One of the biggest stereotypes of Sanders supporters is that they want everything handed to them. From free education, to free healthcare, to a “living” wage, all of which is supposed to be paid by everyone that makes more money than them, it seems like they are the laziest people in the world, or to be even more blunt, parasites. And in a functional sense, they are. Asking for things that you don’t earn is a handout, or charity; that’s pretty straightforward.
In their defense, asking to be bailed out of bad situation, or bad decisions, unfortunately has a precedence in this country (This country being the U.S.A, by the way). This is a country that bailed out banks for giving out loans to people that could never pay them back. The same one that saved failing automotive companies. And even the same one that sent out free money via stimulus checks to the public, not to mention the many breaks and subsidies we offer people for decisions they make, and what they spend their money on. For good or bad, we now have a government that has set a standard for forgiving stupid mistakes and paying for people’s lifestyles.
So when people today ask why they can’t have their degree paid for (whether it benefits us or not), or get free healthcare, in today’s society where the big businesses have had major help, its seemingly unfair to not help them too. And that’s the mindset they have: that the government should be required to help them do whatever they want. That the government should make everyone give them a high minimum wage, low prices for everything, cheap housing, etc. Whatever the question is, the answer is ” someone else will provide.”
That’s why they vote for Bernie. For all of our advancements as a species, the reality is that humans are fundamentally lazy. Whether that ends up with more efficiency or no work done depends on the situation, but biologically that’s the truth. And for the average person, it’s much easier to lay their faith in someone else, rather than figure out for themselves how to make their own lives better. You hear this argument all the time. In this case, with Sanders supporters: “Bernie will make college free, and make the government pay for it.” “Bernie will get free healthcare and tax big banks for pay for it.” “Bernie will make the 1% pay 300,905.6% in taxes and pay us all a living wage.”
Notice a pattern with those (one of those is an actual quote by the way)? All of them require someone else, like Bernie, to solve the problem they have. I’m not making a living wage? Bernie Sanders will provide. Can’t afford housing for my spouse and 3 kids? Bernie Sanders will provide. At no point do they take responsibility for their own actions, or work out solutions to make their own lives better, aside from sharing voting info to support Sanders. So when it comes to stereotypes about the Sanders supporters, that is on the money, but at a more basic level.
They want to be taken care of, and since they saw bigger entities than them get that treatment, they feel justified. And in seeking that care, and that paycheck, and that government aid, they sacrifice their own power of autonomy. They become dependent on the system to provide what they will not, or cannot, provide for themselves. In seeking the care of everyone else, they lose the ability to care for their own. And they aren’t even unjustified to ask, because look at the companies that got help already!
Look, Sanders supporters, I get it. Shit’s tough. Its hard making a living today. And you saw others get free money to keep going, so why shouldn’t you, right? Answer: to be worth a goddamn, that’s why. To have value. Its easy to be on welfare and subsist on others, whether its the government, your parents, friends, etc. But those that produce have value, and therefore power. They’re the ones that call the shots, because they have what everyone (including you) want, whether you like it or not. But contrary to what you were told, this isn’t set in stone, you have a choice: you can seek that power, or you can give it to others to provide for you. But if you choose the latter, to wait for someone else to take and use that power, don’t complain about how they use it, when you could’ve used it yourself.