To the editor:

Kevin Groenhagen’s misinformation (Public Forum, Dec. 17) about both the Democratic Socialists of America and Bernie Sanders supporters needs a corrective analysis. He sets up two straw-men arguments which he then uses to berate Sanders supporters by claiming that “likely a large percentage” of the supporters hold these views. What he is really saying is, “I made this up.”

As an active Sanders supporter, I can assure Kevin we don’t talk about Marx or the DSA. Bernie isn’t and hasn’t been a member of the DSA. What do we talk about? Racial justice, immigrant rights, equitable and free public education, minimum wage, economic inequality, declining living standards for all but the 1 percent, bipartisan corporate control of legislative bodies, the abuse of the tax code by corporate interests to enrich themselves, the militarization of the police, an increasingly polluted biosphere, single-payer health care and free universal child care among other topics.

These matters have been taken up by millions of Bernie supporters. This is massive disaffiliation from the senseless nihilism of oligarchic spokespersons promoting a commercial and predatory society.

Do these issues which call for a fundamental change in the quality of life depend on Marx’s “Das Kapital”?  More likely it comes from an increasing demand for societal democratization. So, Kevin, would you like me to bring you a Bernie bumper sticker?