Last night during the Democratic National Convention, the Internet couldn’t resist poking fun at an emotional Bernie Sanders supporter when Bernie asked his delegates to nominate Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee. We’re guilty of it, as are a gazillion other folks on social media. It was a political Crying Jordan moment that was too mockable to resist during convention season.
Twitter was, predictably, ruthless. Hell, we compared him to a Cowboys fan since they love to shed tears when Tony Romo inevitably gets injured every season in Week 6.
But here’s the thing you didn’t know about the so-called “Robin Hood” Bernie Bro: He’s a real-life hero. His name is Sean Kehren and, as Yahoo News found out, he’s a a 22-year-old Sanders delegate from Minnesota. Earlier this year he risked his life to save a woman by pulling her out of a burning car, as he told Yahoo News:
This is not Kehren’s first brush with Internet fame. “Two months ago, I pulled a woman out of a burning car,” he said. (He helped save the woman’s life by bravely removing her from the car.) And he understands why people with more distance from the impassioned Democratic primary think the photos are funny.
“I’m willing to admit that it’s funny to other people who don’t feel as passionate about it as I do,” he said. “And I don’t expect anyone to know who I am through just a picture of me crying.”
Bravo to him for taking it in stride. That said, we’re all a bunch of dicks. It’s a reminder of how thoughtless the Internet can be — This man literally saved someone’s life and he’s shedding tears of passion for causes he genuinely believes in.
Bravo, Sean. The world would be a better place with more human beings like you in the world who (a. can take a joke and (b. are genuinely saints when the circumstances call for it.