A Dad's Gratitude to Bernie & his Staff for Welcoming his Emotionally Disabled Son

[JoeOtterbein]

We have all heard tons of negative buzz about members of Bernie's campaign staff.

None of the talk is about anything Bernie said or tweeted, instead it is always something horrible that a staff person reportedly once said or tweeted. Mostly the words slights another candidate, and sometimes the criticism of such words is valid. But, big or small, it mostly seems enough for some people to proclaim their opposition to Bernie himself.

Here is a little story I know is true, about Bernie's staff:

A reporter covering Bernie's campaign speeches in LA, used her precious spare time in the beautiful state of California to visit her brother who has suffered from mental illness since he was a young child.

She thought it would be great to take her brother to a Bernie rally she was covering. But what happened next, completely exceeded her hopes for her baby brother that day.

Not only did Bernie's staff allow him to join her in the section set aside for the media, they led him to a chair in front as close as possible to Bernie.

She said that everyone was so kind and welcoming and took extra effort to make the young man feel important for just a few precious minutes.

A few days later, back at the hotel room she said her brother saw Bernie on the TV and recounted his favorite line from the rally days before.

Her brother, smiling approvingly, pointed at the TV and said that he heard Bernie say that he would, "legalize marijuana."

The reporter and her father, remembered the time the young man ended up in prison for over six-months because a undercover cop in LA convinced him to sell his own medical cannabis to him illegally.

After telling her story, the reporter and her Dad smiled, and then the very proud Dad shed a tear inside.

Thank you Bernie, for hiring such kind and compassionate people.

And for being such a compassionate, future President of the United States of America.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the sharing JoeOtterbein.

[hedda_foil]

2. What a beautiful story.

Bet I guess who the family is.

[The Valley Below]

3. Having a campaign do personal favors for a reporter who writes unfailingy

glowing articles about their candidate presents troubling issues of bias, integrity, and journalistic ethics.

Is this even "journalism?"

[JoeOtterbein]

4. Talk about a low blow!

How about addressing the issues instead?

[JoeOtterbein]

6. Also, please tell me what is wrong with a journalist telling the truth about a Dem candidate...

...?

HUH?

[The Valley Below]

8. The "truth"?

I've read the articles, they exemplify a reporter being way too close to the candidate being covered in my estimation.

Journalists should strive to be objective.

This would be a sweet story if it involved supporters of a campaign, rather than one whose job it is to cover a campaign objectively as a reporter.

[JoeOtterbein]

9. Yes. The truth about a candidate You happen to dislike.

Pretend it actually happened with a real journalist. Then as such; What is wrong with telling the truth?

[The Valley Below]

10. Real journalists ought not get too close to campaigns they cover or accept personal

favors from said campaigns as matters of journalist ethics, in my estimation.

That's irrespective of whether or not I like or dislike the candidate being covered.

[JoeOtterbein]

12. Allowing a disabled person upfront is wrong?

I thought we all did that in America. Always. Correct?

[The Valley Below]

13. Not in the press section, as you have already pointed out.

Reporters should not take favors from campaigns that they cover.

I'm surprised you don't see the problem.

[JoeOtterbein]

14. Sad.

[The Valley Below]

15. Indeed.

[BannonsLiver]

17. +10000

You nailed that one dead to right. There is zero objectivity. The stories read like a fanzine.

[vsrazdem]

5. OMG. The replies to this are unbelievable.

[Karadeniz]

7. Lovely story!

[myohmy2]

11. thanks JoeOtterbein...

...Bernie-Bashing has become a full time sport...

" None of the talk is about anything Bernie said or tweeted, instead it is always something horrible that a staff person reportedly once said or tweeted. "

...this is how Bernie-Bashers operate...but the $18 a pop donors know what's going on and want Bernie as their President...they've been desperate for decades and can no survive the social, political and economic injustice in this country...

...even the most apolitical amongst us intuitively understand, only Bernie's got our back...

...great to read something un-Bashing...

[ritapria]

16. The Bernie Bashers Puzzle Me

Why such unremitting hostility ? … Why not argue that Bernie is wrong on this issue or that ? ... It is always about name calling (he's a far-left radical) or references to tweets made by a staffer ….The future of the country is at stake and I am supposed to give a damn about a tweet ? …. The Bashers apparently don't want to have an issues- oriented debate for fear they would lose such a debate .. .Hence , the resort to gossip , innuendo and outright slander …..