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The optimism of these American news sources when it comes to kpop stan intent with activism is so pitifully naive. I've been in kpop fan spaces for too long to be fooled by this "feel-good vibes" coverage. Not with what I've seen. https://twitter.com/i/events/1276410503003123714

First, if you are on the ground of kpop stan Twitter and not some observer from academia or news, you'll recognize that (a) these actions aren't new (they're just magnified this time), and (b) the underlying motives and intent have ultimately stayed the same—which isn't great.

Things like the "fancam flood" have regularly been done to spite critics or "haters"—a force concentration tactic to shove the superiority of their faves in others' faces. Spite only proved beneficial this time because it was against the police objective to cause immediate hurt.

The Tulsa rally turnout could be attributed to another common motive and goal of "activist" stan Twitter: humiliation. It just happened to be on a grander scale and against a greater common enemy who had a very obvious weakness via his ego.

Mind you, I'm not really discrediting these takedowns. Objectively, they were powerful and effective.

I am saying that many kpop stans have always been aware of this power in numbers. They have never shied away from chances to flex it, and for far less honorable reasons.

I know 2020 feels like it's been a decade already, but think about the anti-kpop hashtags that trended earlier this year before COVID. For EVERY tweet imaginable, there were kpop stans spamming fancams to "promote the fave". Locals hated the spam, and made it known.

People hated the spam not only because it's annoying, but also because of the messages that often accompanied it. Curt dismissal and gleefully cruel mockery.

"Maybe if you stanned kpop, this wouldn't have happened to you! Make yourself useful and stan/stream while you're here."

Just saying, you think those stans forgot how much local Twitter hated them?

What better way to say, "I made the morally superior choice by stanning kpop, and your opinions are nothing," than by becoming the face of global justice with the very same actions they hated?

Actions fueled by spite and humiliation are rarely done with the intent of mutual benefit or compromise. By nature, those motivations mean that the end goal of the actions are to hurt the targets in some way.

People generally call that behavior toxic, and rightfully so.

Next: these recent articles make kpop fans a monolith fighting for common justice, but they don't realize that concept of "justice" has often been fractured, wildly volatile, and cannibalistic.

Major emphasis on the last bit: kpop stans constantly attack each other.

Many kpop stans make it their mission to promote their faves at any cost. Acting charitable and "fighting for injustice" in the name of their faves is one way to do that.

But even then, you may find that promoting the fave was a higher priority than the cause itself for some.

"My group did this for the cause, what did yours do?"

Both in this way and the following tweet, "at any cost" often means "at the expense of other kpop stans". Too many stans believe empathy can and should be withheld if someone stans a different group, or doesn't stan at all.

In the shadows of positive action, there is a history of stans aggressively invalidating other fans' pain when the industry's ignorance hurts them—the very same ignorance stans now say they're fighting as "activists". The news coverage conveniently sweeps this all under the rug.

It's no accident that kpop stans are grouped with TikTok users for youth activism. A good chunk of both groups is "optimal" for audience acceptance: young, light-skinned, and cishet. A proper "face" for progressive hope.

I mean hell, look at the photo they used for this feature.

I actually think a lot of outsider focus on this specific type of "kpop/TikTok activism" shows a lot of bias in itself. Downplaying the actions as "pranks" and the positive spin sends the message that THIS is a good way to protest (implying that the more direct protests are not).

The difference is TikTok's algorithm is programmed to make this bias, while kpop stans mostly do it themselves. The news depicts kpop fandoms like they're a utopia of diversity and acceptance, but the reality is that racism, queerphobia, ageism, and ableism easily thrive here.

I think many kpop fans who are not white, young, and cishet can name at least one incident where they either had legitimate criticism of kpop's use of identity or culture and were attacked/invalidated by stans, or felt compelled to stay silent because they knew what would happen.

For example, a straight Korean woman shouldn't find much that bothers her in kpop. But I've seen that despite being fans of Korean artists, many stans don't hesitate to minimize Korean fans' anger, or negatively generalize Korean fans, if that anger was directed at their idol.

And that's mild. Let's be frank. The treatment of BIPOC kpop fans here is truly horrible. The fact that people have to hide their identity when expressing legitimate criticism of kpop and its stans to protect themselves and their family/friends from doxxing is absolutely insane.

Only a few articles have dared to touch on this ugly side of kpop stans. Making fools out of various forms of unjust American power is admirable and all, but let's not forget that this same crowd has sicced itself mercilessly on people with legit criticism and valid pain.

Maybe you're thinking, "Not all kpop fans are like that! The people who do that aren't true fans!"

That's where I'll stop you.

If you want to take credit and recognition for toppling power as a kpop stan, then you must accept and play by the labeler's rules and definitions.

You cannot accept the recent singular interpretation of "kpop fan" to take credit *and also* pull the no true Scotsman fallacy to exclude people you don't like from that. If you want to say the positive actions represent all kpop fans, open your eyes to see if it actually does.

You cannot proclaim kpop stans are a solidified force for BIPOC rights when the BIPOC kpop fans have been telling you otherwise for ages. When I've literally seen that hypocrisy TODAY. Your participation in a civil rights movement has to go beyond choosing which fancam to spam.

A positive depiction of kpop fans has been put out. It is currently false...but we should turn it into an accurate reflection. Show that kpop stans aren't just spiteful hypocrites masquerading as bringers of justice.

Because over the years, that's all I've really seen.

Hey, I can be overly optimistic too. I personally hope this recognition starts some productive discussions and change on how to organize sincere intent into lasting action, and how to treat our fellow kpop fans with respect and dignity.

But I'm also a cynical realist, so...