Brand New - Science Fiction (August 17, 2017) [ARCHIVED] Album • Page 1612

Definitely. It's not an easy decision to make but I just don't think I can carry on with it. I think I believe that Jesse has improved from his old ways- again, it's not something I've totally made my mind up on it and there's still a lot of conflict- but at this point there's too much scorched earth to carry on. Missing the London show next week will hurt, but if I'm honest it would never have been the same as it would've before this came up even if I did go. It's not worth it.

 

yeah I really don't like the way you guys are playing "impress me, bro" with that statement.

I mean he's still a piece of shit but you can tell there's remorse there.

 

As for the statement I'm just glad there was one at all. I really expected this to be swept under the mat, I have very little faith in humanity though.

I feel like whatever he could of said it will never be enough for some people anyway which is fine and understandable. For me and my thoughts about it, I'm just happy there was something over nothing

 

Yeah and I agree. Thinking about it, it's easy for me to say to say "oh I could still go maybe" but really I say that in a way of being completely selfish as if I could just put alll of this bullshit in a box for that 2 hours like none of this never happened so I could enjoy the show one last time, but I can't, it's not how it works. It wouldn't be the same and it wouldn't be right and I wouldn't feel good about it. I'm expecting the shows to be cancelled and I hope they are

 

Of course everyone has their own lines to draw as Jake has eloquently been putting and I, like everyone else here, am still processing it all. I've been debating with the people I was going with what to do about the show I'm supposed to see them at in less than a week and my line is that I cannot see myself standing in a room with him and the three females I was going with singing his songs back at him. None of us can. The emotion would be for very different reasons, particularly for those females (who said I could mention this) and that it won't be tears of enjoyment anymore but rather tears of a reminder for them of personal struggles and situations that have permeated into what was once such a scenario to release and escape them. The statement did nothing to help us feel better about that situation.

 

The mood I'm in would normally be followed by listening to Brand New. What a joke.

 

I can completely get people being unhappy with the statement. He addressed a lot, seemingly honestly, however he didn't address the most concerning aspect, being the girl's age at the time.

I say this very carefully - the healing of the victim is paramount, the conversation needs to place her at the centre. However, I believe it is ok for people to wish Jesse success in receiving help and treatment, even if it is for the sole reason of ensuring further people are not abused by him emotionally or physically.

Again, I'm aiming to tread carefully here, Jesse is not the victim, should not be excused, should not be the focus. But I dont think it diminishes our response to the victim to hope that he comes to a healthier place.

I'm no expert on these issues, indeed nearly all I know about how to respind to circumstances like this comes from the brilliant people on this site, so I'm open-minded to anyone who has more to say on what ive written here.

 

That’s what makes places like Chorus all the more important.

 

Jesse only put his flaws out into the open because he was forced too. There's nothing honourable about his statement, he's just trying to save face. He's a paedophile. How can anyone be even slightly sympathising with him? He's caused so much pain.

 

I hate shit like this. Because outrage pissing contests over how acceptable the statements and actions are distract from what's actually at hand. Guess what. None of it matters. The ONLY thing that matters is what the victim feels. Until then, if they decide to make a public statement, id leave it alone

 

Your thoughts aren’t wrong, but at the end of the day it’s about the victim, and him not harming anymore. As much as we’d like to know everything about the people we support, REALISTICALLY do you really blame him for not coming out about this and personally killing his own career earlier? He sought help himself which I think is important enough. The only other thing I’d say he should’ve done is reached out to the victims personally in the past.

 

I don't really understand what you're asking me, of course it's about the victim. Which is why I think it's awful that people are posting in this thread and on Facebook, Twitter, etc to declare that they still love this band, I mean who cares?? Can you imagine how the victim(s) must feel to see people still supporting this band even after they've spoken up about what Jesse has done?

 

I mean no matter who you are or what you’ve done, how many people are going to willingly and out of the blue open up about their terrible past? Especially if they were the abuser. You could literally say this about any public statement that they’re “just trying to save face”.

