never in my life have i seen so many people defend asians against racism. all throughout elementary/middle/high school i was surround by passive racism and ended up internalizing it. i stopped getting offended bc if i chose not to be offended, there was no problem.
i got so used+

to the stereotypes, the microaggressions, the slurs, the offhand casual racist jokes.
after all those years of just accepting that people will be racist, condescending, and dismissive towards asians,
i was in awe the first time i got to witness armytwt defend bts.
i cant explain+

how amazing it feels to see seven boys from korea being treated as humans by their fans of varying ethnicities.
ive always seen asians be reduced to a caricature, comic relief, or the token poc in a friend group. so i love how bts present themselves as the fleshed out humans+

that they are. they never promote the toxic positivity that so many people expect from asians, they address their negative emotions and tell us it's ok to feel them and be honest about them. they make music talking about the very real struggles/concerns/worries of young adults+

i'm just rambling at this point but seeing army call out racism and xenophobia against bts made me feel so ???
theres a word in korean "감동"
the closest translation is "feeling touched/moved" but if i would describe the emotion it's like that feeling in ur chest when ur friend+

stands up for u, or when u find out that ur friends pooled money to get u a gift u really needed but didnt know they knew u needed. it's like a "i felt that in my soul" kind of emotion.
that's how it felt to see u guys defending bts.

a treat for anyone who went through the pain of reading all that