I must say, I am not a hater of Tae, but admit at times his behavior has bothered me. What I do hate are the toxic taekookers. Still, I had to check myself after listening to CJ's video on some hard truths. I really looked at her perspective and how I was starting to go down the path of blaming taekookers actions on things Tae would do or say. In my mind, I felt this way because of the blowback Jimin would always get to include threats to do bodily harm (acid thrown on him) to death treats, not only to him, but his family.
Based on her video, and talking with her, I have reexamined my thoughts and recognize, I can't make assumptions about the members based on the parasocial relationship I have with them. I have limited information and understanding behind their actions and motives. At times, my thinking would be clouded regarding Tae because of my belief in and love for jikook. I must remember that Jimin, Tae and Jungkook have a real relationship with each other. They set boundaries with each other, and the actions of Tae may or may not be an issue with Jimin and Jungkook. If there is an issue, it is for them to address it with each other. Not for me or any fan to make assertions on how I think they should address it.
Bottom line, there are many and bigger issues than what we perceive as Tae driving taekookers to hate on Jimin. The fandom needs a cleansing and I have my thoughts on how Hybe, Bighit and BTS as a collective idol group can lead the charge and become change agents for the toxicity of the idol culture. This toxicity drives fanwars, shipping wars, and hate campaigns against members of any of the K-pop groups because they don't act or respond in the manner fans want these artists to act. The only role we have with the artists is supporting their music and content. If a group or member of a group's artistry does not resonate with us as a fan, that is fine. As "good humans" we should not be hating on them, but just concentrating on positively supporting the artists we do love.
Enough of my preaching in this post, I just want you all to watch CJ's video with an open mind and consider her perspective. She is a staunch jikook supporter who is also OT7. If you read fanfic, she also writes some great jikook stories.
Video Cr: CJ Moon | JiKook stories and videos @cjmoonwrites
