Omona They Didn't

can someone explain to me what an OP is?

I'm glad we're having this discussion but lawdd the OP does a terrible job of presenting her argument in a serious and objective manner. It's all so sensationalized and smutty.

If the fan account is real, I'm sorry that happened OP. I'm black and have been to many Kpop concerts. I've never had to deal with outright racism but I've had some uncomfortable moments.

all this oppalogism is making me tired

Sigh. There's still a long way to go before we eradicate racism completely. Especially when so many among us are still so unwilling to recognize it, acknowledge it, and talk about it openly.

I understand that homogeneous countries (like Korea, China, Japan) may be less aware of the racist implications of some of the slang words and other cultural items that the they've adapted from "the west," like the N-word and the native American headdress, for example. (Heck, even in the much more culturally diverse US some people are still ignorant as fuck about these things.) But the world, as big as it is, is also becoming smaller. With the technology we have today, with the awareness we have today, the homogeneity of a culture can't be an excuse for ignorance anymore.

Having said that, I do understand that, if you're a member of a homogeneous community and you're perfectly content to live within that community and not interact cross-culturally, maybe issues relating to racism aren't very relevant to you, so why would you bother learning about them anyway. But if you want to be socially informed and socially responsible, then educate yourself. Raise awareness.

A lot of people discounted OP's article because of her strong, aggressive tone. It's unproductive and trivializing to dismiss her arguments just because the way she chooses to express herself makes you uncomfortable. Racism is real. Racism hurts. Racism enrages. Why shouldn't she be mad if people were racist jerks to her? Why shouldn't anyone be mad about experiencing racism? That it even exists is something to be mad about. Sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism is not cool, but that doesn't negate the fact that racism is still an issue.

For the people getting on OP for her tone:
"The tone argument is a form of derailment, or a red herring, because the tone of a statement is independent of the content of the statement in question, and calling attention to it distracts from the issue at hand. Drawing attention to the tone rather than content of a statement can allow other parties to avoid engaging with sound arguments presented in that statement, thus undermining the original party's attempt to communicate and effectively shutting them down."

I can't figure out if this is a troll post or supposed to be serious...the videos are real and all I really know is I DNW.

I do not have that great of a temper and that situation would have involved security removing them.

I'm sure we all agree racism is a problem in KPOP...and I will leave the debate, generalizations, and everything else alone


Edited at 2012-12-26 07:40 pm (UTC)

Idk on the topic of kpop artists covering a song and using the n-word, I don't think that's racist behaviour. They ARE rappers and most good raps songs have the word in it, it's hard to replace with something else especially if you're not fluent in english.

My previous comment mysteriously disappeared. But still OP's hair has the same connotations as Taeyang's, as far as I'm concerned hair is hair is hair. If I dye my hair blonde it doesn't mean I'm trying to be European. The other stuff that duo(meaning GD and YB) in particular does is questionable though.

Also about Seungri making excuses for the empty Thurs show although I'm sure it didn't sell out, flying from Florida my flight wouldve been cancelled had I been flying in for the Thurs show(on Weds), and my flight on Thurs was delayed 45+ min so I wouldve missed most of the show that day anyway. I'm sure there were others in similar situations.

Also I will never forget when some Korean lady GASPED at my face, IN MY FACE in Seoul Station. But for everyone of those that would stare there were many who were extremely helpful and nice.

This is Fox news level of journalism.

the hindi version of 4minute's mv is actually being sung in hindi. they're fucking terrible at it with the pronunciation and everything but people that speak hindi have said that it was in fact hindi even though they hardly understood it. but gj op, i didnt know hindi = gibberish, then again i always forget what an ignorant dumbass u are.

Edited at 2012-12-26 07:59 pm (UTC)

hello.
i 100% agree koreans r racist psychos. most kpop fans havr never met hoards of korean ppl irl. their fantasy wud b broken.
once one of my korea friends told me not 2 go 2 korea (im chinese btw) bc there r 2 many black ppl living there now.
its probably genetic, that's why u shouldn't hold it against them.
im typing this on my phone because my laptop is broken n i disabled autocorrect so plz dont reply w comments i have 2 type a lot 2 reply 2 this is an uphill battle.

