Chanyeol and Racism [UPDATED]
Fans are hating on Chanyeol because he asked Jongin if he wanted to bleach his skin.
They are calling him a racist and immature for teasing Jongin about his skin tone for over 3 years now. I understand that the remarks said by Chanyeol may hurt Jongin mentally, but we have to consider the intentions behind it.
Chanyeol (Baekhyun and some other exo members) has been teasing Jongin about his dark skin tone since forever. There was once Jongin mentioned that he disliked being teased about his tan skin. The main thing is that some fans fail to consider that EXO has been training together for a long time and they have spent 3 tough years together. If Jongin hates Chanyeol (and the members) for calling him tan all the time, he has the absolute right to tell him to stop. One reason behind Chanyeol's constant teasing might be because he thinks that Jongin is okay with it and takes it lightly.
There is also one more thing to consider; Chanyeol and Jongin are great friends. Friends tease and joke with each other all the time. I'm sure many of you were teased by or tease your friends once in a while, not intending any harm. The same thing applies. Chanyeol doesn't tease Jongin to hurt his feelings - he teases him to show their closeness and evoke laughter.
I'm not trying to support people making racist remarks at their friends. My point is that there are 2 different interpretations of Chanyeol's question to Jongin.
1. Chanyeol is racist and thinks fair skin is better than dark skin
2. Chanyeol was just trying to be friendly
As for 1, I would dislike it if Chanyeol was insentitive and made such a remark because he thinks fair skin is superior. But no, I interpretated it that he was just making fun of Jongin because of Jongin's reaction. Jongin's skin can be also what makes him unique and what makes him stand out in EXO. Infinite always teases Sunggyu for having tiny eyes. I don't see such an outrage in the Inspirit fandom.
The problem is how Chanyeol phrased his words that might have offended others. The only way to solve this isn't to hate on Chanyeol and tell him to "go and die". It's to let Jongin know that we don't like him only because of his physical appearance. We love him because of his passion, his dedication, his talent and his personality. Regardless of skin tone, we love what's within Kim Jongin.
Same thing goes to other fans out there who may be darker skinned. You are all beautiful just the way you are and you shouldn't let such comments get to you.
So before you call Chanyeol a racist, ask yourself: Did Chanyeol say those words to inflict harm? Does Chanyeol look down on Jongin because of his skin?
It was a moment of carelessness. I believe that Chanyeol wouldn't say such words to mean any harm.
I also admit that we as fans have no right to say that our idol is the kindest person in the world. We don't know him personally and we may never be able to. However, what I'm sure is: we control our minds to think a certain way. If everyone thinks negatively towards these small remarks, what would happen to our society?
***Update:
Jongin said it himself again that he has dark skin on Sunny's FM radio. He said that he was proud of his skin colour. In addition, the other members, including Chanyeol, said that Jongin's skin colour was what that made him attractive.
Please stop the hate.
#EXOLloveChanyeol
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