#and i know there's propaganda and bullshit in our school curriculum and also that there's a lot of stuff just left out or glossed over

[alullinchaos]

i know wwii was a beyond major geopolitical event but it still surprises me how often i come across something that says "and things are this way because WW2"

[snowdeong]

another day, another reminder that kpopies don't give a flying fuck about anything, not even their precious idols. Because genuinely, if you actually love someone, you will care if they do something wrong. Not because you don't want them to get in trouble but because love also means caring enough about someone to hold them accountable.

It's so fucking dehumanising to not only try and absolve a whole fucking adult woman of her wrong doing but to then see her acknowledge and apologise for that wrong doing and STILL try and make her out to be the good guy in the situation. What???? Chaeyoung is a human being that did something wrong, not our precious uwu "wuv of ouw life" angel or whatever tf these people seem to think. You can stan someone and criticise them. In fact if you stan someone you have more reason to hold them accountable

I get saying that she genuinely might not have known. Gonna use my life experience as an example cause while SK is def more "developed" than Uganda but I think in terms of how our cultures have been influenced by the west we have some similarities in this aspect. The only reason I know what a Swatsika even means really is because being a queer nerd I kind of grew up on the internet and exposed myself to a lot of stuff. Most people my age have an idea of what it is in relation to nazism yes but they either don't care enough to know why it's a hate symbol or they just hand wave it cause the little we do learn about nazism in international schools at least is very detached for lack of a better word. The holocaust in our history class was treated more like "One of the bad things Hitler did" than an actual serious fucking genocide that has serious ramifications even today. Even the way Hitler was discussed was more like "Wow what a bad dude lmao" instead of actually highlighting all the vile shit he did to so many groups of people. And this is just international schools, I guarantee that our local curriculum gives even less of a fuck. If people downplay the meaning of that symbol in places where Jews and other affected people literally live and constantly raise awareness imagine places like Africa and Asia where a lot of our "good education" is either recycled bullshit from the west or so steeped in nationalist propaganda that it doesn't consider the fact that other people and cultures exist in this world.

I'm genuinely not surprised that a lot of Korean and other Asian peeps are like "No but it means something in our religion" and yes that's true and not a lot of people know that despite there being reclamation efforts. But if that means something for you that doesn't mean that it's still not HEAVILY associated with hate

I say all this to say that there's a difference between saying "Chae might not have known what that symbol means" and "it's perfectly okay that she posted that stop attacking her". By the time some rando nobody like me could take the time to learn (and keep learning cause ofc I don't know everything) this stuff despite living in a place where no one gives af it is very possible to learn lmao and Chae should fucking learn. If she didn't know then okay, let her know now that this has happened. Don't pretend it didn't happen. Don't erase the harm that this has caused. If you don't give af then good for you stfu and let the people who do speak, you can leave in your weirdo bubble or whatever but just stfu

[itsadragonaesthetic]

Was taught about the atom bombs in middle school in grave detail with bits of brainwashing and then never learned about it that intensely until now and uhhh just wanted to share some thoughts. (I'm actually trying to cope right now and I feel like blabbering lmao) Trigger for general discussion of the bombs, personal fears and feelings, and mentions of Nazis. Please tell me if I should add more/different tags.

I was very thoroughly brainwashed about WW2 when I was in middle school. No doubt. Full blown "it was a necessary evil" and "Americans are the heros" and "the greatest generation" all taught by an asshole boomer (no literally) who forced me to watch reconstructions of people being vaporized by the bombs (I asked to not participate and he refused).

I genuinely look back on that similarly to how my mom looks back on the similarly brutal education she got. It was traumatizing. After that I just blanked it all out of my mind for years. I got to it in high school but didn't pay much attention and the curriculum didn't go in depth as to not be opinionated or traumatize anyone being forced to read about it against their will.

I've been learning about it again over the last few days out of curiosity, prime timing with a WW2 movie being released, and because I could feel some kind of weird wound in my psyche about those bombs that I wanted to explore.

Something new that has happened is that I'm beginning to comprehend that WW2 actually happened. I was told about it when I was a fucking child as to lessen the impact of how crazy it was. To make it impossible for me to fully process and question it. To make the event sound normal. Later I knew of the horrors of the Nazis, especially cuz some idiots currently decided to bring it up into politics again. I'm not sure if I'll ever fully process any of that honestly. I learned a lot about it in high school, but nothing too crazy.

That bombing tho, and the entire situation of the US relationship with Japan... it's hard to think about. I think it's hard because of that brainwashing. Even if I say I don't like America or whatever, I have to admit that there are some patterns in there that will always need weeding simply due to my education. Ableism, racism, harmful nationalism, disconnect from other countries, all of that doesn't fix itself when you yell "fuck america".

I was initially taught with the American pride ideas. We had no choice, the Japanese were evil savages, and America is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Woo pride for our troops or whatever. I grew up and realized it was all bullshit but I had a sort of... apologist perspective on the horrors. Those people were brainwashed. Those marines thought they were doing the right thing. Those poor Americans just wanted the war to end. They didn't know what that bomb did.

But I only thought that because that's the America I choose to see in the present day. I still talk respectfully to veterans simply because I pity them, and many realized they were duped by the Iraq war propaganda. I give them respect because they didn't deserve to experience that, nor did they want to. I also generally think of Americans as ignorant. They only think these wars are justified because they've been led astray by assholes at the top who want more money. Were all just a bunch of roaches at the bottom of a barrel being swayed by the tides of our upbringing.

This was not how it was in WW2. People were victims of propaganda, but many were truly evil. I liked to imagine people felt shock and fear after the first test, but no. People cheered. People were given medals after dropping the bomb. They had the mushroom cloud and news coverage play on TV and people said "we should bomb them again". They saw survivors years after the event and laughed at their deformities. Americans whined and bitched about the war effort, then took full credit for being good humanitarians after we won. Japanese Americans were treated like less than animals.

The Nazis were just... that shit is enough to give you nightmares for sure. But that evil feels far away. It feels like it's fueled by mythical monsters and misinformed people. Maybe the bombs are only shaking me so bad because it's close to home, but hearing about those bombings makes me feel... haunted. The power of the sun, creation itself, was released and it birthed a thousand demons that still stalk every person even remotely affected. Generations down, it feels like the spirit of some lost soul is looking for someone to blame. As an American, it feels like it must be me. The fact that I knew so many kids in high school who chose the WW2 special courses that unpack those horrors and many still came out as white nationalists reminds me that WW2 wasn't even 100 years ago. The mindset that unleashed the most atrocious horrors upon the earth isn't long dead like I was taught it was. Nor is it in some far off land. I am indeed superstitious, and it makes me afraid of demons disguised as people. When they said learning about this stuff is enough to make you feel like half of a human for an afternoon, they weren't kidding.