyway, my related pet peeve is the way the youngs are talked about these days. Have you heard about these millienials? Or these hipsters? We're not sure who they are or how old they are but they're young and ridiculous and stupid! They're youngs! They're all so poor because they're lazy and just want a medal for leaving their parents' basements!!! And their ipods and their saggy and/or skinny jeans and their hippity hop!

The merger of these things is how Sanders supporters are treated with contempt because they are young. They must be stupid! They've never even voted before! Um, ok. I'm seeing more of this from, if not actual Clinton campaign people, those who could reasonably described as surrogates (prominent people who might not have a campaign role, but not internet randos). Stop telling the kids to get off the lawn. It isn't going to help your cause.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2016/03/the-youngs-are-stupid.html

[leftofcool]

1. Maybe if they get off the lawn they will actually get out to vote.

[Armstead]

3. Maybe if the Old Fart Democrats would actually encourage them instead of dissing them...

they might decide the political process is actually relevant and worth participating in.

[leftofcool]

5. Their decision to vote or not is not up to me or you.

Voting is a privilege just like having daddy pay for your cell phone. They can exercise it or not.

[Armstead]

6. There you go again

keep it up. That kind of attitude is really going to energize the young and encourage them to start to identify with the Democratic Party in the future.

[LanternWaste]

7. You consistently and absurdly place of the responsibility of the youth vote

You consistently and absurdly place of the responsibility of the youth vote on everyone but the youths themselves, regardless of the irrelevancy of attitude.

[Armstead]

8. No, there's an old fart part of me that gripes about shallow "kids these days"

But when I see the other side -- the energized, idealistic side that Sanders is stirring up -- I think that should be praised and encouraged -- instead of cold water deliberately thrown on it.

[Live and Learn]

12. And you continually bash the youth whom, I might remind you, are the country's future. nt

[DrDan]

14. noting their lack of voting is not "bashing" - did you know 1 in 5 under 30 voted in 2014

and 1 in 4 in the 2012 presidential election.

Pretty dismal . . . (not bashing, just pointing out the lack of voting for whatever reason)

[Live and Learn]

19. Their lack of voting is precisely because of the bashing. This year they are totally engaged and

many Hillary supporters are actively trying to dissuade them from voting.

I have helped register many of them but I can't in good conscience encourage them to vote for Hillary should she win the nomination.

[DrDan]

26. so what happened in 2012 and 2014?

[Lizzie Poppet]

38. I'd guess that in large part, they were disappointed in Obama.

While I think he's been a fine president, the youth are not alone in being disappointed that he hasn't pushed a progressive agenda nearly as far as we were hoping. I've always cut him slack, given the absurd level of obstruction he's faced...but he really hasn't been what you can call a progressive champion. That's the cause of the reduction of youth participation up until these primaries.

It's my view that the youth voter won't turnout to vote against a candidate (probably even Trump). They have to have someone to vote for. That's not Hillary.

[DrDan]

13. so you are blaming Hillary-supporters for young Sanders-supporters not voting

not unexpected.

[Armstead]

15. I'm blaming her campaiugn and supporters for....

demeaning young voters and saying they are naive and stupid because they have idealism.

And demeaning them because they have not been political junkies.

That kind of crap makes the political process seem more irrelevant. to them.

[DrDan]

28. please provide one link showing Hillary's campaign "demeaning young voters

and saying they are naïve and stupid because they have idealism" and "demeaning them because they have not been political junkies".

[Armstead]

36. Just read DU...Starting with this thread

And listen to Clinton's surrogates and dismissing Sanders as appealing only to young voters, who won't vote anyway.

The campaign itself won't do that, but they use a lot of dog whistles -- and Clinton herself blatantly uses the "it's naive to hope for too much" to discourage the idealistic impulses

I'm not going to play the stupid "show me links" game. You have fingers and a keyboard, and a set of eyes and ears..

[DrDan]

37. but you will play the blame "the campaign" game . . . gotcha

[Marr]

32. They demean young voters because they don't support Hillary.

If they did, they'd love young voters and do everything they could to encourage them to vote.

Say what you like about broadbrush descriptions, but I have noticed a theme with Hillary supporters. They tend to have just one consistent value: What's Best for Hillary. Everything else is negotiable, reversible, and forgettable.

