Why is it that some boycotts are pushed more than others?
When you think of boycotts within kpop, your first thought is probably about the BBC boycott.
Since then, boycotts have seemed to be on the rise, with people boycotting more companies and groups for a variety of reasons. But why is it that some of these boycotts are taken more seriously and cared for more than others?
Because there are so many and this is the main point of my post, I'll be talking mostly about RIIZE and Loona.
Recently, RIIZE fans have started a boycott against SM where they refuse to support comebacks, merchandise, and shows to show their support for Seunghan and his return from his unfair forced hiatus.
Seunghan had a dream to become a kpop idol, but since he had "negative publicity", he had to be removed, and has seemingly been forgotten by the company.
When the BBC boycott began, it was taken very seriously from the very start. Even now, you can see people online ridiculing anyone who streams or promotes LOONA in any way that isnt in terms of the boycott, in very toxic ways. You can tell it's not taken lightly.
But with RIIZE, their monthly listens on Spotify only seem to be going up, and people post videos of themselves openly spending money or streaming for RIIZE with no shame. And the people that see these videos dont seem to say anything about the boycott or discourage the person from supporting at all.
I took the time to speak to a few of these people to see what they had to say so I can understand them a bit better. To no surprise, some blocked me after I mentioned the boycott. But here is what I got out of the ones who messaged me.
Some told me they assumed it'd be okay to buy tickets to their tour because the boycott was "fizzling out". The boycott never fizzled out, it will fizzle out when Seunghan comes back. Because that is the point of the boycott. Some people tend to stop caring after a week, but that doesnt mean the boycott "fizzled out", it just means that person was trying to be performative and pretend to care because people were talking about it and voicing their outrage of the mistreatment.
I also heard the very common excuse or defense, "Other people were doing it so I thought it would be okay to do that."
If people do it, thats their own fault and a reflection on the person they are. And it is also a reflection on you, as well. It's the definition of bandwagon.
Seunghan and LOONA were both taken advantage of and mistreated. Both had dreams of being idols and because of companies that see them as cashcows, they were put at a disadvantage.
They both experienced the same thing, so why are the boycotts for both of them treated so differently? What does this truly stem from, because it cant possibly be out of love or care for the idols or wanting whats best for them.
