#nct mark

i debated making this post for a while because i know exactly how these conversations go. i know people are going to tell me i’m overreacting. i know people are going to tell me it was a mistake. i know people are going to tell me i should accept the apology and move on.

but i’m tired.

i’m tired of being expected to constantly lower the bar for grown men in this industry.

as a black kpop stan, this isn’t the first time i’ve had to watch something like this happen. it probably won’t be the last. at some point, you start realizing that no matter how much money you spend, how much time you dedicate, how much content you create, or how much support you give, your feelings are always treated as secondary to protecting an idol’s image.

and i’m tired of that too.

i’m tired of watching black fans be talked over every single time we express discomfort. i’m tired of watching people jump through hoops trying to explain why something isn’t actually offensive instead of listening to the people telling them exactly why it is. i’m tired of being told to educate, to be patient, to give grace, to understand cultural differences, to think about intent.

when does that patience ever get extended back to us?

because from where i’m standing, black fans are constantly expected to swallow our frustration, accept the bare minimum, and be grateful whenever a company acknowledges that something happened at all.

a confederate flag is not a harmless symbol.

it is not a “western issue.”

it is not some obscure image that nobody could possibly understand.

it is a symbol with a violent history tied directly to racism, slavery, segregation, and white supremacy. people can argue over intent all they want, but that does not change what that symbol represents to millions of people.

and what makes this even more frustrating is the response.

after everything, after the discussions, after the backlash, after people expressing exactly why they were hurt, we didn’t even get an apology from him directly.

instead, we got a statement through a company.

i’m sorry, but at some point accountability has to actually look like accountability.

i am so tired of corporations speaking on behalf of grown adults. i am tired of companies issuing carefully crafted statements while fans praise them for doing the absolute bare minimum. i am tired of watching people celebrate the fact that a situation was addressed instead of questioning whether it was addressed well.

the bar is genuinely in the deepest pits of hell.

and before anyone says “nobody is forcing you to stay,” you’re right.

that’s exactly why i’m making this decision.

because i have spent years creating content. i’ve spent years supporting artists. i’ve spent years giving people chance after chance after chance because i wanted to believe they could learn and do better.

and i’m exhausted.

i don’t want to spend my time making excuses anymore.

i don’t want to spend my time defending people who should be defending themselves.

i don’t want to spend my time creating stories, edits, posts, and content for someone when every time something happens, the burden somehow ends up on fans to explain why they are hurt instead of on the person who caused the hurt.

so this is where i draw the line.

this isn’t me leaving kpop.

this isn’t me demanding that everyone else make the same decision.

this is me deciding that i am done contributing my creativity, my energy, and my support to Mark Lee.

there will be no more Mark Lee fics from me moving forward.

He is still working with Ralph Lauren, one of genocide supporters. why you surprise when he wore that thing? just because he collaborates with UN or environment thing, doesnt mean he is kind. Now just wait and see, i do believe he will collaborate with some genocide supporter brands or maybe problematic ones.

I’m honestly so disappointed this time that I just can’t stay silent. After Mark’s departure from NCT I was debating if keeping on writing imagines/scenarios about him since I still wanted to support him as an idol/musician/singer or whatever he wants to be called. But after this? It wasn’t that hard deciding to not write about him anymore, so from now on i won’t write any scenario/one shot/imagine/text imagine about Mark anymore and the ot7 ones will be ot6, as it should be since NCT Dream is now a 6 members group. I don’t know how to manage the soulmate AU story yet, I obviously can’t just erase him tho (and I don’t want to, i don't want to ruin my story😭).

I've loved Mark since his debut and i really like his music and I think I won’t stop listening to it if he’ll release good songs in the future, I still want to believe he’s a good person, but I can’t ignore what happened with that fuckass t-shirt, cmon! This is not like one of those situations where the idol wears something from a problematic brand or buys something that should be boycotted, this is so much worse and I really can’t defend him. EVEN if in the best case scenario he fr didn’t know what the flag was, and that’s honestly understandable, like, it’s impossible to know EVERYTHING okay, BUT Mark is been a public figure for more than 10 years and I can’t believe he still would wear something with a flag (a GIANT one, mind you) he doesn’t know what it means, it can’t just be possible. A giant massive flag on the front of the t-shirt and you can’t be bother to ASK/INFORM yourself about what the flag stands for???? I don’t know how to defend that, I’m sorry, I really tried. And also that ig story to apologize from Upper Room? Not even from the personal account?

If you have different opinions on this and would like to discuss I’m open to any respectful and insult-free conversation (both towards me, Mark and all the parts involved in this), but I will be personally dissociating from Mark as an idol because, as someone who deeply respect any minority and advocate for black community’s rights, I can’t stand and support someone that keep on demonstrating that they values very different beliefs from mine (values and beliefs that are not just different opinions, racism is not a political opinion).

Again, I can’t just erase Mark from my story or from my previous post, I don’t want to, but I don’t think I’ll dedicate a whole book to his character in the series, I don’t think I’ll be comfortable enough to do that. But i'll ask you to separate the current mark lee from my character if you'll be reading my story: please, just think about him just as a fictional character.

This said, bye.