Are some leftists really just liberals?

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Inauguration was a few weeks ago, but online I still see the aftermath, the memes, of the event. The fake woke leftists have truly bothered me this past week, especially on social media. Inauguration was definitely a catalyst for disagreements and arguments online, but each side angers me in different ways.

On a more liberal side, individuals on social media idolized the women of the Democratic Party for their style on Inauguration Day (and they did indeed look fabulous). The women all dressed in monochromatic colors and liberal, girl-power Twitter went absolutely nuts in response.

On the other hand, we saw “leftists” on social media criticizing any and every person who admired these women. They argued that no one should idolize a politician and we should be focused on policy and working to make the world a better place. This is not a bad argument to have; idolizing a politician is dangerous and leaves room to not be critical of the systems at play.

However, my issues with this are these same leftists who criticize people for admiring politicians are idolizing Bernie Sanders. Personally, I have no qualms with Bernie Sanders and often I find myself agreeing with his politics, but it is very hypocritical to continuously bully liberals online while doing the exact same thing but with different people. Everywhere, there were Bernie stickers, Bernie crochet dolls, Bernie wearable attire.

So it leaves me to question, why is there not the same energy about idolizing politicians; it is a bit scary that the rules do not apply for “leftists” in the same way. Even worse, the fact that people are utilizing this to make money further confirms that these “leftists” are simply a different breed of liberals in the United States.

So often, we find a way to bully individuals online when in actuality we should be organizing to make a change in the United States. Over the past few days, I have found people on social media bullying people who do not actually have any political power, such as Vice President Kamala Harris’s step-daughter Ella Emhoff. They criticize her simply for being related to the vice president, without any actual knowledge of her political views and beliefs, which is a huge issue for me.

I never want to appear as if I am a die-hard liberal or a die-hard leftist, who will not critique our system and government when needed. I feel as if I do that. But I also want to draw attention to and criticize “leftists” who do not follow the same rules they force upon others. If you truly want change to happen, focus on grassroots organizing instead of constant anger online.

I really want to live in a world of love, where we can work to create change and justice instead of only bringing people down. I fear if we continue down this path, we will never truly get to that point.