I am disappointed in Brandon's silence

[Kiiyashi]

It is entirely possible that, like some people, he would be drawn in too much if he takes a step towards it.

People everywhere are paying attention now. A lot of it.
And sure, that's good, the message spreads and gets attention.

Some people have trouble stepping away though
So if he's distancing himself because getting involved at all could kill his productivity and focus, that seems reasonable.
It's not optimal, but it's hardly unfair.


It's also possible that, given the messages in his novels, he IS contributing in some way.
He might be donating, or helping out in other manners.
I haven't delved too closely into his responses to other issues, but some people just don't like drawing attention to their efforts.
Volunteering to say you volunteered, donating and plastering that all over social media.
Some people think of that as taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit, and are content to help without recognition.

Silence does not mean inaction.
 

[NattyBo]

33 minutes ago, Kiiyashi said:

I haven't delved too closely into his responses to other issues, but some people just don't like drawing attention to their efforts.

Silence does not mean inaction.

He previously came out very publicly against LGBTQ marriage equality, before he was for it. [REMOVED BY MODERATOR]

 

I feel like I'm living in a cuckoo clock where people know what's right and just want to defend something because they really like it. I'm just being honest.

 

I'm getting tired of posting the same thing, but every single non violent organizer, from the Bishop Desmond Tutu on down, points out that remaining silent in the face of oppression automatically sides you with the people doing the oppressing.  Now is when we see if people have the courage of their convictions, not when they feel like writing about allegory that can be interpreted however people want. I refuse to be silent about someone I expect great things from, based on the content of his very profitable books.

 

[REMOVED BY MODERATOR, politics]

[AonEne]

22 minutes ago, NattyBo said:

He previously came out very publicly against LGBTQ marriage equality, before he was for it. 

I feel like I'm living in a cuckoo clock where people know what's right and just want to defend something because they really like it. I'm just being honest. 

And maybe he learned from that? People aren’t static. 

I am also just being honest and expressing my own honest opinion. I think that’s what all of us are trying to do. We’re all making logical points; the content on this thread isn’t really in the vein of “Brandon is the best how dare you ever insinuate that he’s not!!!!”. If people were ignoring common sense to make their points, that would be one thing, but that’s not what I see. It’s possible that there has been some of that and the mods have removed it. 

Edit: oh fantastic it’s my 6,000th post, in keeping with the noble tradition of Ene doing nothing particularly special for her post benchmarks lol 

Edited June 7, 2020 by AonEne

[NattyBo]

1 hour ago, AonEne said:

And maybe he learned from that? People aren’t static. 

I am also just being honest and expressing my own honest opinion. I think that’s what all of us are trying to do. We’re all making logical points; the content on this thread isn’t really in the vein of “Brandon is the best how dare you ever insinuate that he’s not!!!!”. If people were ignoring common sense to make their points, that would be one thing, but that’s not what I see. It’s possible that there has been some of that and the mods have removed it. 

Edit: oh fantastic it’s my 6,000th post, in keeping with the noble tradition of Ene doing nothing particularly special for post benchmarks lol 

It's not you, you're engaging in good faith and it's obvious.

 

Congrats on 6k! 

 

[REMOVED BY MODERATOR, politics]

Edited June 7, 2020 by LadyLameness
Politics

[Chaos]

Hi friends,

So... upon watching this thread for several days, discussion has been difficult. Emotions are high. But we as a community need to take deep care on such fraught issues to be kind. This thread consistently escalates tension. We recognize that there is a valid reason why tensions are high in this particular thread. Some fans feel betrayed by the silence of a person they look up to, and others feel the need to defend their personal hero.  

We want to be clear: there is nothing wrong with having an emotional response--positive or negative--to Brandon's work. It is also absolutely okay to be a fan of Brandon's and still be critical of things he does or does not do. The purpose of this site is to discuss Brandon and his work. That includes the things we enjoy, and the things that hurt or disappoint us.

We realize people want a space to vent, and though that is very understandable, we've observed that people expressing hurt and disappointment are being told both by implication and expressly that their feelings are wrong. People who admire Brandon are feeling defensive. We're just not sure if this thread is doing anything other than making people upset at this point. With topics that are so personal, it's natural to want to convince others of your own point, but currently this seems to be putting people in the position where they feel they need to continuously defend and validate their own thoughts. Because of this, we believe keeping this thread open is going to be more detrimental to members than it will be beneficial.

Please note: we are not angry at anyone in the thread currently. We're all having different emotions and different reactions to Brandon's silence, and it's difficult to talk about this in a kind way when we are processing what's going on.

If you are disappointed in Brandon, as many are in this thread, we highly encourage you to use the Contact form on Brandon's site to tell him so, or tweet at him on Twitter.