An Interview With a Man Who Was Campaigned at By Bernie Sanders Fans on Dating Apps
Politics
“Talk Bernie to me,” shouted no one ever on a dating app, and yet that is happening: a very small army of self-motivated young women are using Tinder, Bumble, and all the other hellish, spiritually depleting find-love-quick programs on your telephone to campaign for Bernie Sanders. What’s it like to be on the receiving end of that, we wondered?
It’s tough to tell exactly how many people are using Tinder to stump for Sanders; from initial reports, it seems to be entirely women in major cities, corresponding with men. Fewer of them all the time, too, since Tinder locked the accounts of two women over the weekend who were sending pro-Sanders spam, instead of using Tinder as the good Lord intended it: to facilitate a profoundly depressing round of after-work drinks with someone who really wants you to know his ex was a model.
We reached out to one man who had been Bernied at on Bumble to get his impressions — only to have the same thing happen on Tinder while we were mid-interview. We’ll call him Luke, which is his name. Here, in brief, are Luke’s impressions.
Jezebel: This seems like a weird phenomenon, right?
Luke: It definitely seems like a weird phenomenon, although I was unaware of it being one until Emma [Jezebel’s editor, you know her] contacted me today… In recounting the story, I have to say that the circumstances through which she exhorted me were just as strange, but I will focus on the campaign.
From here, Luke explained that he’d mutually swiped with a lady on Bumble, and that she messaged him first (as are the rules in that app). They had what Luke characterizes as “a pleasant conversation,” at the end of which Luke asked for her number. She declined, asking to stick to Gchat. Luke asked if she wanted to have a drink; she “tentatively agreed,” he says, but only after a video chat. Luke said he was free right now, but that didn’t work for her.
Luke: She said she’s too engrossed in the democratic debate, “Vote Bernie.”
Eventually, the two did manage to video chat, but Luke said he wound down the conversation after it became clear she wasn’t interested in meeting IRL. The following day, to his surprise, he received further Gchat messages. They offer a fascinating window into how this whole thing works.
Jezebel: Did you feel bummed out that you were essentially the subject of a one-woman voter drive? Amused? Totally confused?
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