Thread by @Logan_McQ, THREAD: Last night when I read @tylerrjoseph's tweets completely devoid of any [...]

THREAD: Last night when I read @tylerrjoseph's tweets completely devoid of any context in the replies, I was happy that Tyler was taking the time to tweet about an issue he cares deeply about. Twenty One Pilots played a role in my decision to become a counselor and I'm always 1/

grateful that they are band that cares so deeply about mental health and suicide prevention. Especially this year, we need reminders like that more than ever.

I took his initial "platforms" tweet to be a light joke before taking the moment to use his platform to discuss 2/

mental health. Great. I found the joke corny but didn't think much more about it.

And then I read the replies. Yikes. Never read the replies. All of a sudden what seemed like a pleasant twitter stream of consciousness was apparently a mockery of TOP's fans. 3/

"You're mocking us!"

"This is insensitive and racist"

"Coward."

"I can't believe I ever liked you, you POS!"

Just a few of the things I read yesterday as Twenty One Pilots stans went off on Tyler because he didn't use his platform the *right* way. 4/

Yesterday, on Tyler's twitter, I saw a human being who was trying to find the right words to simply say "Hey. Everything is really heavy right now. Take on your causes but don't lose sight of your own mental health and well-being in the midst of it all." 5/

Evidently, fans had been pushing Tyler to speak up more about Black Lives Matter and racial injustice. When Tyler tweeted about his platforms as a joke, people immediately took that as a jab at them for encouraging him to speak up on important issues. 6/

And then when Tyler did speak up on an important issue, people got angry because it wasn't the *right* issue to talk about. It wasn't the issue they were demanding he talk about. And so he was accused of being manipulative and racist. 7/

And within minutes of these tweets, suddenly there was an all-out effort to cancel Tyler Joseph and Twenty One Pilots. Because of what he didn't say and because of what people were perceiving that he meant. 8/

Given what the fans were suggesting Tyler do, does the tweet seem insensitive? Sure. Was it careless? Maybe. Was it malicious? I certainly don't think so. I'm not going to defend my favorite band over everything but knowing who Tyler is, I just don't think he's the kind of 9/

person to mock and insult his fans. That's a ridiculous accusation.

I am for the Black Lives Matter movement. I applaud any musician, actor, athlete, and celebrity who uses their platform to bring awareness to racism and police brutality. 10/

But I also think it's ridiculous to bully people online into saying what you want them to say. Tyler Joseph doesn't need to say anything if he doesn't want to. And he doesn't have to do or say anything on your schedule. He's a human being grappling with everything just like 11/

you are. He's going to use his platform however he damn well pleases and we ought to let him. Tyler Joseph doesn't have to be the be all, end all. And the fact that stans are so crushed when he isn't saying what you want him to say is an indication that you've given this man 12/

too much authority in your perception. Tyler Joseph isn't a god. He's not some heroic activist. He's a human who happens to make music that all of a sudden the whole world fell in love with. That is a lot of burden for one person. 13/

I'm stuck by the last line of his apology tweet. "but now I see there is no room for that right now."

It doesn't have to be that way. There should always be room for conversations about mental health. There should always be room for conversations about race. There should 14/

always be room for conversations about any of the causes you care about. And you don't have to carry them all at the same time. There's so much happening in the world. You're allowed to take a moment to breathe. 15/

I just wish people would slow down and not demand that people use their platform in any particular way. Let people have the autonomy to make their own decisions. And leave Tyler Joseph alone. He's trying his best with what he has. Not everything will be perfect. He's human. 16/

Sorry for the long thread. I would have made this just a tweet but this site leaves no room for nuance so I had to make this a long one to get my point across. It's a messy point but I hope it makes sense. 17/17

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