 

You’re saying he’s just “trying to save face.” He’s been seeking treatment and working on change for years. What does it matter if that was public or not? The damage was still done to the victim, and as long as he tried to put that behavior behind him, why does it matter that he was private with his struggles rather than public? It really doesn’t make a difference, and was probably easier for him if anything to work on it sans public scrutany.

Such an irrelevant concept. Nothing can be changed, so let’s help victims move forward and hold him accountable while assessing the situation from what he’s done now and in the years since. But saying it was his responsibility to come out earlier and say “I did x, y, and z” is expecting him to have wanted to be defined by something from his past that haunts him. Are we really surprised people don’t do this?

 

Absolutely the truth.

 

so much perfomative bullshit from people in times like this trying to one up each other without ever thinking about what this is all really about. someone was hurt and taken advantage of, they're who this is about, not whether or not you think jesse made a good statement. i mean some discussion is fine but pages and pages and pages...people are losing sight of wats important.

 

100%. It’s not about any of us, it’s about victims.


On a side note, are we all in agreement hat there are a lot more band members that are going to have this shit come out?

 

I keep coming back to the end of his statement:

It’s probably the best description of the central dilemma here I’ve ever read, and it can apply to so many things in my life and others. It’s a hard lesson to learn. But at the same time, FUCK YOU, because it’s offered in the context of abusing a teenager.

Man, I don’t know if I feel worse today or what.

 

Agree with some of the recent comments that it's not about us, and so the statement didn't really make me feel any different because it wasn't for me.

This whole thing has been on my mind constantly for the past few days but really is there any more we can do beyond helping support the victims, holding Jesse accountable by no longer supporting the band in any way, and using this as impetus to expose the scene and culture for the cesspit it obviously is behind the scenes? Beyond helping us dismantle the individual relationship we had with this band, I don't think there's that much more to say tbh

 

I can't answer your question. It's a very difficult situation. He's clearly had years to process this and it kind of seems like he did nothing to help his victim(s)? I mean for a start he could've done the honourable thing and quit the band years ago and given up his platform. In her statement the victim literally says "I still breakdown and have panic attacks when people play Brand New in a bar". Jesse must be well aware of the huge fanbase and popularity he commands, and therefore he must've known that out there somewhere his victim(s) may come across his music, but he continued to tour, release albums and embrace his status as an indie rock god. It doesn't seem like the behaviour of someone who is all torn up inside about the disgusting things they've done

I'm pretty sure you commented in this thread on the statement a couple of times, and assessed how it made you feel? Not sure why there's one rule for you and another for everyone else. I have no idea if your comments are directed at me, but this is the first time I've had a chance to log on since this all came out. So I'm just expressing my thoughts the same as everyone else. I 100% agree with you that this is about the victim, and I never said it wasn't. Apologies if you think I'm just being "performative" when I say it's fucked up that Jesse is a paedophile and yet people are still saying they love his band. Most of the Facebook comments I've seen on this have been vile.

 

i've been asked about how i feel specifically because of my tattoo, so after giving a bit more time to think about this, i don't feel bad at all for my deja tattoo. obviously i got it before knowing any of this, and the album means the world to me. i don't know when i'll feel comfortable listening to the band again, but i'm not going to let this ruin my existing memories and feelings associated with their music, because those are mine and unrelated to jesse's abusive behavior.

not going to comment on the statement because as others have said, it's not for me. all i can hope is that the victim(s) find peace, that this helps them on that path, and that jesse truly has changed for the better.

cc @crunchprank

 

Did anybody say they still love the vans? I think some of us just might be a bit more forgiving, given personal experiences.

 

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding your post, but are you saying that you're forgiving of a 24-year-old man soliciting nudes from a minor?

 

Not at all. But it was nice to see him seek professional help and realize what he was doing is wrong. I mean back when I was an addict, I did some pretty unspeakable shit that I am not proud of at all. Not only that, but it’s a dark place in my past and not something I want people to know. I can’t begin to explain how lucky and thankful I am that my friends and family were forgiving of me. It’s a slippery slope and I have mixed emotions.

 

I feel like inside the music community a lot of this shit has come out in spurts over the years, but I would imagine with how there is such a bright spotlight on this type of behavior right now, even more are going to come out rapid fire...sadly.