Honestly in situations like the one Junhan is in right now, I hear the same rhetoric over and over again. People saying he is a grown man, he should know betterâbut I feel like age has nothing to do with ignorance and mistakes. Both these things can happen at any age. Some people, no matter how old they are, aren't exposed to certain things at length, and their vague understandings lead them astray. Also, in other idol scandals, I often hear "so and so is from the States/Canada so they KNEW..." I don't think being born in an English country matters to the degree that this statement implies. Educationâespecially cultural educationâis not universal, and a lot of things go missing in discussion: If the teachers don't care about it themselves If the school itself has a body of people who are not socially aware (essentially forming a bubble of ignorance) If schools are focused more on curriculum and standards, rushing students to memorize factsânot live through them, learn them, or develop knowledge through open questioning and discussion (which I think is a fundamental problem in many education systems)... It's rareee that true nuance is offered in traditional school settings, and not all English-speaking circles are aware of the social problems in America or around the globe. Some people live in a bubble, some people just eff up, no matter where they are from. Also, yes, the information IS out there, but I personally do not expect every single person to look through all of what is going on socially. I do, however, strongly believe for idols with such influence it is imperative that they do get culturally educatedâespecially with the global reach of K-pop. Obviously, that is not being done. I wish every company had a cultural education department or something, so it could be part of the training system overall. Overall, I show grace in these situations. Not everything or everyone is racist or a Nazi or anything like that for being misinformed, sharing misinformation, or singing a word they shouldn't have. They should be called out, yes, so those ideals aren't widely spreadâbut I personally wouldn't encourage getting the pitchforks out. I also need people to be your own people. Don't allow idols or celebrities to influence you so much that you can't discern and take the time to understand things. Yes, they are amazing and talented and often have sweet personasâbut they are people at the end of the day. They make mistakes. They can do things wrong and eff up. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. They're gonna be okay. I have been a fan of the genre for almost 14 years now. I honestly have lots of fun, laughter, and tearsâit's beautifulâbut I've always seen them as human first, and I hope a lot of people take that approach too. I'm a person that reads through my responses before sending them, and thinks a lot before I speak, type, or share, etc. But I think... what if that had been me? I've always been able to put myself in others' shoes for these things. With Xdinary Heroes Junhan, I thinkâwhat if I had been exposed to some info I was excited to share but learned that it was hurtful and etc... (Even this is hypothetical because I'm not him and I don't know how he came across this info.) But I think in that situation, seeing so many fans disappointed in meâthe shame would be crippling. I don't think I could've even put it in words. On the one hand, I actually empathize with those who say "you did nothing wrong" & "you don't need to apologize" (I don't agree with them, but I get where they are coming from). Unlike some people, I don't think they are some brainwashed, devout, crazy fans who will forgive anything (though those fans do unfortunately exist). I think that, more often than not, that comes out of people who want to protect the idol's mental health. (You really don't know what someone's been through or is going throughâand in K-pop especially, it's scary how many people we've lost.) They don't want them to hate themselves. Plus, so much anger, frustration, etc. often comes out in these situations, so thisâto themâmight be a form of showing love... (This can be extremely harmful, however, because it often overshadows the people who have valid reason to be upsetâdiscrediting their experiences and oftentimes speaking over legitimate issues that don't affect them personally.) There are ways to show love and support and not speak over people. The upset side I understand too. They want to hold idols/stars accountable, but I believe there is no uniform accountability, unfortunately. To some, an apology is everything (but there will be critics on the wording, the sincerity, etc.âpublic scrutiny). To some, this is the last straw (or it's one and done). To some, they won't forgive unless there's a live video where they explain everything and address people directly. And to someâeven thenâthey will not feel accountability was held... because of this, a consistent loop is formed. Companies also play a role in this. They often won't stop promotions, they won't allow such public apologies, and they are playing a PR gameâso they want to quickly sweep things under the rug. These are contract workers, we must remember. The sincerity is going to be reviewed by the company and, honestly, could very well be lost. The fans who choose to stay, stay. The ones who leave, leave. And for me, I keep a watchful eye. I believe people learn from their experiences and grow, and it's hard to see that growth from the outside unless we get to have a sit-down, heart-to-heart, open discussion about it. (Telling a person over and over again what they did wrong only puts them in shame/guilt mode, or defensive, so I really just wanna listen and want to see growth over time.) We'd never know all the thoughts they have. I also believe that there has to be space for fans to express their concern, disappointment, anger, frustrations too. And as fans of these talented, human, contract workers, we can never know the full story. From the outside, I only hold hope for the best. Often, topics related to culture are deeply rooted, ingrained into our everyday experiences. No one will understand the experience of being Black in America quite like someone who is. The same goes for other ethnicities. When your very being is stereotyped and generalized, it can be really upsetting. So I hope people can understand my community. We are not a monolith, a stereotype, trendy, etc. We are people with so many different personalities, hobbies, skills, experiences. Respect it, please. Also, no one person can speak for all of a culture/ethnicity. There will be differing opinions, experiences, and etc. So don't take my words and say "well she said this" or "they said that." We are our own people. You are your own person, kay? I honestly don't know if this is a rant or just rambling, but thanks for reading. Curious about other takes on things like this. Eugenic rhetoric in 2025 is wild, but it really just made me thinkâwhere did he get it from? Also still plan to see all of XH in concert this year. Hoping he learns from this, and if anything... I saw people in comment sections explaining things to fellow fans across fandomsâhow those topics can and have been historically harmful. In that sense, I believe more people than even the idol himself learned from it. And it's the type of open discussion that heals the world. đ Optimist rants allowed here, or nah? đ
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