I am disappointed in Brandon's silence

[NattyBo]

With everything happening in the US right now, Brandon could be using his voice to amplify the voices desperately in need of it right now.  He doesn't HAVE to say anything, but I'm disappointed that he hasn't, and I think his silence does say uncomfortable things. His publishing company, TOR, has tweeted messages supportive of BLM, so I don't think it's a question of top down pressure.

Apologies if this doesn't belong in the General Brandon forum.

[Karger]

1 hour ago, NattyBo said:

He doesn't HAVE to say anything, but I'm disappointed that he hasn't, and I think his silence does say uncomfortable things. His publishing company, TOR, has tweeted messages supportive of BLM, so I don't think it's a question of top down pressure.

It has only been a few days.  Maybe give him some time.  Also Brandon is not to the best of my knowledge known for making public statements on social issues.  Neither of these are the best reasons.  I agree he should probably say something but to the best of my knowledge he has not spoken publicly at all for about at week and he should be finishing draft four about now so he is probably fairly busy.

[NattyBo]

18 minutes ago, Karger said:

It has only been a few days.  Maybe give him some time.  Also Brandon is not to the best of my knowledge known for making public statements on social issues.  Neither of these are the best reasons.  I agree he should probably say something but to the best of my knowledge he has not spoken publicly at all for about at week and he should be finishing draft four about now so he is probably fairly busy.

He's tweeted several times since Mr. Floyd's murder, and even did a live stream. Also, it's June 3rd, over a week. Not a few days. Not a mention. He's found time to promote other things on Twitter.

 

Honestly, the silence speaks volumes. I hope I'm wrong.

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Frustration]

1 hour ago, NattyBo said:

With everything happening in the US right now, Brandon could be using his voice to amplify the voices desperately in need of it right now.  He doesn't HAVE to say anything, but I'm disappointed that he hasn't, and I think his silence does say uncomfortable things. His publishing company, TOR, has tweeted messages supportive of BLM, so I don't think it's a question of top down pressure.

Apologies if this doesn't belong in the General Brandon forum.

I'm going to disagree with you Brandon's voice is his own, not a stagecoach for others.

One reason he might not is that it sets precedent for Brandon making socio-political statements, which will eventually lead to him loosing readers. So it's safer for him to just stay silent.

[NattyBo]

2 minutes ago, Frustration said:

 

One reason he might not is that it sets precedent for Brandon making socio-political statements, which will eventually lead to him loosing readers. So it's safer for him to just stay silent.

 

Totally cowardly stance. His own publisher released a Black Lives Matter statement.  Brandon Sanderson's net worth is $6 million and only going up. His most popular series has heroic characters taking oaths that "they will protect those who cannot protect themselves".

He can afford to make his thoughts known one way or another, just like the rest of us in America. I'd like to know where he stands before I spend any more money on his stuff; when I went to look, the silence was stunning. 

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, NattyBo said:

 

Totally cowardly stance. His own publisher released a Black Lives Matter statement.  Brandon Sanderson's net worth is $6 million and only going up. He can afford to make his thoughts known one way or another, just like the rest of us in America. I'd like to know where he stands before I spend any more money on his stuff; when I went to look, the silence was stunning. 

It's up to him to say what he wants or to not say anything. And while Goerge's death was tragic(I couldn't even finish the video) I have a problem seeing this from a he must speak or doesn't care mentality. It's entirely possible he just hasn't been watching the news, be for work or the world is just to stupid/depressing.

[NattyBo]

Of course it's up to him to say anything or not.  That's the whole point of the thread. To express disappointment in his silence.

 

When you remain silent in situations of injustice, you've sided with the oppressor. Apply exponentially to people with the power and platform to reach millions of others.

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Karger]

3 hours ago, NattyBo said:

He's tweeted several times since Mr. Floyd's murder, and even did a live stream. Also, it's June 3rd, over a week. Not a few days. Not a mention. He's found time to promote other things on Twitter.  Honestly, the silence speaks volumes. I hope I'm wrong.

I do not find Twitter a particularly good place to engage in public discourse.  I actually checked his Twitter feed and none of the tweets shown looked like more then a few minutes of work had gone into them.  I would hope that before speaking on such an important issue Brandon took a little more time to consider what he was saying then he takes to copy and paste an advertisement for a public speech.  As to the live stream, I imagine that someone could have asked him about his he would have answered.

3 hours ago, NattyBo said:

Brandon Sanderson's net worth is $6 million and only going up.

How do you know that?

3 hours ago, NattyBo said:

When you remain silent in situations of injustice, you've sided with the oppressor

In which case most humans side with oppressors most of the time.  Wow that sounds depressing.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Karger

[NattyBo]

1 minute ago, Karger said:

I do not find Twitter a particularly good place to engage in public discourse.  I actually checked his Twitter feed and none of the tweets shown looked like more then a few minutes of work had gone into them.  I would hope that before speaking on such an important issue Brandon took a little more time to consider what he was saying then he takes to copy and paste an advertisement for a public speech.  As to the live stream, I imagine that someone could have asked him about his he would have answered.

