refuting the "during wonwoo's bday vlive, please avoid spamming the comments" copypasta; a thread

background: i am south asian (a singaporean-indian malayalee specifically.) unfortunately i am all too familiar with anti-desi racism, having experienced it as early as 3 y/o. as a carat since jan 2017, it's disappointing that some don't see why an immediate apology is needed

this thread aims to unpack that copy pasta and explain why i disagree, as best as I can. please note that this is based on my own experience, which is very similar to, but not exactly the same, as many other south asians'.

let's begin.

"during ww's bday vlive, please avoid spamming...wait patiently for their apology."

short answer: no

long answer: as of 17 july, it's been FOUR WHOLE DAYS. in that time, pledis has said NOTHING.

if pledis truly cared-- the way they cared about alpacas and swearing and flags-- they'd have acted by now.

they deleted the live where jh swore as soon as it ended.
they edited and reuploaded the video without the flag clip in HOURS.

most carats had zero issue with those.

but the one thing that we do take offence to (and rightfully so) pledis says NOTHING?

the one real issue, that blew up their inboxes and made national AND international news headlines, and is potentially making koreans reconsider the message of the song,

and they keep quiet?

there's no way by now pledis doesn't know about the issue. but their refusal to comment on it at all right now makes us inclined to believe that if we don't stop pushing them and demanding better, they'll NEVER apologise for their mistakes.

they were so quick to respond to alpacas and flags--animals and non-living objects--but not the real hurt of south asian carats? by continuing to choose silence, the message they're sending is that brown carats are worth less than animals. worth less than non-living things.

and this is at complete odds with seventeen's message of love and acceptance for everyone regardless of who they are.

when we repeatedly and vocally demand answers and accountability, we are sending a clear message: carats do not tolerate racism in any form, and we WILL hold our group to the same standards. and until they decide to issue such a statement and sincere apology, we cannot back down.

"be patient and don't make him feel uncomfy during his vlive. please."

why does the comfort of your adult oppas matter more than the discomfort thousands of south asians have to put up with due to racism?

what do you gain from sheltering your idols from their mistakes? (nothing,btw.)

why do you insist nothing's wrong when not only have so many south asian carats have expressed disappointment and outrage at the song choice, but the ORIGINAL SINGER has also apologised for the song?

i can't begin to tell you how hurtful it is to see some of you prioritising ww's feelings over those of the THOUSANDS of south asian carats who are hurt by his actions. do we not matter to you? do our voices and pain not matter?

besides, what makes you assume they'd be uncomfortable? over the years, seventeen have shown themselves to be very open minded towards different beliefs and ideas. even wonwoo himself has demonstrated this, such as when he greeted muslim carats in a respectful, appropriate manner

believe it or not, svt are all grown men! members like wonwoo and mingyu have shown in the past that they CAN recognise mistakes and apologise sincerely; all the more they ("they" includes dk and vernon btw, don't think i'm letting them off the hook for a second) should apologise

i'm sure they appreciate the education that we've tried our hardest to provide about why the curry song is flat-out racist, and i do believe they'd take it to heart and be better.

the issue is when, if ever, pledis will have them apologise.

so until pledis decides to break their silence and let the members sincerely apologise, i cannot, in good conscience, remain silent.
the repeated and blatant racism and disrespect towards us south asians and our culture in the kpop industry has gone on for far too long.

no more.

if speaking up means that there'll start to be a shift in how south asians are perceived in kpop (like how many koreans finally learned yesterday that the curry song is pretty racist) then i will absolutely continue to speak up.

i suggest that you do too; it's time for change.

in summary, stop babying your idols, let them apologise and learn from their mistakes, and stop disrespecting south asians and devaluing our opinions. we have a right to be heard and respected too. so please show you respect us by demanding an apology. demanding better for us.

end of thread.

p.s. if my tone came off as harsh, i'm sorry.
but you'd be angry too if you've had to beg people to stop disrespecting you and your culture for the majority of your admittedly short life. you'd be tired too if, even after all that effort, they didn't listen.