Bernie Sanders Rally: A Firsthand Experience
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Last Monday I was one of 27,500 people who attended the Los Angeles Bernie Sanders rally in the Memorial Coliseum on USC’s campus. I have no intention of hiding my support for the Vermont senator’s campaign for the next President of the United States. I first heard about Bernie through fellow supporter Madison Schutt and admittedly thought it to be one of those candidates who was too good to ever get past the first rounds. I was not the only one who felt this way, and over the last 2 months I have followed as Bernie has gone from being a total outsider’s choice to now being tied with Hillary Clinton in the current New Hampshire primary poll. Considering that the campaign’s biggest weakness is its lack of knowledge and name recognition of the candidate, I have committed to posting my support online as another way to spread the word. This is a grassroots campaign and will need help from every supporter if it is going to work.
On Monday I attended the rally with 2 fellow Berners (not sure if that’s an official word yet) Madison Schutt and Niki Russo. We arrived at 3:45pm and were within the first 500 people in line. While we waited I brought markers and a poster so that we could make a sign. Niki and I put together a badass, double sided sign declaring our support. The front side was the fun, simple and eye-catching side, and the back had in big bold letters all the reasons we supported him and the question, “Why wouldn’t you vote for him?”
The sign ended up being a big hit among fellow rally attendees and the press. We were Instagrammed, tweeted, featured on a local news page, and an LA Times photographer asked me to be one of the rally attendees that he profiled. Here are some links, evidence if you will:
LA Times 1 (see the video, we are the cover image and at 3:00)
LA Times 2 (scroll to 6:06pm)
Tweeted by LA Times Photographer Marcus Yam
Unfortunately, signs were not permitted inside the auditorium, so I had to leave it outside, where it unsurprisingly was not there when I returned. The sign had a short but fulfilling lifespan.
Doors opened at 6:00pm and once inside we made our way to the very front of the floor area. Getting there early paid off: we were within 20 feet of the stage! So close that once the show started we didn’t even notice the massive projections on the sides for people who didn’t have as good of a view. Over the next hour anticipation brewed and for me it still hadn’t fully clicked that I was about to see this guy in person, surrounded by thousands of other supporters. We watched as the back rows and the top of the stadium filled up bit by bit.
Eventually, the time came, the stage lights came out, and out came the first speakers to enormous applause. The evening’s MC was a woman named Symone Sanders, and her first statement after welcoming the rapturous crowd was about the importance of Black Lives Matter (not just ‘All Lives’ specifically Black Lives) and how much Bernie Sanders supported that cause. Talk about a fantastic way to positively counter the backlash that happened in Seattle.
Before the man himself came out, 6 incredible pre-speakers gave powerful pieces that were each a rally cry for a different facet of Bernie Sanders campaign. Incredibly, there are no news outlets that covered the specifics of the rally, so I decided to do the legwork myself. All these speeches were rousing for the area of the campaign they represented. Here’s a brief summary of the speakers, in order of how they were introduced by Symone Sanders:
Joe Galliani – 350.org Los Angeles – First up was a rousing speech about the realities of climate change and how no other candidate has been so proudly supportive than Bernie Sanders. 350.org is a national organization, but Joe works locally with environmental issues. The guy was extremely charismatic and everyone in the crowd responded with overwhelming enthusiasm. It’s time for politicians to take action on climate change.
Maria Barrera – Coalition for the Human Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles – Speaking on Sanders support of immigration reform, Ms. Barerra had a touching story of her own, at age 17 was an undocumented worker, to ten years later now helping those who come to the US all get a fair chance. Tears were present as she spoke of her struggle, and again was able to rally the crowd with the message of “Si Se Puede” and a clear message that Bernie Sanders supports immigration reform.
National Nurses United – I can’t find anywhere online that says the name of the woman who spoke, but she announced this Union’s official endorsement of Bernie Sanders, and the importance of strengthening organizations that look out for people and not mega corporations.
Dante Harris- flight attendants union – Another LA local from a union of flight attendants passionately spoke about the atrocity that United Airlines filed for bankruptcy and years later the results have only encouraged more layoffs and higher profits and salaries for the CEO’s.
Sarah Silverman – comedian – Sure enough, a big surprise guest came out in the form of comedian Sarah Silverman, adding some celebrity support to the campaign. With a perfect balance of comedy and sincerity, it was Silverman, a fellow New Englander it turns out, who would introduce the man himself, Bernie Sanders.
And out he came: it was impossible not to be excited after such great speakers. Accompanied with his wife, Bernie took the podium. The guy is a dynamo. After quite a while of cheers he was finally able to get started. If you want a taste of what it was like in full, check out this video of the entire speech. With his thick Brooklyn accent and no bullshit approach, for the next hour Bernie spoke in a seamless continuation about the variety of topics he wants to work on. This is a campaign about the people more than anything else. Climate change, women’s rights, social justice, education, and the redistribution of wealth, it was all there. Of course I alongside everyone else could not help but cheer for all of the talking points we agreed on. But one in particular stood out. Toward the end, Bernie said, “I not only ask for your help with this campaign. I am asking for your help the day the campaign is over!”
When the speech ended I wasn’t even expecting it: at some point it all became a blur, not out of disinterest but out of the surreal excitement mixed with having been standing for a very long time. As the crowd began to disperse, suddenly everyone rushed to the front: Bernie was making his way to wave alongside the crowd! I rushed to the only open spot I could find, and amidst a mob of people, I actually managed to shake Bernie’s hand!
Amidst all this excitement, I can’t express enough how bizarre it is for me to go from being close to indifferent toward politics to finding a candidate who I genuinely believe in. This isn’t about democrats or republicans for me, it’s about this specific candidate who I believe can take our country where it needs to go. I don’t want to over saturate my support for him because I know how tiresome those people can be on social media, but let it be abundantly clear I greatly support this candidate and more importantly his platform. Most of what happens is out of my hands, but I hope to continue to spread the message and explain just what is so great about Bernie Sanders. A successful rally and an optimistic future going forward!