Reblog If You Are A Safe Person To Talk To

this is the money dog, repost in the next 24 hours and money will come your way!!

To all my black followers and friends, stay safe.

Also, I would like to add that black lives have always mattered, will always matter.

It’s awful that we even have to say that because it should be a given. However, we need to say it loud and clear for the racists.

We cannot be silent. 

we’re just gonna have to start straight up killing these grown ass men dating teenagers since the families of millie bobby brown, billie eilish, and olivia rodrigo obviously arent gonna do it

I know no one wants to hear it but some of you have to tone it down when it comes to guilt tripping people into voting/streaming for your faves, the only thing you're accomplishing is making people NOT want to vote

I understand when you ask in a nice way, I truly do and certainly it makes me think 'well it doesnt take that much time to vote on this app so I'll so it' but I'm so freaking tired of reading things like 'x group is probably REALLY disappointed in all of us for not voting when it was just a small portion of the fandom who was too lazy to vote'

(also, I've only seen this very few times here in tumblr, I guess it's bc I dont follow that many groups, but it doesn't mean that people dont say these things here, and it also doesn't mean that just because people don't do that in this website, these things straight up don't exist)

seriously, stop. On a personal note, I worked really hard for voting during the wonderland promotion of ateez and even though they had no wins and i certainly felt a bit sad for them, it never crossed my mind to think that the rest of the fans were lazy or didn't support/love the boys enough.

There are MANY ways you can support a group you like and voting is just one of them. I know that music broadcast awards are important in Korea but it doesnt mean that us, as fans, have to prioritize them over other certain things (e.g: mental health, studying, working, sleeping, taking care of a family member, etc).

Let's make a collective effort to stop this ongoing trend of thinking that just because you start liking a group, "the norm" is that you have to go all out and 'prove' how big of a fan you are, how much you support them or how much you love them

Listening to their music alone is enough to be supportive of them, and any other things you may or may not do (buying albums, merch, concert tickets, lightsticks) are just a different, extra way to support them

Please reblog this, this could save a life

Heard some important information on Twitter today, and thought I’d post it here for anyone who may not have heard it. This is actually a thing, devised by human rights organisation called Karma Nirvana.

Reblog to save a life?

unpopular opinion: sometimes... fandom isn't that important. sometimes fandom isn't "that deep" to someone. sometimes people don't interact within the fandom and like to watch from afar. sometimes people just want to look at cool art or read cool fanfics, and that's it.

let's normalize fandom being a hobby or an interest and not a lifestyle. normalize taking a step back, taking time off and disconnecting from fandom without feeling bad. it's okay and healthy to prioritize yourself over media instead of consuming it 24/7. it's okay to set boundaries and enjoy something the way you need.

This is so pretty 🥺🥺🥺

Reblog if you’re bisexual, support bisexual people or are actually a bunch of tiny velociraptors in a human suit

Reblogging because it need to be heard and it’s important.

Why continuing to support Ateez might actually be important/helpful for preventing cultural appropriation in the future

I would like to preface this by saying that I am a person of colour but I am not black. I can and do empathise with black Atiny though I also acknowledge that I cannot fully understand how this affects them. Pain and hurt is always valid and the black community have suffered in ways most of us have not. 

At the same time, I am really sick and tired of ‘cancel culture’ and the lack of nuance when discussing issues such as cultural appropriation. They prevent us from having useful discussions and facilitating change. So let’s break down this issue:

The problem: In a promotional photo for their next comeback, Kim Hongjoong, the leader of Ateez, was styled with cornrows. This is a case of cultural appropriation. 

The response: Fans emailed KQ Entertainment asking for this hairstyle to be changed and KQ responded saying a) this was not done with conscious effort to appropriate/insult another culture, but that they did it to fit with the concept, b) they cannot re-make any of the content that has been completed for album promotions, c) they will ensure that Hongjoong will not wear this hairstyle during album promotions and d) they will apply what they have learned to future comebacks and ensure that this will not happen again. 

Reasons why KQ Entertainment was in the wrong:

Entertainment companies need to start putting resources into educating themselves and their artists. All you need is one (1) person who’s job it is to go over concept ideas. I don’t understand why RESEARCH INTO CONCEPT IDEAS AND THEIR ORIGINS isn’t an industry standard to begin with.  It’s like when you’re writing a fictional story - you DO RESEARCH INTO STORY ELEMENTS. That should be a standard part of creating a ‘concept’ or styling any artist - where does this idea come from? is it COPYING or PLAGIARISING anyone? is it CULTURAL APPROPRIATION? 

