The first time was well expected. But the second time…oh boy.
A few weeks ago, I had myself a little Chicago adventure. This was the week BTS had their concert in town. As a way to promote the event, they had a pop-up shop downtown that sold clothes and accessories all related to BTS including two shirts referencing BTS designed for Chicago in mind.
I stopped by and got myself a $55 tank top that says Speak Yourself and a sticker packet. I also got a slap-on wristband once I entered the room. I broke it a few hours later because I just have to fiddle with any kind of jewelry I wear.
The shop was a short walk away from the Art Institute, so I took the liberty of wandering the gallery for a short while. Later that day, I hopped on the L and went to the Chicago neighborhood by the name of Old Town. This part of town is the home of the Chicago History Museum. I stopped by close to evening and was surprised to find this museum stays open until 9. This is most definitely a rare thing for a museum to do considering most museums stay open until around 5-6 PM. Coming in before 7, I’m sure I could fill my history buff meter enough that evening.
I have to say I do recommend this museum for people from all over. Whether you’re from out of the country, the state, or even if you’re a local who wants to know Chicago more. It also has some intriguing artifacts inside. Like Lincoln’s deathbed, remnants of the Great Chicago Fire, Scottie Pippen’s jersey, and more! The museum is also open to temporary exhibitions, and I discovered one of the latest exhibits is a tribute to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
I’ve already learned about the gist of MLK thanks to first grade education, heard about some of the darker stuff about him later in life, and have previously visited the motel in Memphis, TN where he was fatally shot. Plus I still had plenty of time to see what the museum has to offer that day, so I walked in and took in the atmosphere.
The presentation feels like an art gallery, and along the walls is a timeline of King’s life and his activities in forwarding the civil rights movement. Towards the end of the exhibit is a notebook where visitors are asked to write about how Dr. King has inspired them. Many messages were relevant to Dr. King.
Several messages were kids screwing around.
But the most shocking messages in this book were in the very pages laid out when I was in the exhibit that day.
Mother fucker.
On the left page, the entire page is about shit relating to BTS. That generic af symbol of theirs, ships, song recommendations, and of course a demand to stan BTS. I actually felt a tiny bit of anger looking at this. This is exactly like a stan Twitter account flooding a tweet about someone dying with “if _____ stanned ______ they’d still be alive”. I don’t blame BTS for something like this happening. Because you can talk about BTS in a memorial book without looking childish. I decided to give my two cents.
What I wrote only makes it look like the writer is the kind of person who is too passionate about BTS and takes the theories too damn seriously. Maybe who ever takes care of what happens to those books can regain some hope for humanity with that if he does read every damn page.
The exhibit will be open until March 2020 if you want a chance to see my writing in print, a secondary reason to see it after the obvious reason of learning about MLK and respecting his appreciating what he accomplished in the fight for civil rights. Hopefully this is the last time I have to address stan culture soiling the spirits of historical figures. Thank you for letting me rant about humanity being a failed experiment!
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