How do you know that?

In which case most humans side with oppressors most of the time.

1) But it's still a place he chooses to discourse with fans. 

 

2)You can look up celebrity net worth. Sure, it's estimated. But as he's currently writing a screenplay for Mistborn, finishing up another sure best selling Stormlight book, and also consulting on the Wheel of Time TV show, his wallet is fine. Give me a break.

 

3)That's an awful defense for continuing to remain silent

[Frustration]

I'm not getting your 'your either with us or against us' mentality Brandon doesn't do political/social commentary, so I think it is incredibly aggressive and ingnores his right to silence to say that if he doesn't say anything that he is an oppressor.

[NattyBo]

1 minute ago, Frustration said:

so I think it is incredibly aggressive and ingnores his right to silence to say that if he doesn't say anything that he is an oppressor.

No one is ignoring his right to silence. Calling out silence as implicitly siding with the opressor is not saying he can't be silent.

 

If you have a problem with the idea that "When you remain silent in situations of injustice, you've sided with the oppressor," I suggest you take it up with the Bishop Desmond Tutu, who I daresay knows more than either of us about oppression and said it in the first place.

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

No one is ignoring his right to silence. Calling out silence as implicitly siding with the opressor is not saying he can't be silent.

 

If you have a problem with the idea that "When you remain silent in situations of injustice, you've sided with the oppressor," I suggest you take it up with the Bishop Desmond Tutu, who I daresay knows more than either of us about oppression and said it in the first place.

If you don't like the idea that silence doesn't imply guilt I suggest you take it up with the Framers who I daresay know more about being falsely accused than either of us and wrote it in the first place.

[NattyBo]

2 minutes ago, Frustration said:

If you don't like the idea that silence doesn't imply guilt I suggest you take it up with the Framers who I daresay know more about being falsely accused than either of us and wrote it in the first place.

 

Having an opinion isn't the same as self incriminating, give me a break.  He's selling products and I want to know where he stands, as a consumer.

 

Maybe ask what responsibilities Brandon has with a platform his size, rather than deflecting about his 'rights'.

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Experience]

13 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

No one is ignoring his right to silence. Calling out silence as implicitly siding with the opressor is not saying he can't be silent.

 

If you have a problem with the idea that "When you remain silent in situations of injustice, you've sided with the oppressor," I suggest you take it up with the Bishop Desmond Tutu, who I daresay knows more than either of us about oppression and said it in the first place.

This is starting to feel a little heated, and I just wanted to try and make it so it doesn't escalate anymore.

Yes, maybe you feel like Brandon Sanderson should make a public statement about the crazy things that have happened recently, and that if he doesn't then he is siding with the opressor. Maybe you won't want to buy any more of his books because he doesn't say anything, and that's ok. 

One thing to think about is that we don't really know the reason as to why he hasn't said anything. I honestly didn't know about this until a few days after it had happened(yes, I know it's been more then a few days) and maybe he didn't. Maybe he's planning on saying something and hasn't yet. Again, he might not be planning to say anything. 

Another thing to think about is, are you simply not buying things from stores or restaurants because their owners haven't come out and said anything about it. Do you even know if they have said anything?

Yes, we all have opinions, and it's human nature to try and get other people to try and believe the same things that we do. 

This is just some thoughts, and I'm not looking to argue. I promise.

EDIT: I'm scared, there's now 7 mods on this page.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Experience

[GoWibble]

2 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

Maybe ask what responsibilities Brandon has with a platform his size, rather than deflecting about his 'rights'.

The thing is that we don't have to know his standing on the matter, i.e. he is not required to say anything about it. If brandon would rather not incite an argument among his fans on a topic that doesn't pertain to his work, he doesn't need to say anything. If he does, then that is his decision. 

Just pointing out that not everyone has definite opinions and not everyone has to say something about their opinions

[NattyBo]

5 minutes ago, Experience said:

Another thing to think about is, are you simply not buying things from stores or restaurants because their owners haven't come out and said anything about it. Do you even know if they have said anything?

This is just some thoughts, and I'm not looking to argue. I promise.

I refuse to patronize any business, as much as I consciously can, that is not out front about this right now. There are plenty of companies to shop from; there are plenty of books to read. If Brandon doesn't feel like speaking out on it, as I've now said multiple times, that's his perogative.

 

It's my opinion, and as many famous anti discrimination advocates like Bishop Tutu who I quoted, that silence carries it's own implications, and my point was to express disappointment in someone I think highly of.

 

I get that everyone likes Brandon here.  I like him too. I want to know what he thinks.

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

Having an opinion isn't the same as self incriminating, give me a break.  He's selling products and I want to know where he stands, as a consumer.

He doesn't do commentary about social-political issues, or the real world whatsoever, so I could care less how he feels so long as he doesn't share it.

3 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

Maybe ask what responsibilities Brandon has with a platform his size, rather than deflecting about his 'rights'.

What responsibility? His constitutional rights are not a reflection it is a critical part of the conversation that hasn't been brought up yet.

