Dumb kpop posts

Sonic the freaking Hedgehog.

First of all, I have resurrected from the dead and have decided my first post back will be talking about the leader of Stray Kids, Christopher Bang, or Bang Chan.

(Note, I’m black. Just clearing that up now. And I know I may lose followers for this but fuck it, everyone has their views and opinions on it, and I at least wanna say my piece.)

The only reason I wanna say anything about this is because it’s making me anxious lmao.

But, anyways, if you don’t know, Chan is underfire for performing with cornrows and many people are calling it cultural appropriation.

My thoughts on the situation? It’s not.

Putting my feelings aside for Bang Chan and Stray Kids, I would say that if I had to see anyone in the Kpop community with cornrows… I wouldn’t want to. But I’m glad it was Bang Chan of most people.

Honestly, most, if not all, idols don’t have a say on what gets done to them, the only time they may get a choice is on hair color but that’s probably it. I believe Bang Chan didn’t get a say in the hairstyle but knew the backlash he’d receive. But this is the reason I’m not angry about it: Bang Chan respects the cultures and doesn’t belittle the culture, so a one time hairstyle like this won’t make me hate him.

One comment I read on YouTube kinda pissed me off: ‘cornrows + a rap song? He’s trying so hard to be black’

Although I’m aiming to remain unbiased, I will say one thing I admire about Bang Chan, 3racha, and Stray Kids is that they truly care about hip hop. Felix and Hyunjin may have been told they’d be placed in the rapper positions but 3racha is possibly the only JYP group with non-appointed rappers because they knew they loved rap, whether it be the lyricism or freedom of expression. Whatever. They didn’t need someone to tell them to become rappers, it was already their goal.

Other artist who are rappers, some genuine rappers with a true gift, couldn’t give less of a fuck about black culture but will use it for aesthetic and brownie points in the music community. Bang Chan is always actively trying to avoid having people feel like he doesn’t care, he’d probably even study day and night about the history of black people and global black culture (yes, there’s more to black culture than just what’s shown in America) just to make sure he doesn’t slip up.

To end my directionless rambling: his hairstyle wasn’t my cup of tea, highkey never wanna see it again, but it was a one time hairstyle that he would probably ask to never wear again and will surely apologize for. Don’t hound him about it because we know he will do it.

Now, my next rant:

STAYS!

Front and fucking center cause I got a whole lot to say about y’all!

Let me start by saying something I felt for a long ass time: As soon as Stray Kids debuted, Stays were proud to be “non-toxic” and “unproblematic” but became toxic just as fast as those words left their mouths.

The fandom is divided because of gatekeeping Stays that believe if you aren’t 100% riding Stray Kids dicks and supporting them through all slip ups, even the slip ups that upset you, then your place in the fandom is invalid.

And that’s not true.

Being a fan means to correct your idol when they fuck up and vice versa. Just because he’s your fave doesn’t mean you have to be on his dick 24/7 to be “loyal”. You want to be a non-toxic fan(dom)? Don’t enable your favorite group/artist when they do something wrong/controversial.

My big issue with Stays right now is that they aren’t taking in account of how some black Stays feel. Some black Stays don’t care about the hairstyle (I personally don’t care), but we respect the ones that do see a problem.

Black Stays: not every hairstyle or action resembling black culture is cultural appropriation.

Other black Stays: although you don’t care about the hairstyle, you can see how Bang Chan, someone who’s least likely to do anything like this, having that hairstyle could come as a shock to most Stays, please try to be considerate of that.

Non-black Stays: DON’T TRY TO ARGUE DOWN BLACK STAYS ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS ON THIS! I can’t stress that enough! You keep saying they’re overreacting and you don’t see a problem with it but it’s not your culture being used. You don’t see a problem because it doesn’t affect you. Cultural appropriation in Kpop has been going on for years so each time it happens, it’s a slap in the face to us. And, when you dismiss black Stays and even go as far as to say “just leave the fandom/you’re not a real Stay”, you’re shitting on the safe space Stray Kids created for Stays of all races, ages, ethnicities, religions, etc.

Urgh, I feel so bad for Bang Chan.

He doesn’t deserve the hate he’s been getting lately, I mean braids are nothing new. Everybody (maybe not everyone) has worn braids at least once in their lives. Does that make it disrespectful? Would you feel offended to see someone out in the street on an average day with their hair in braids? No, I don’t really think so.

Honestly, it confuses me how things like this triggers people so much. I’m of Chinese/Vietnamese descent, and I’ve seen dozens of girls with absolutely no Chinese or Vietnamese background donning a qipao/cheongsam/Áo Dài for some kind of occasions, like a prom for example. You don’t see a lot of people (asian or not) making a huge deal about it. And what about the Japanese kimono/yukata? Or Korean street fashion? Shouldn’t people out there be peeved about these? Because I personally haven’t seen anyone speaking up about these subjects.

People who hate on Chan (and anybody else, for that matter) for things such as the way their hair is done or what kind of clothing they chose to wear are as narrow minded as the people they preach against. It’s simply someone stereotyping a certain look or feature to a culture/ethnic group.

There have been so many celebrities out there who have worn the exact same style as Chan has. For example:

Fergie

Iggy Azalea

Jennifer Lopez

Justin Timberlake

David Beckham

Axl Rose

Gwen Stefani

Christina Aguilera

Kevin Federline

Madonna

And these are only a few examples of people who’re not of whatever ethnic descent braids are claimed to have originated from.

Chan and every other member of Stray Kids have worked hard to create awareness in mental health and has supported so many people out there who struggle with it. It seems like these Stays somehow forgotten how respectful and loving Skz’s are.

“I represent and I show respect to all people and the whole world.” - Bang Chan, P.A.C.E.

Call me ignorant all you want but I honestly don’t see the point in getting worked up over a hairstyle. It’s 2019 people. Everybody’s embracing all races, sexes, sexualities, and cultures and so much more. Why create so much controversy over something so little as hair? Why not save the fight for something that really matters? Something meaningful?

Now, I’m not saying you can’t be peeved, for whatever reason it may be but please, don’t lash out at others for it. Be mature about it. Know that your words hold more power than you think. Be reasonable and conscious of how you speak/write to others.

Words may not be able to hurt someone physically, but it still hold power over a person. Remember, one can never take back the words they say.

Edit:

I will always support Stray Kids, and it makes me sad as a Stay to see so many fellow Stays belittle and shame Chan the way they do.

To those of you who chant 2racha and ot8: how does it feel? Making Chan, our leader of Skz & 3racha, a person, shed tears because of your words and actions? Does it feel good? I hope you’re proud of yourselves; you’ve achieved a new level of low.

I really can’t believe there are people out there like that. I can’t. It breaks my heart knowing there are Stays who are so willing to throw a member away over a hairstyle.

Chan promised to be there for us through our bad times, why aren’t those Stays there for him? If you don’t like something, be civil about it. You have no right to kick a person when they’re down. If you can’t like him at his worst, you definitely don’t get to love him at his best.

(Btw, this is not to those of you who are honestly and reasonably [and I mean reasonably] offended by this whole situation. I’m not trying to justify anyone’s actions nor do I condone anyone to ignoring cultural appropriation.

If not then reblog this anyway, Ateez deserves it