Recently, I have been seeing a massive amount of opinion articles being written and share about supporters of political candidate Bernie Sanders. Many of these opinion articles have targeted admittedly over-enthusiastic supporters and labeled them "Bernie Bullies." The first time I saw the phrase, I laughed out loud. The phrase is beyond childish as well as a wild hyperbole.

Although some fans of Sanders are less than polite and have a distinct lack of tact, so do some Hillary Clinton supporters. Most of the people I have seen sharing articles about "Bernie Bullies"— in fact, the only people I have seen complain about "Bernie Bullies"— are staunch Clinton supporters, which frustrates me to no end.

What is most frustrating to me about this situation is the blatant hypocrisy. The people sharing these articles and labeling people who have voted for Sanders as "Bernie Bullies" share many of the same attributes as these apparently harmfully over-zealous individuals. One article claims that Sanders supporters are "flinging epithets at Hillary supporters, breathlessly listing all her purported transgressions and foibles, denigrating her accomplishments, insulting her personal decisions, and acting as though anyone who supports her is an idiot who doesn’t grasp the folly of their ways." Another says that Sanders supporters are "voices of superiority" and elitist.

These claims may very well be true of some Sanders supporters. It is also very true of some Clinton supporters, however. In fact, here I present some comments from a petition called "Hold Bernie Sanders Accountable for Bullying by his Supporters":

"[Bernie supporters] sound like NeoNazi racist Trump supporters to me."

"Oddly enough it seems the only thing we need now to get the most important job in our country [the president], is be white, male, have a huge critical mouth and be a millionaire. I'm sure this creep [Sanders] is."

"just so sick of sanders"

"Shame on you Bernie, your wife, and your supporters. You constantly tell us that you are not happy with our party, then leave. We all think that you are working with Trump, Rove and the Koch brothers. We think that you have sold your soul to the devils. We know that you are being paid to do this. So if I'm wrong then prove it and go"

"This man flat out IS responsible for the thuggery he allows at his rally's and he PAYS those same thugs to go to other candidates rally's to threaten and harass people"

"His attitude has caused his supporters attitudes, he & his supporters will cause a Trump presidency. They're all a blemish on the face of the Democratic party."

"Bernie has definitely started a revolution of hate and he has DIVIDED NOT UNITED. BERNIE IS NOT MAN ENOUGH TO STEP aside and work toward getting a democratic in the White House but he is also not man enough to tell his supporters to stop but he keeps on taking the money and lying. Bernie and alot of his young immature, crying whiners have no idea what is going on. They believe all the lies Bernie is throwing at them. Not only is Bernie taking on Big Time Karma for himself and his supporters, he is destroying any chances of his agenda ever getting any attention because who would want to work with this schmuck of a greedy selfish ego jackass when he has done nothing to help the party he has run on. [...] I lost all respect for Bernie and his supporters to me are so immature that they should not be allowed to vote. If you act like a child, then you should be treated as a child and children are not old enough to vote. The hate his supporters are throwing out there will come back to haunt them all. Keep cutting off your nose to spite your face."

Are these comments not hateful? Are they not elitist? One comment above calls Bernie Sanders a "devil" and another calls him a "schmuck of a greedy selfish ego jackass." These same comments repeatedly slam— even bully— the "Bernie Bullies" by calling them "children," and "Neo-Nazi racist Trump supporters." Is this not hypocrisy?

Of course, the opinion articles on "Bernie Bullies" all acknowledge that "not all Sanders supporters are like that," but adding such a preface does not change the fact that all Sanders supporters are discredited by the label "Bernie Bullies." I am a respectful supporter of Bernie Sanders. I do not care if you vote for someone else. I support your right to vote for Hillary Clinton. If she is the Democratic candidate, then I will vote for her, too. But you have discredited my opinion. You have made even the good supporters, like me and most of the Sanders supporters I know, into bullies. You have associated us with such a term, and now our opinion matters less than yours. If I have to deal with being thought of as a bully for sharing a political opinion with rude people, then why are Clinton supporters free of shame despite the presence of equally rude people?

So to the Hillary Clinton supporters who feel they are being victimized: I am very sorry. No one should feel bad for their political stances—especially people within the same party. However, you cannot rightfully label another candidate's supporters as bullies without taking a close look at your own community. There are overzealous, downright rude supporters of every candidate in every election. This is not a phenomena specific to Sanders' supporters.

Your hypocrisy is not unnoticed. You speak of Sanders dividing the democratic party whilst you clearly have an "us versus them" attitude. You call Sanders' supporters "children," a "blemish on the face of the Democratic Party," and compare them to Nazis and Trump supporters, whilst loudly proclaiming in the same breath that the people you just insulted are bullies.

"Bernie Bullies" is simply another attack against Bernie Sanders and his supporters in order to decrease the legitimacy of their opinions and political stances. It is another instance of political rhetoric which many Clinton supporters have over-exaggerated and blindly trusted. Even the existence of such a label is hypocritical, and I am horrified by the frequency with which I see the label.