[onenote]

33. How is pointing out on DU that many eligible young voters opt not to vote

discouraging those voters that don't vote from voting or, for that matter, discouraging those young voters that do vote from voting?

[Marr]

34. I said they demean younger voters.

And they do. Glance up (and down) this thread and look at the references to basements, laziness, pampering, etc.

[Live and Learn]

10. Damn, and here I thought it was a right in this country!!!

WTF??? What are you trying to do to this country??

[leftofcool]

27. Do you have the "right" to vote is a closed primary?

No, you have to be registered in that party. Voting is both a right and a privilege but it is not my problem or Hillary's if Bernie supporters don't show up to vote.

[Live and Learn]

30. I see you found Dr Hobbitstein's stretch. Notice even he/she doesn't defend your statement.

Voting is a right period. If you are in the party you have RIGHT to vote in the party's primary. To hell with your privilege bs.

[revbones]

20. There's a difference between privileges and rights. nt

[Kip Humphrey]

21. The emperor just stripped: "Voting is a privilege" - Democracy, Bye-bye, we no longer believe ye.

Well, at least we now know a fundamental principal of Hillary. Thanks for sharing.

[LiberalArkie]

23. Results

On Fri Mar 18, 2016, 10:34 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

Their decision to vote or not is not up to me or you.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=1522587

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is a rude and condescending stereotype of young people that they are all mooching off their parents. Most young people work, most college students have jobs, and most are wracking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for education that many older people got nearly for free.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Fri Mar 18, 2016, 10:39 AM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Ugh, really?
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This is a silly alert. Signed an older person who got nothing in life for free, including my education.
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I have no clue why this was alerted. I might disagree with the post, but it doesn't deserve a "hide."
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I agree with the comments, but the person is not insulting anyone and is true that a voter has the right to vote or not vote. The American voter has the right to vote for a leftist or a rightwing person.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[BlindTiresias]

35. Ok Scalia

[KittyWampus]

24. No one is 'dissing them' unless you think calling out the obnoxious Berniebro behavior

is "dissing".

And pointing out that FACT that young voters aren't all that reliable isn't "dissing" either.

[Live and Learn]

31. Is the obnoxious Hillarysis behavior acceptable? nt

[tazkcmo]

2. I agree

Could work with AA community also, huh? Present the reasons to vote for your candidate then Be Quiet and don't question the sanity or intelligence of the potential voter.

[all american girl]

9. I don't treat them with comtempt

I texted my son to tell him to go vote....knowing he was going to vote for Bernie. I'm not sure if he would have remembered if I didn't tell him to get off his ass and move.

I will say that I'm getting a bit tired that there seems to be this thinking that they are the only voting block that matters. All of us are important in this system that we have. It doesn't matter who you vote for, only that you vote.

[workinclasszero]

11. They don't vote

It ain't my fault.

[Hydra]

16. They don't vote because they know their choices are being controlled

I wouldn't bother voting either, but it helps my advocacy to show people that voting isn't helping. We've had 2 fraudulent elections and now 3 more where Bushco policies are all that are being offered by the party.

Illusion of choice is powerful- and more and more people are opting out of it.

[workinclasszero]

18. Then they can live with a pig like this for their President

Who will be deciding their fate for generations to come.

[Hydra]

22. Of course Trump is a monster

He's boasted about it. But if a Trump presidency scares you, you may want to have a talk with Bill Clinton about encouraging him to run.

It was considered a good idea at the time by some people, until the monster didn't disappear.

[KittyWampus]

25. Ah, another post equating the Democratic party with Republicans. How Sanders-like.

Cynics are the worse possible agents of change because they deny actual progress since it invalidates their world view.

I hope none of the young people in your orbit who listen to your erroneous equation of the two parties ever need an abortion. Or health care. Or an education.

[Hydra]

39. Let's see

Hillary says abortion rights are negotiable, that higher education should come at some sort of price of suffering, and that we are "never, ever" going to have better healthcare than we do now.

Thank you for making my point for me.

[hrmjustin]

17. I don't insult the young for supporting Sanders.

[Sunlei]

29. Sanders said, "80% of under 30 crowd don't vote" I think Mrs. Clinton noticed by now, they did....

turn out for Senator Sanders. They need to work together.