The BTS ARMY Called Out People Who Made Racist Comments About a Photo of Suga at a Dodgers Game
BTS has been making use of their free time in the U.S. wisely — for some members, like Jungkook, that means meeting Ariana Grande backstage of one of her shows and for others, like Suga, going to a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
Given the act's meteoric rise in the last year, it’s no surprise many sports outlets — not to mention the baseball team itself — caught notice of Suga’s attendance of the game, but it was a tweet from ESPN that recently sparked a major movement among BTS fans.
The tweet itself read, “Suga from @bts_bighit made it out to Dodger Stadium,” alongside a star emoji. However, the replies weren't as positive — with some sports aficionados leaving racist and sexist comments such as “Americans don't like that crap, except pre teen girls,” and, “JUST Another rich Chinese kid" under ESPN’s well-disposed shoutout.
Thankfully, the ARMY was there to call out those responses, taking advantage of the opportunity to showcase just how inclusive the fandom is. “Can't stand some of these replies. Just goes to show how closed minded some people are. I'm glad Suga from BTS is enjoying the game. Pretty sure he met up with Ryu, a fellow Korean, before or will after the game. He deserves the rest after BTS sold out all their stadium tours,” an ARMY commented upon seeing the negative replies.
Another fan added, “I’m an adult and I love them for many reasons, one being how they use their impact for good and make music of all different genres and styles of real issues and to heal. And actually the fandom is very diverse. I seen many people of all ages, ethnicities, and gender who love them.”
Case in point this cross-generational ARMY family who also came to defend Suga: “I'm 43 and love BTS. I'm going to their concert this weekend with my 13 yr old daughter and my 61 yr old mother. Quality, meaningful, intellectual music has no age requirement or barrier. Expand your mind sir, its a big world out there.” We stan.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the ARMYs set the record straight on these situations. Just last year, they started two hashtags to call out racism and harassment within the fandom itself and, more recently even corrected Saturday Night Live's reductive ARMY stereotypes in a promo video.
However, not all replies were ill-intentioned — some genuinely wondered who Suga actually was, and savvy ARMY members saw the perfect opportunity to impart some Bangtan knowledge.
When a Dodgers fan commented on the tweet with a simple “Who?”, an ARMY was quick to respond with an equally simple “Korean artist” that was in turn met with a curious “What does he paint? Lol” and finally rounded off with a 100% accurate: “Our souls."”
Ultimately, Yoongi enjoyed a great game and had even more fun meeting up with Ryu — a moment he rightfully immortalized on BTS’ Twitter account. Now, a couple of days after the original tweet, negative comments are hard to spot on the comment section — they're outnumbered by support.
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