SO, before we start on this issue and credits to who wrote this incredible information, I'm going to touch on the fact of Chan not mentioning it in his recent Vlive. One of the reasons is mentioned in the wonderful explanation below, but another on there is that Jeongin was with him. He probably didn't want to mention it when Jeongin was there, and he may have needed time to prepare an explanation, and I know people who are attacking this statement are saying that Jeongin is an adult, well he may have not wanted to expose any of his members by his choice, especially the youngest by addressing the issue and having him see all the hate that I thought was our loving and accepting fandom was giving him. Well now onto a detailed explanation
I want to touch on why wearing cornrows have become an issue related to cultural/culture appropriation (taking something from another culture without showing that you understand or respect the culture). Cornrows, for those who do not know, date back a long time into ancient African civilization. There is a beautiful and complex history behind the use of cornrows and that's where the issue comes in. People (most predominantly American celebrities) are using cornrows as a sort of 'trend', hence ignoring all the history behind it. They are basically not respecting the culture and are only seeing it as it is: a hairstyle. Black people are proud of those cornrows, proud of their culture and yet, (racist) people are only acknowledging it now after Western celebrities have worn it because apparently, it makes a difference (in beauty) when white people wear it compared to the original black people.
Now, to draw a bridge between this issue and Chan. I'm going to present two perspectives from the two most prominent reasons people have given: from the side of Chan, and from the side of the stylist (Chan's is a bit wordy, so I'll quickly get the stylist's perspective out of the way first).
Simply put, the stylist may have just researched into what's popular amongst hip hop artists in America and did not bother to check anything behind it, because it's not every day where people use something with so much history behind it. It's not their duty to research the history behind the hairstyle, they simply saw that it was popular in America and decided to copy it. HOWEVER because people have been saying that it was Chan's idea, scrap that (but then again, they probably didn't know any better).
I understand that everyone is either: pinning the blame on Chan or trying to educate him on doing such a thing. Let's touch on what Chan is like from what he has shown/said in the past. We understand that Chan is someone who is fascinated by the different cultures from around the world, which is a given considering that he grew up in a multicultural country like Australia and was most likely exposed to many, many different cultures (I would know because I was born and raised in Australia). We know that he is a sincere and thoughtful person who cares for the people around him and despite him being a '97 liner, one of the oldest in Stray Kids, and having such a mature outlook on the world, he is still quite young and probably haven't been exposed to the darker side yet (making this situation his first; although not that dark, it's still most likely not something he is used to). We know that he is at heart a good person who his parents are very proud of.
Now let's look at possible reasons why he may have wanted to do this (taking into consideration his personality that he has showcased to us in the past). The first and main reason that I can come up with is that he found the beauty in the history behind and was simply fascinated. He probably wanted to show appreciation towards the culture, however, was not aware of the negative stigma behind wearing it on stage (or just wearing it general). He may have not been aware of the fact that it would not be received positively because he simply didn't think that there would be any consequences. Like a child who just discovered something new and wanted to show it to his parents, he wanted to show (and maybe educate but who knows) the culture to the fans; to help them find the beauty behind the history of African people, but did so without considering the consequences and how it may be sensitive to some people. (SIDE NOTE: tbh I didn't know how sensitive this was until this happened and did my research before anything else because like Chan, I grew up in a place where seeing these types of things are completely normal. I also now understand why people are so pressed on using something from another culture in a way that seems as though they are trying to be 'trendy' because it's the same with me and seeing people use traditional Asian clothing as prom dresses or whatnot. Things that carry so much history SHOULDN'T be used to be trendy. That's what I call disrespecting the culture.)
I'm not saying that this isn't his fault. I'm saying that the fault lays in the public (STAYs, Netizens, etc.) as well as Chan. Chan for not understanding the possible consequences that this may have brought onto him and the group image, and the public for autopiloting towards negative assumptions. When it was first revealed that Chan had cornrows, I noticed first that people were criticizing him for using them as a 'trend'. Do you realize that this is an assumption based on past experience? We are so used to having well-known celebrities using them for popularity and as a 'trend' that we automatically think that everyone is doing it for the same reason. What if Chan was trying to express something different but didn't realize that people would think that way? ( IF this is true, that just shows how much he trusts us to understand him and stand by his side). I understand that some people may have felt betrayed because he has, up until now, shown only respect and appreciation for other cultures. However, before attacking him and demanding an apology (please note the word demanding), we should first break down what type of person we know him as and think of possible reasons (and probably give him the benefit of the doubt, while trying to calmly educate and tell him that doing this may be received wrongly rather than shouting at him to apologise because tbfh y'all are making this bigger than it needs to be; don't @ me)
On another note, we don't know Chan personally. We don't know what kind of person he is (and for those who are disappointed at the current scandal involving Seungri and many other celebrities will understand why I said that we do not know them). For all we know, Chan could be an insensitive person (wow that hurt to type). Just because he's shown us his caring side, doesn't mean that that is the only side he has. Like every human, he should have a flaw and it could very well be his more personal side (please don't attack me because these are also assumptions, NOT facts).
Another thing I want to point out is that people have been comparing this incident with BamBam's (where he was drunk at Mark's house in America and said the n-word). People are saying that BamBam was intercepted by the company, forbidden from apologizing and yet he decided to break the rules and apologize. We need to understand that the circumstances are different and that BamBam and Chan are two completely different people despite being friends. BamBam has no problem being wild and uncontrollable, Chan is not. He's so used to being the "perfect" son and if there are rules, he'll most likely follow them.
Y'all need to calm down first and let logic rule your mind, not emotions. We, as a new fandom, shouldn't be turning our backs so quickly. We should show that we are capable of being patient and aren't so irrational. For some, it may seem straightforward: "apologize". For others, it's much more complex: "I don't know how to feel anymore", but remember that this is the man that created Stray Kids, the man that took care of his members, the man that trained for 7 years without losing ambition, Stray Kids's as well as our leader. A man who we hold so much respect for and suddenly it all disappears because of a hairstyle (with a lot of history) worn with intentions so vague.
I just want to end this by saying that just like other people (call me a hypocrite or whatever, but I'm going to tell you that there is not a single person on this earth who isn't one, some just more than others) I want Chan to issue an apology. I don't care if he does this ASAP, or if he chooses to spend some time thinking and researching to present a more sincere apology, I just want an apology and explanation. I want an apology from him for: using the hairstyle wrongly, for being ignorant, or for causing such a huge misunderstanding (whichever he is guilty of)
I found this wonderful explanation, but the main point to get from here is the fact that people need to stop starting such controversy so soon into the fandom as that is toxic and people shouldn't be so quick to turn their backs on idols that they supposedly support and love so much. I, personally am mixed, but my father has deep roots as my grandmother on his side actually picked cotton as a child. I see nothing wrong with this hairstyle and before bashing me, they aren't actual cornrows they are dutch braids, don't @ me. If you know someone who needs to wake up and realize what they're doing to attack them is wrong, please show them this as they need to understand that we are supporting loving fandom, nothing is wrong with asking for an apology, but everything is wrong with attacking him and being so quick to cancelling him on a hairstyle, that may have deep roots, but still a hairstyle that we don't even know the meaning behind his reasoning to having it. WE DON'T KNOW HIS REASONING AND HE COULD BE DOING CULTURAL APPRECIATION BUT YALL HAVENT GIVEN HIM A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN HIMSELF SO INSTEAD OF CANCELLING CHAN GO AHEAD AND CANCEL YOURSELF.
