Cleared out my block list recently and wondered how long it would take to put someone back on it - wasn't expecting a 37 year old with single digit posts to crash in here defending an accused paedophile, fucking hell
i saw your post and yeah i saw the Reddit post you’re referencing. It doesn’t change my opinion that he should have done more work to address an issue rampant in the scene and try to contribute to making it a safer place. Like I said good for him for doing the personal work with his family and friends/bandmates, i don’t doubt that work was why we waited so long and then finally got Science Fiction, but that’s not enough for me personally.
Because it would have been the right thing to do, and would have rehabbed his image immensely and faster?
Mark, what the actual fuck are you talking about? I've asked three times now, this is profoundly weird behavior. Best I can tell, the only fan fiction around the band so far is your weird made up shit:
People on either side of this argument are equally insufferable. Just do what you're gonna do and keep it to yourself.
You said my name and "fan fiction," I asked what you were talking about. That's 1) not coming at you, 2) an obviously reasonable question from what you came on my website and typed! And I literally quoted what you made up. Are we feigning stupidity here? Like what is this?
I can't help but laugh at "we all know" while you're the only person making the claim and no one else knows what you're talking about
Bummed to see Jesse (and likely Brand New) slowly and slowly appearing around more often but I guess I shouldn't be surprised I think there's nothing wrong with working to better yourself and do believe that he could change and grow from what he's done, but I also don't think that automatically means he should go back to a music career
Literally no one knows what you're talking about! Seriously, are you thinking of someone else? I have never written fan fiction in my life. Let alone about a band! I've written literally millions of words online but haven't written fiction since I was in a creative writing class 20 something years ago. This is profoundly weird behavior spiraling into weirder behavior!
Well, yeah, because he didn’t do anything to try and make amends for what he did outside of his own personal circle lol. Thats my whole point—do more good stuff, work towards addressing the problem in the scene, try to set a good example for boys coming up in the emo and punk scene, etc. a lot more people would probably be more open to them being a band again. Of course some will forever be done with them and that is their right, too. But I can say I’m someone willing to give second chances and I still listen to the music and had he done enough to try and fix all the problems he helped contribute to, I’d consider maybe buying a new album, if not seeing them live. As it stands now I haven’t seen enough to wanna give them more of my money or attention (apparently using my keyboard to put in the shrug emoji doesn’t work lol)
He abused his platform as a musician and he doesn't automatically deserve it back, regardless of putting in the work (if he even has). A little public accountability would go a long way.
I very strongly believe we’ve moved past the need for Brand New. Listen to more than what you liked in high school!
There are bands in that wheelhouse that deserve even a fraction of the attention this band got and still gets.
Yeah my general thought is that being in a limelight, on a stage in front of the audiences that Brand New cultivated while all of this was going on, is going to naturally make things worse and not better because you're putting yourself in the environment where you had the means and attention to do this in the first place. I do feel like part of growth is accepting that that may not be what you need to be doing and it's a privilege in the first place. If it were as simple as "exchange money for music" I might feel differently but it's not. I dunno. Maybe that's not fair to say and assume but I feel like it is.
where the line is drawn between something unforgivable that renders a person ineligible to earn a living and recognizing that someone can change decades later and deserves another chance? All of us arbitrarily draw that line with the best of our moral intentions, but many of you seem to forget that it is indeed an individual baseline. It’s everyone’s right to think of him what they want, but the behavior Jesse (allegedly) exhibited is a stretch to call pedophilia given his age at the time. “A psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.” That doesn’t seem to be the case here and the laissez-faire way some of you throw around the term is concerning. It’s wild to me that for some of you, looping in the other band members as equally at fault is a valid argument as if they should be forced to suffer financially too. There’a no disputing Jesse committed sexual misconduct toward vulnerable younger people that left a lasting negative impact. Decades later, does that mean he shouldn’t able to earn a living and, especially, that people can’t support the band without ridicule? I don’t think so, based on the entire argument we make as a society for rehabilitation being possible. His wife, children, and friends seem to believe he isn’t a danger any longer and has changed his mindset. He addressed it and apologized and set to work on himself in private. He needs to continue to prove it’s true. It’s totally fair for people to write him off forever, but some of these holier than thou comments are tough to read.
Saying I'd rather him not tour the world or even country is not saying he's ineligible to learn a living. Lots of people who have done bad things have jobs. I'd rather him not have one that he's already exploited in the way he did Haven't read the rest of your post but I wanted to respond to that point in the first paragraph
He should get a god damn email job instead of one that gives him a platform and imbalanced power dynamics. Come on.
He abused his platform as a musician, as far as I'm concerned that platform is now forfeit. He should get a regular job like the rest of us. You don't fuck up like that and think it's your god-given right to come back.
Maybe weird to say but I think a lot about Bojack Horseman and how it ended (spoilers if you plan on watching it). When he's in rehab and when he's in prison, he is actually working on himself. Things are getting better. Things are relatively good. Then once he's around his LA friends and colleagues you immediately see him getting sucked back into that universe which brings up those personality traits that cause him to be so destructive and bring forward those temptations to be a shitty person. I don't think that's an anecdote unique to the show writers, I feel like this is something that absolutely happens frequently and needs to be recognized as we discuss "How can a musician prove they deserve their platform back?"
The more accurate term would be Ephebophilia for this situation. Which, is different from pedophilia, but changing the term here does not really change how awful what he did was.
I was on AP for the majority and we don’t ALL know… You can’t make accusations and just say ‘oh you know what I mean.’ Clearly Jason doesn’t and neither does anyone else from what I can see. If you have a legitimate argument then be confident enough to come out with it and not make repeated cryptic posts.