Stop pretending like you care about (my) culture; the narrative towards CA needs to change

[Aquamaraqua]

Given the recent controversy regarding Soyeon's ignorant comments on "ethnic hip" for 2NE1's Fire performance, as a descriptor of a hodge-podge of what included a mock Native American warcry, and using "african" as an umbrella term for a style of chanting, it certainly wasn't what IDLE, a group that promotes internationally, should have been promoting. Insensitive to say the least. I-Neverlands have been trying for a very long time, to educate CUBE regarding this issue by spamming the fancafe to the point of being cussed out by K-nevies, as well as even giving them direct letters regarding this issue.

CUBE nor JTBC (concert organizers) unfortunately never put out a statement regarding the inappropriate usage of a mosque as a background for IDLE's performance at the GDA 2019. However, fortunately, after IDLE's recent US advancement announcement, their US agency did address the controversy regarding Soyeon's "Fire" concept with this statement:



I'm hoping through their US PR agency, they'll be better equipped with knowledge regarding what CA entails, and speak about it in the future if given the chance. Especially the native american issue, as that's just a gross misinterpretation propagated by the west, and unfortunately k-pop itself as well. Ultimately natives are a very small portion of the population and aren't well-represented at all, and cannot advocate for change as profoundly as other minorities. They're a myth to a lot of people.

As someone who grew interested in IDLE because I liked how they represented and added elements of my South Asian culture, from the influence of the tabla in Latata's instrumental, to the henna designs. It actually brought me closer and more aware of IDLE due to the (earlier on silly) CA controversies. Bindis, henna and the like have been used as aesthetics, and as long as they are used in a respectful manner, there's no harm in using them by people of other cultures. Bollywood uses actresses constantly of white backgrounds (British rule and all) as extras wearing bindis. It's overall a non issue to South Asians from South Asia.

There's a trend of needlessly putting down other groups whenever they've done something "problematic" and clowning them instead of getting to the root of the problem... which unfortunately not many seem to care about aside from quick laughs at the expense of those hurt by those actions. "As long as they're not my faves, I'm going to harass them and their fans" is the rhetoric I get.

When you're making fun of idols who have done something out of ignorance, so much so that you'd be willing to trend a video of an idol falling due to this (Soyeon recently), it not only detracts from the actual cause (educating the ignorant), but also demeans said idol. We all know internet hate culture has real effects on people, and we are responsible for what we say on public websites.

I want my idols, as I'm sure everyone wants their idols, to be educated about issues that are prevalent which many Koreans are unaware of. Danny Kim's talk regarding CA and the ignorance of homogenous societies, like Korea, is a good one I highly recommend watching.

I have a friend who is a Shoshone native american, and had I not approached her to hear her thoughts on IDLE's native warcry issue, I would have never known that the warcry of actual Native Americans is never done with hands placed in front of one's mouth. That's a western bastardization a US senator recently also got flack for.

Let's stop throwing jokes to demean others, masquerading as an attempt to be a social hero, when in reality it comes from a mentality filled with vilification. We've got to treat people as humans who are always growing and learning. Let's educate ourselves and our idols.
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[Rose Gold]

All of this stuff is very important and I'm not downplaying it by any means but there are times where I truly wish none of this stuff mattered. It's something new every day, something offensive every day.
I'm happy they responded and I hope they take strides to be more culturally sensitive because god I am tired of all of this.

 

[Aquamaraqua]

All of this stuff is very important and I'm not downplaying it by any means but there are times where I truly wish none of this stuff mattered. It's something new every day, something offensive every day.
I'm happy they responded and I hope they take strides to be more culturally sensitive because god I am tired of all of this.

I think really what needs to happen is there needs to be less of an "outcry" mode, and more of, how can we fix this (if there's anything that needs fixing). I showed my mom, a woman born and raised in South Asia, Latata. She had nothing to say nor cared about anything they used as offensive. On the other hand, something like native american chief's head-dresses are actually offensive because only chiefs, let alone non-natives, can earn the right to wear them.

There's a fine line between all of these issues if you aren't from the culture, and that's why dialogue, not fingerpointing, is needed.

 

[abra]

I hate how oftentimes it's just used as an excuse to hate on people.
When it comes to concepts/releases like these they might sometimes be silly, but it's not made to offend.
And even if there's something you might not like, it's often easier to just ignore it rather than purposefully look it up and engage.
With that said I understand that sometimes these things can be harmful, and in that case I believe a more educative approach is the best.

 

[Aquamaraqua]

I hate how oftentimes it's just used as an excuse to hate on people.
When it comes to concepts/releases like these they might sometimes be silly, but it's not made to offend.
And even if there's something you might not like, it's often easier to just ignore it rather than purposefully look it up and engage.
With that said I understand that sometimes these things can be harmful, and in that case I believe a more educative approach is the best.

Yeah.. I feel like people need to recognize that using someone's culture as gasoline to fuel fire isn't a great look.

 

[xuxi-kun]

Well said.