NattyBo

3 minutes ago, Jofwu said:

Apologies if the response is a little slow sometimes guys. We like to discuss sensitive issues before taking action, which requires some discussion. And lots of the staff are asleep or busy with their day jobs at the moment.

The staff, at large, doesn't feel like Edonidd was genuinely comparing nuts to human lives, but that they were making an attempt at a ridiculous comparison to make their point without touching sensitive subjects - a comparison we also find pretty tasteless. If we thought the comment was made with malice in mind, we would've hidden it and taken action, but as it is we believe it was just a poorly phrased comment. However given the potential for it to be taken badly it has now been hidden.

Racism is not accepted on the Shard.  Please continue to report if something makes you feel uncomfortable and be patient with us as we sort this out.

If the staff feels that someone crossed a line, we will contact them privately to have a discussion. That's not something that will happen in a public forum.

I can't speak for the entire staff on this, so let me take off my moderator cap for a moment. I'm also disappointed Brandon hasn't said anything on the matter yet. I do hope that he will, and I can only speculate why he hasn't. These are all totally valid opinions to have. I think the users here who are defending Brandon simply know what he stands for and believe there's a good reason he hasn't said anything yet. Some users think there's not a good reason. We can disagree about all this and still assume the best in one another.

Thank you for taking the time to explain your thought process. 

5 minutes ago, AonEne said:

I am very, very sorry you feel that way. I promise you it’s normally better than this, and if you ever do require a safe place, my PM doors are always open. I’d love it if you stayed, but if you do go, take care, friend. 

Just now, R J said:

@NattyBo no! Hey the rest of us are here too, aren't we? Don't let a few people turn you off like that! I hope you stay or at least decide to come back one day! 

No, I truly appreciate the public show of solidarity, but I'm not going to continue in a discussion where the mods insist on both-sidsing it.  I still haven't gotten an answer to my question about whether that comparison violates TOS, but since mods have posted several times since then and it's still there, I'm gonna assume they think it's a valid opinion (because opinions can't be wrong, right?) and doesn't violate the TOS.

Just so I'm being clear: It is not a violation of the Shard TOS to compare Black Lives to a food item/auto erotic asphyxiation? Got it.

This is not a safe community.  Thank you for your responses nevertheless.  I think I'll see myself out.

I think I’d rather just close the topic if every response from a mod is going to equivocate. 
 

A poster literally compared black lives to a food item preference. Of course people will take that personally. 
 

Besides the fact that the implication is that I’m demanding something from Brandon or feel owed. Again, expressing disappointment and asking for comment is not demanding.

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.

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). 

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Oooh, this is some fun news. Forgot this was out today

In Mistborn: Secret History when Kelsier finds out that Dockson died cursing Kelsier's name always hits me really, really hard.  Same book, when Vin decided to go to the Beyond with Elend rather than stay with Kelsier. 

Would Kelsier have to kill people to get those spikes, though? Didn't he have a pile of Inquisitor spikes for Spook to work with?

Great video!

It's so crazy to me that there's Cosmere cannon coming out a month from now (allegedly) and there's so little buzz for it it seems like.

White Sand has so much potential, but the unofficial prose version will forever be my "head"cannon

Yes, in Arcanum Unbounded it mentions that Rosharan measurements (such as a foot) are not the same as Cosmere standard measurements, in fact.  AU says that Rosharan measurements are bigger/longer (specifically, feet and miles)

13 hours ago, Karger said:

20% 1/5 OF THE WAY THERE!

IDK what kinda 80's Stephen King cocaine binge Brandon is on right now to be writing so fast, but....imma let him finish

I really, really, really wish these weren't cannon. 

I finally finished Book 2 last night which was my last piece on my first full ride through the Cosmere.  Now, I'm not gonna get into the art, because I have 0 artistic talent...but the errors in continuity and just the way it's laid out and makes 0 sense in some areas is hard to accept.  Especially, like I said, given that this is cannon for a massive, massive fantasy epic of epics...it's just..really, really bad.  So much potential in this world like all of other Sanderson's stories, but it's pretty evident the original artist paid 0 attention to the script. 

19%!!!

19% already?!?