So, yes, KQ Entertainment made a grave mistake. Furthermore, their blunder is just the latest in a LONGGGG series of cultural appropriation and racism in K-pop. On top of that, this is a racially-sensitive time. 

I did initially wonder why Hongjoong, who is an activist for multiple platforms and is very aware of how carefully they must navigate different cultures, didn’t point out that cornrows were not appropriate (esp since San said the members were very involved in this comeback). However, we have to remember that Hongjoong exists outside that culture, lives in a country/works in an industry that is notoriously racist/colourist, and would have seen other groups use that hairstyle (esp for Summer comeback - KoKoBop and Boom ring any bells?). I didn’t fully understand the problem with non-black people wearing cornrows (i just thought it was distasteful, fake and try-hard) until someone pointed out how every aspect of blackness has been stereotyped and criminalized. This is NOT something that most people are taught. 

Reasons why people need to FUCKING SETTLE DOWN:

KQ Entertainment’s swift response to their fans was INCREDIBLE. Let me ask all you kpop multis: what did SM do in response to Kai’s dreadlocks and Chenle’s cornrows? There was no explicit apology. There was no attempt to explain themselves. There was no promise to change their behaviour in the future.

KQ Entertainment has shown that they are open to change and education. They have taken action in response to people calling them out. They have apologised for their actions and explained why changes to completed promotional changes cannot be made. 

And now people are complaining that KQ haven’t done enough, sending death threats to Hongjoong and generally spreading a disgusting amount of hate. 

Listen, regardless of how large an entertainment company is, it is highly unlikely that any of them would change promotional material that has already been completed this close to a comeback date. The money and time that requires is ridiculous. It would require pushing back the comeback date. A small company like KQ, whose world tour was recently CANCELLED, cannot afford to do that. And you may criticise them for choosing money over a ‘more important issue’ but let’s discuss how significant this issue is and the best way to facilitate change. 

So we all agree that this is cultural appropriation and that cultural appropriation is bad. We also all agree that KQ has apologised and agreed to make feasible changes. Our response should be to welcome those changes. 

If people just keep criticising the company and ‘cancelling’ them for their choices, then it becomes clear to the WHOLE INDUSTRY that trying to change things and negotiate with fans becomes pointless. They’re going to lose support regardless of what they do. This ‘all-or-nothing’ response is ridiculous. 

Sensationalism and social media have made it really difficult to have a conversation that doesn’t involve two extremes at opposite ends of a spectrum. In reality, most issues should be viewed on a spectrum, in shades of grey. Responding with aggression and hate, labeling a company and their artists as racist because they’ve appropriated one aspect of a culture and publicly shaming them doesn’t help. 

Anti-racism doesn’t mean being an “anti-fan”. EFFECTIVE anti-racism means calling out racists acts (which we’ve done), asking for change (done) and drawing attention to positive behaviours and alternative and reinforce these (WHICH WE ARE NOT DOING).

We have to give KQ Entertainment CONSTRUCTIVE criticism in response to their changes in order for them to recognise that THEY ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING. 

Complications: The Harper Bazaar photo shoot - Hongjoong’s hair is styled in braids/cornrows for that photo shoot. It suggests that he was going to have that hairstyle for the majority of their promotions. However, these are still part of promotional material had been completed prior to the teaser photo being dropped. KQ Entertainment truly did not have the time to change it. 

Yes, it looks bad. Yes, KQ Entertainment fucked up. But unless we continue to support Ateez and give them constructive criticism that they can REALISTICALLY APPLY, change will not occur. This is a first step. WE have given Ateez and KQ the opportunity to set a NEW PRECEDENT for the industry. WE have given Ateez and KQ to set a NEW STANDARD.

They can ONLY do this if WE continue to support them and give them a chance to SUCCEED. 

(P.S. - if you’re sending hate to Hongjoong [and there HAVE been death threats] you are cruel and mean as well as implicit in preventing his education)

I’m just proud to say that I’m Dominican and that I have black blood. Whenever I get the chance to tell people about our mixture and culture I don’t miss it, I even practice in my head and imagine people asking me questions 🤣🤣🤣

I am NoT black , I’m Dominican 🤣🤣