This is persuasion done correctly. “I understand how you are feeling. Israel’s crimes and US support should be important to all of us. You aren’t wrong to feel like you do, and I sympathize. That being said, listen to why it’s important to participate.” No insults, readily apparent empathy, and a sound argument.

People have been doing exactly that since back when we were trying to somehow get Biden to win.

The message isn’t the thing. It is the speaker. And this is why celebrity endorsements matter.

I get what you are saying, but I respectfully disagree that people have largely been this reasonable. By writing “this is how it’s done correctly, with respect and logic” I’m juxtaposing Sen. Sander’s approach vs. “vote with us or else you’re -insert insult here-” posts, comments, and memes. I’ve seen tons of attempts to dehumanize or discredit critics of Biden/Harris/Dems on Lemmy and other platforms. You are right that some have always tried to be empathetic and civil.

I agree high-profile endorsements matter. That bugs me a little bit because I think arguments should succeed or fail on their own merits and not reputation. But I know I’m a consciously “have no heroes” person because I believe everyone is fallible. I definitely have people I respect a lot, but no one that I’ll agree with all the time.

Generally speaking, people AREN’T saying “vote with us or else you’re a piece of shit” to anyone who is (good faith) complaining about Biden’s horrendous record on genocide and Kamala being unlikely to be much better. We almost always point out "Yeah… it sucks. But do you think trump will be any better? and get responses along the lines of “WELL I WON’T VOTE FOR GENOCIDE!! THAT IS MY LINE!!!”

It has nothing to do with the way the message was said and pretending otherwise is an active insult to everyone who gives a shit.

The only reason this MIGHT make a dent is because it is Bernie Sanders. The guy who opened a lot of people’s minds to the reality that there is something better than late stage capitalism and beltway liberals.

I’ll give one high-ish profile example that illustrates what I’m talking about: /c/politicalmemes has nearly 6k users, which is fairly big for Lemmy. In the last 6 months, the #3 top post with 1.91k upvotes is about how not voting because you feel there’s no good choice means Republicans win and not seeing that means “you have a problem”. The top comment in that post is about how people saying Biden isn’t doing enough are propagandists. The #3 top comment literally tells dissenters to “do a lot more shutting the fuck up”.

As I’ve said from the beginning: it’s not universal, but it shows up regularly enough to make me appreciate Bernie’s approach.

The meme sub. Where people intentionally try to make jokes and antagonize each other?