Read on Twitter
The fans, or ex-fans in some cases, that believe Chan had a say in what happened to his hair that day, claiming he should have known the powerful charge and emotions the hairstyle carries and that he is fully to blame for the issue. On the other hand, a group of fans, mainly +
those not of African or African American heritage, ignorantly and blindly attack Chan, jumping on the bandwagon of hate that continues to accumulate day by day. These netizens (citizens of the internet) tend to respond in saying “chan racist,” and attaching a fan-recorded video +
of another one of their favorite idols dancing (@/jinsoulsexy on Twitter). In other scenarios, these haters go as far as to comment on Chan’s live streams (@/ryucheeks on Twitter). They intend to get nothing out of the situation other than the satisfaction of “canceling” +
someone, a common form of bandwagon hate on Twitter. Through these comments and visuals, the uneducated, bandwagon fans ultimately mock the situation and Chan, trying to cause more drama than awareness by attaching meaningless content to the issue. In addition, these fans are +
only trying to increase the popularity of the issue, using their videos and random “chan racist” tweets to evoke anger in the fans trying to defend Chan.
Although these insensitive and uneducated responses do occur, there are still other fans that try to reason with these kinds of fans. Coming back to an earlier point, some fans just wish to educate Chan and bring him to acknowledge his mistake. Usually, these fans also try to +
educate the netizens that put out these ignorant responses and hate. In doing so, those advocating for a proper apology argue a specific point: racism is not the same as ignorance. As one fan said in her tweet, “[people] associate being ignorant and racist…[as] equal,” when in +
fact they are not the same thing at all (@/bloodtear on Twitter). Another person on this thread agreed with this, arguing, “[they] understand wanting to protect someone you look up to...but +
putting them up on this ‘perfect’ pedestal does more harm than good” (@/gothjinki on Twitter).
Here, a fan again uses capital letters, but this time for a different effect. In this manner, the capital letters serve as a way of “dumbing down” the fan’s intended message, essentially making it more obvious for fans to understand their argument. For this thread specifically, +
these netizens are suggesting that simply when someone, especially an idol or person looked up to by many, does something ignorant, it does not automatically make them racist, but it also does not excuse their mistake since they are famous and thought of in a good light.
In addition to this, the punctuation in each tweet, i.e. exclamations and ellipses, emphasizes this point of view in its entirety, trying to get other fans to understand the ignorance versus racism argument while simultaneously supporting it.
Although the fans mentioned above wanted Chan to own up to his mistake, other fans did not blame him whatsoever. These were the fans to brush off this cultural appropriation, saying “it’s just a hairstyle and doesn& #39;t mean anything.” Instead, they turn the blame to the stylists +
who gave Chan his cornrows, asking everyone to “plz stop scolding him its not his fault,” ending their argument in a simple “peace” ( @CHANCEON_CHAN on Twitter).
The simple ending of this tweet, “peace,” seems so dismissive of the charged situation at hand. Not so much being used as a form of a pleasant sentiment like in the sixties, this “peace” is very dismissive and basically a “fuck you” to anyone that disagrees with this fan.
It suggests an end to the conversation, not wanting to argue about this controversial topic anymore since they think Chan is not at fault. This ideology again puts Chan on a pedestal, giving the idea that he is perfect and could never create such a problem. Allowing idols a +
platform such as this suggests that one can continuously go around and never learn from their mistakes. In all reality, this take on the situation is irrational; owning up to one’s mistakes not only allows them to educate themselves but also builds a better foundation for +
growth, appealing to both sides as one acknowledges these wrongs.
Overall, in the KPOP industry, there are many examples of cultural appropriation; however, the most impactful, hurtful, and controversial has been the insensitive display of cornrows as an edgy hip-hop concept +
Overall, in the KPOP industry, there are many examples of cultural appropriation; however, the most impactful, hurtful, and controversial has been the insensitive display of cornrows as an edgy hip-hop concept +
for idols to look “cool.” One idol, in particular, Bang Chan, was dragged and hated on for a very extensive period of time, one that has yet to end. Unable to apologize, his company controlling and censoring him, this only attributed to the already increasing hate and made the+
situation even more problematic. Fans responded in numerous ways, some wholly defending Chan, others simply calling him a racist, and lastly, those who were disappointed but wanted to educate Chan for his ignorance. All across Twitter, fans used their platforms to argue their +
positions on the issue. The rhetoric and visuals in the tweets resulted in some success toward a proper apology, like the apple apology plan; however, the entertainment company hindered any actual progress in a formal apology to the fans. To this day, fans are still split on +
their views of cultural appropriation and how it affected this particular situation. Despite this split, one common theme throughout most of the arguments appeared: cultural appropriation is in no way justified or okay. Whether fans blindly attack Chan or simply vouch for an +
apology and discussion, these groups all want the same issue brought to the light.
If you made it to the end of this thread, thank you for reading and educating yourself on cultural appropriation in KPOP, specifically in Chan& #39;s situation.
If you made it to the end of this thread, thank you for reading and educating yourself on cultural appropriation in KPOP, specifically in Chan& #39;s situation.
