FakeCake

People seem to be missing the point here. I read Harry Potter. Own the books, own some merch, celebrate the art as a part of my culture and history…but I’m not going to tag JK Rowling in an appreciation post about the books. I’m not going to post a picture with them. That’s the difference here. Everyone one of us engages with art created by people who have done terrible things. To criticize someone for that would be hypocritical and self-righteous. But the choice to platform and celebrate the ARTIST while engaging with that art is deserving of criticism. And you can levy that criticism without cultivating hatred for the members or taking away from their core of decency and legacy of positive impact. My idols, two men I deeply love a respect, made an error in judgment today by publicly hyping a documented prolific abuser. That doesn’t make them bad people, it makes them human. And I’m engaging with their public update to express that disappointment and ask them to consider how this specific action may negatively affect their fans. That is also human. It’s totally reasonable and fair. It’s not hate, it’s not disillusionment about their perceived “perfection,” it’s simply a reciprocal interaction of two humans who happen to disagree about something important. Surely we’re all (including Namseok) old enough and mature enough to open that dialogue and reflect on our choices without escalating it into cancelling or defending without reproach. If my best friend tagged CB in a hype post, I’d text him expressing my disappointment in that choice, too. That’s not me trying to control him or condemning him as evil. It’s just me hoping he’ll take a minute to reflect on his action. No love or respect lost, just a conversation started. So stop acting like talking about it and criticizing it is hateful and please stop expecting perfection from these normal grown men. Just be a normal human who can acknowledge mistakes while still loving and respecting the good people who make them.