''Every seat in the theater in LA filled up so Bernie went outside to talk to the people ... ''

[Hekate]

344. In all fairness, sheshe, the urge to find a simpler purer life was fairly widespread...

...among my generation. For instance, it engendered a lot of communes, with or without tie-dye, and though most probably didn't know it, utopian communal living has a long long history in the US. Back to the land.

Going to live in a small town or rural state after the pressures of the Big City -- I do not fault anyone for that. Many of us made those choices, if we were able to.

I focus on Bernie's other choices -- like allowing his newfound followers to give him credit for the achievements of others from before they were born.
I fault him for being a lifelong scold to the Democratic Party without giving at least equal time to the GOP.
I fault him for his one-size-fits-all solution to all our problems -- classic Marxist economic theory -- that will magically make all our other problems (racism, misogyny, social inequality) go away.
I fault him for allowing his newfound followers to disrespect women like Dolores Huerta and Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi, whose lifetime of grinding work should be recognized and who should not be shouted down and physically shoved aside by men young enough to be their grandsons, who don't know and don't care what was done before they were born.

I'm not blaming you or arguing with you, dear she; this was the only place I could think of to insert my comment in a subthread that seems to be going down a rabbit hole. Moving to a very small state like Vermont allowed him to be elected to the US Senate, and be re-elected year after year. I get that part, and it's fine. What he's accomplished is another topic; and his rise to national prominence at an advanced age opens him to critiques he never had to endure before.