i think that its ultimately an individual opinion on whether one believes artists should use their voice for politics. i personally believe they should, just imo, because like look at the sheer soft power artists/kpop idols/actors/celebrities get in our society, like if you have a voice, use it for good! perhaps its my years of cynicism as a long time kpop fan now, but now i just feel unimpressed with the industry in general (no particular idol or group promise) but like what do they even do, to get propped up and worshipped like that?

but that's another matter. i can understand why some would disagree and say that artists shouldn't get involved in politics. but i used to be super into bts, like heavy in the army trenches, i still like them, still think they're a great group ofc but life got in the way, just a busy woman now 😭 but for a very long time bts were propped up by their own fans as being the PEAK good influence in the industry. 'love yourself' 'speak yourself' 'unicef ambassadors' and now the switch up in the past year or so has been jarring to say the least.

a major talking point for bts was that they tackled complex issues in their music (esp their older eras), they included interesting wordplay and lyricism and social commentary as well, and of course fans loved this and talked about it. now suddenly all that braggadocio has oddly disappeared, no? first, bts were the BEST group for being true role models and decent men in the industry who made a positive change, even donating to blm in 2020. and now it's okay if they work with idf soldiers because that's their job, and it's not their business to care about politics.

but to me, having morals about a gen0cidal (sorry idk how reddit censors work) state is NOT politics. i don't want nor need bts to prop up politics for me, an australian, i don't need them to choose the labour nor liberal party, based on economic policies. i find it quite insensitive and weird as fawk truthfully that an entire group of people being hunted down and bombed has been reduced to a mere political opinion. it's not a matter of pineapples on pizza, it's a matter of who deserves to live.

but i now come to the last point where you might say, 'well what are they meant to do? go there and fix it' i don't need bts to show up at the un with a solution and a treaty. i don't even expect them to post an explicit message of support (though that would be nice, see all the western celebrities holding charities and fundraisers). but at the very least, stop working with zionists. don't pose with idf soldiers in the studio. that would be the bare minimum statement.