Also to all the mods watching you are just waiting for something to go wrong aren't you 

[Chaos]

Hi everyone, I would just like to note that I would really like people to stay respectful. I know tensions are high in the world (and rightfully so), but I think the last few posts have been too personal. We are not here to do personal attacks. Please read our Code of Conduct: https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/89568-17s-code-of-conduct/?do=findComment&comment=975374

We are not a political site, and we are not here to do political debate. Express your own feelings, and don't challenge others. Normally we would remove sociopolitical and charged posts but we believe it is totally fair for individuals to be upset with Brandon. (In fact, I would also suggest that using Brandon's contact form would be a good idea.)

It's an expectation of those who use the Shard to remain respectful in discussion, and while we do not want to stop this discussion, if civility isn't possible then we will have to close this thread.

[Experience]

Just now, NattyBo said:

I refuse to patronize any business, as much as I consciously can, that is not out front about this right now. There are plenty of companies to shop from; there are plenty of books to read. If Brandon doesn't feel like speaking out on it, as I've now said multiple times, that's his perogative. It's my opinion, and as many famous anti discrimination advocates like Bishop Tutu who I quoted, that silence carries it's own implications, and my point was to express disappointment in someone I think highly of.

 

I get that everyone likes Brandon here.  I like him top. I want to know what he thinks.

And I think it would be nice to know what he thinks as well. The thing is that I'm not going to judge him as a person either way and still support him and his work

[Chaos]

From an actionable standpoint, I might recommend tweeting Brandon and using the contact form. He doesn't often browse the forums, but does check Twitter, so that may be the fastest way to get a response, if you are so inclined.

[NattyBo]

2 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Hi everyone, I would just like to note that I would really like people to stay respectful. I know tensions are high in the world (and rightfully so), but I think the last few posts have been too personal. We are not here to do personal attacks. Please read our Code of Conduct: https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/89568-17s-code-of-conduct/?do=findComment&comment=975374

We are not a political site, and we are not here to do political debate. Express your own feelings, and don't challenge others. Normally we would remove sociopolitical and charged posts but we believe it is totally fair for individuals to be upset with Brandon. (In fact, I would also suggest that using Brandon's contact form would be a good idea.)

 

It's an expectation of those who use the Shard to remain respectful in discussion, and while we do not want to stop this discussion, if civility isn't possible then we will have to close this thread.

 

Could you please link me to the contact form? I'd like to send him a message. Thank you.

 

I've tweeted at him today and it's received many likes and comments from other fans. 

 

https://twitter.com/NattyBDC/status/1268248517040013312?s=20

 

I don't personally feel anyone here has been disrespectful to me, and I hope people don't think I've been disrespectful. I'm a huge Brandon fan, and this is where I discuss him and his works. But this is important, and I personally feel that I need to know where he stands.

Edited June 3, 2020 by NattyBo

[Chaos]

2 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

 

Could you please link me to the contact form? I'd like to send him a message. Thank you.

I've tweeted at him today and it's received many likes and comments from other fans. 

https://twitter.com/NattyBDC/status/1268248517040013312?s=20

I don't personally feel anyone here has been disrespectful to me, and I hope people don't think I've been disrespectful. I'm a huge Brandon fan, and this is where I discuss him and his works. But this is important, and I personally feel that I need to know where he stands.

Glad to see you tweeted him. Here's the contact form: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/contact/

I will note that I think his staff do some of his Twitter management, so tweeting the regular news cycle stuff is more a slam dunk for his staff to do than to make statements such as this. He's pretty bad at quickly replying to emails on even important things, if I'm being honest. Maybe he'll comment on it on the stream. He didn't make a tweet about COVID but did discuss it on the streams before, so asking a question in chat there seems also like a good idea.

And yeah, I totally get that, I just wanted to lower down the heat in this thread some.

[NattyBo]

4 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Glad to see you tweeted him. Here's the contact form: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/contact/

I will note that I think his staff do some of his Twitter management, so tweeting the regular news cycle stuff is more a slam dunk for his staff to do than to make statements such as this. He's pretty bad at quickly replying to emails on even important things, if I'm being honest. Maybe he'll comment on it on the stream. He didn't make a tweet about COVID but did discuss it on the streams before, so asking a question in chat there seems also like a good idea.

And yeah, I totally get that, I just wanted to lower down the heat in this thread some.

Sent him a comment. Hopefully if the tweet keeps getting likes, his assistants will let him know, too. I encourage any one else who feels the way I do, to do the same, or express your disappointment here (respectfully). 

[GoWibble]

Just wondering, and if you want to, @NattyBo, do you mind posting what brandon says about all of this? (I don't use twitter, so I doubt that I will remember to check later)

[NattyBo]

6 minutes ago, GoWibble said:

Just wondering, and if you want to, @NattyBo, do you mind posting what brandon says about all of this? (I don't use twitter, so I doubt that I will remember to check later)

 

If I get a personal response or see one on Twitter, I'll be sure to share it here.