The Questions:
Why Bernie? As has been discussed among Bernie supporters many times, he has an extensive civil rights record. He would seem like the candidate to go after the least, yet he's been targeted the most.
Why not other candidates? Bernie has been targeted twice now with no protests at the events of other candidates. You'd think there'd be at least some action at a few GOP events. O'Malley was at Netroots during that protest, but Black Lives Matter hasn't protested one of his events since. Was it Bernie they were after all along?
Why do the venues seem to cater to the the protesters? No efforts were made to remove the protesters at Netroots or Seattle. And in Seattle, music was played as the protesters took the stage. Did they somehow get control of the sound system?
If they wanted a response from Bernie, why don't they just ask? With Bernie's civil rights record and the numerous responses (tumblr, twitter, youtube, website) he's given on the issue, you'd think he'd be open to the idea of having a conversation with BLM. So why don't they initiate one? Surely, that would be ideal. Since when is screaming at someone and forcing them off the stage effective in getting your questions addressed?
The Theories
They aren't actually protesting Bernie. Netroots stated it's policy for them not to quiet the voices of women or minorities as reasoning for why they didn't shut down the protest. And if someone actually did give the protesters access to the sound system in Seattle, then it seems like these two events were ones the protesters knew they could get into. So, one running theory is these protests don't have anything to do with Bernie at all. His events are just less "secure" than an event by someone like Hillary Clinton. And the protesters are simply using the events they know they can use to draw attention and broadcast their message. Nothing more.
They're being paid to do this. Why aren't they protesting other candidates with far worse track records? And why Bernie even though he has an extensive record? Because someone wants to run a smear campaign on Bernie Sanders and get his name pushed negatively in the media.
They're actually pushing Bernie. These "protesters" actually see Bernie as the ideal presidential candidate. They keep appearing at his events because they want to push him on the issues so he continues to respond. By continuing to show up at his events and giving voice to their issues, they're more likely to get the policies they want implemented because they know Bernie's track record and they know he'll respond.
These are extremists from the BLM movement. Black Lives Matter doesn't actually hate Bernie. The protesters who have shown up are just using the connections they have to voice their personal frustrations and should largely be ignored.
The Alternative
I'm not sure I believe any of these theories. But they certainly make it confusing when trying to talk to people about the issue. Of course, the alternative to all those theories is that Black Lives Matter really is protesting Bernie.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Bernie and representatives of BLM really need to schedule a publicized meeting with each other and just get this all out in the open. It would answer a lot of questions, put these theories to bed, and I think make a whole bunch of people breathe a lot easier. That, I feel certain about.
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