Edited at 2012-12-26 08:08 pm (UTC)

That Exid video is disappointing on so many levels. I think the main problem here is that Korea doesn't teach the history of the n-word (why should they? it has no connection to their country, does it?), so the people using it think of it just as a harmless fad or something that will make them seem "cooler". Their ignorance is the real problem.

I jumped at the chance to go out on the field and do my first on-the-scene report.

The concert venue was empty.

----
this part made me lol the contrast is just lol. also even though there is some overreaction in the post, i think there are some valid points that we can't ignore and disregard because of the rest.

Edited at 2012-12-26 08:46 pm (UTC)

...I thought this was all a joke until a saw the comments. Is this serious journalism?

Clearly the author is the most ignorant of them all. Or did you not catch all the generalizations of Koreans, the hypocrisy, and the unrealistic expectations?

Edited at 2012-12-26 08:51 pm (UTC)

I'm not drunk enough for this but I hope that people will take the time to read through materials kindly provided by various posters in this post as to why it's not okay to use the nword if you're not black. But knowing omona (any of the ___theydidn'ts), those who are ignorant are going to ignore the material provided and continue to insist that it's a) okay to use the nword or b) black people cannot use the word if other ppl cannot!!!

I'm also rather disappointed that people also decided to derail the post, which is about racism, and just complain about OP. I mean can't you guys multitask your complaints?

I see you Canada flag lol

UGh yeah OP tends to present these things in a sensationalistic manner, but it doesn't mean you should completely ignore the content. Some of these comments are just ridiculous and completely derailing from what we could have turned into a genuine conversation on racism within Kpop and just in general.

This whole post and the majority of the comments are "gibberish".
Honestly speaking I can't take the content of your "serious journalism" seriously, even though racism is a serious topic and should be addressed but I simply can't with your Hitler comparison.
What Hitler did is simply...well I don't even know which word to use but you should never make Hitler comparisons unless you're a stupid and ignorant troll. No matter what topic you're talking.

If you come to Europe and use this comparison or among Jewish people, you'll be teared apart.

But oppalogists, please stop. The N-Word is not a nice word and you can only use it unless you're black and that's simply it.

Edited at 2012-12-26 09:48 pm (UTC)

The intent of talking about race in Kpop and Korean culture was there but the execution was down right sloppy and bait worthy. The majority of the comments are no better and probably worse. This could've been a good opportunity to honestly talk about the issues regarding race in kpop, but this post really doesn't do it.
As for the concert, I went to their Jersey concert and had probably the greatest night of my life. However, I'm sorry you had to go through that, OP.

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

Kpop has been very neglectful and unfair to people of color. I personally plan on addressing this when I get to Korea (will be reporting for a Korean-based music company).

I think the word "insensitivity" sums it up best. Let's face it. As culturally open as Korean has become, they're not nearly as aware of the fact of their racism and ignorance because they don't have the history that we in the States do. For someone who grew up here and went to school here, there's really no excuse. They ought to know better.

Nothing takes away the fact that these are culturally insensitive incidents. Nothing makes Kpop blameless either. When faced with comments that say "I'm offended" there ought to be an apology right?

But they're still muddying around and wrapping their heads around the idea of why it's culturally insensitive. Screaming at them might let off some steam, but it should be our job to tell Kpop artists and Kpop companies WHY it's offensive. You can't just yell "That's offensive!" and expect them to get it. Open people up to dialogue when you get a chance. That's what I plan to do. It's what I think other people should do as well.

Edited at 2012-12-26 11:04 pm (UTC)

i don't know why ppl are so hostile to the reality that k-pop culture is very disturbingly anti-black and really needs not to be. no, they're not the only ones, but why is it that when it's white against black racism we can all rally together, but when it's asian against black racism, suddenly we're not so sure if this is racism, and let's not talk about it, and stop being so sensitive? it makes me really unhappy that we can't even discuss the experiences of actual black ppl living in korea or dealing with korean racism.

Everytime this troll's posts get approved I feel like punching my laptop.

I'm not some little "oppa didn't mean it" fangirl. I've actually written about racism in kpop several times myself, so I'm not blind to it. But the sloppy nature of this post, the debatable "facts" contained within, and the tone of the OP, to say nothing of her dubbing herself a investigative journalist (girl, bye), makes a mockery of anyone who is actually sincerely committed to exposing and eradicating racism.

this should include shitdong and eewtuek and boom and beast
OP u made a great post thank u