I am Pinaywriter and I am YGstan.
I have struggled with being a YGstan what with the delays and the original merchs and such.
Before I begin this I would like to say this is just my opinion, not yours or any collective.
So if you want to do ad hominem or berate one member of the YG family and the fandom, just stop reading.
What I am about to say is highly unpopular these days which is odd because it was what made me love YG family artists and its many fandoms within the fandom in the first place.
Our is not a perfect family.
Our appa has his favorites. He admits to this in his actions and his children know this and show it.
Some have been hurt, other have chosen to leave but what remains is the example that the members of the YG family always showed the fans, that they would keep being part of the family long after they leave and that the members of the family would continue to support each other even if fans and fandoms pit them against each other.
I am a VIP and we know how big Big Bang is now.
But before VIPs were not that thick in the ground. We were a bit of a minority for a bit and it was only through the hard work of the VIPs from the past to the present and the patience we had to INVEST in supporting Big Bang that we have them still at almost a decade still making themselves globally and locally (South Korea) relevant. If there are VIPs reading this I am sure you know about the history, full of challenges and struggles. And this is because we have accepted one thing about Big Bang. That the members are human. They make mistakes, they hurt others, they hurt themselves, they hurt fans, they hurt their company, their family and they are often lost and misled by emotions, fame and money. But at the core of all that, they have each other. To forgive each other, to support each other and to not give up on one another.
I am a Blackjack. And there was once a time that YG said they would be the female Big Bang. This caused so many VIPs to hate 2NE1 in the beginning. But they were able to see how Big Bang supported and loved 2NE1 members like family and maybe even more. And they realized that YG family is YG family and that they would have to get with the program. As 2NE1 proved to be a monster rookie even more on FIRE than Big Bang was during their rookie days, though there were days when the VIPs and Blackjacks didn't get along, soon after VIPs who were looking for a female group to admire, started to soften up to the charisma of 2NE1.
New artists came into YG and became trainees and artists started to come out and become more and more known not just in Korea but in the world. As YG's vision of a global company and artists going to other countries to represent Korean popular music went hand in hand with technological advances, he used it for media play that he thought would work out into the world.
His tactics were never bulletproof and VIPs, BJs and YGstans had to develop a keen sense of "Is this legitimate?" they coordinated with their Korean counterparts and relied heavily on international fans to get the news out to the world. Translators and fansites became a refuge for the confused members of the fandoms. The fans learned how to bond with each other from all across the globe in forums, sites and now social networking sites.
YGE values innovation. They started the fierce era, the houte couture era and then the survival show era. And that is where the story of the YG family era comes to a close.
The Who is Next marketing strategy piqued the ninja skills of all YGstans and even non YGstans were hooked on it. They found out that watching trainees' development was both entertaining and lucrative. But little did we know that it would cause a rift that would never ever be repaired.
As it is I call the years after WIN, where Team A became WINNER as the aWIN or After WHO IS NEXT years.
It wasn't all bad but the YG Family protocol was compromised during the WIN survival show. The theories got darker and the hurt feelings and fanwars were not between YGstans vs other fandoms from towns and entertainments. It now reverted to an inward battle.
A rivalry that was unlike any other. A trainee war.
It was what brought up the changes that we have now.
I am not blaming anyone. Okay I am lying. I am blaming YG.
He caused all this. Because drama is lucrative, it keeps the tension up and that is what YGstans always react to. VIPs and BJs use the tension and re-chart songs, do twitter campaigns, flood YGE with emails and until recently, make projects that would be in the name of the artist. The same things are still being used today since fans are fans and the methods have been passed on from sunbae fans to hoobae fans.
But a growing discontent, first with iKONICS and later with INNER CIRCLE fans could not be cured by the YG Family protocol. We have aWIN era when being a multi-fandom is more common that being a pure YGstan. Being a pure YGstan was seen as almost impossible and archaic at this time. YGstans would be defensive against multifandoms and vice versa.
So the new silent YGstan protocol emerged. Pure YGstans now have to be the watchers and the guardians. They no longer speak to preach or to solicit the support of the members of IC and iKONIC fandoms. We must keep our personal opinions in our walls, within our group chats and show support regardless of who reads our words.
We have to use the covert methods of starting multiple groups where there is very little overlap with each fandom within the YG Family.
WE HAVE BECOME LIKE THE OTHERS. And I think that is totally fucked up.
And it is not just YG's fault with his blasted media play and his interviews.
It is now how we as fans read the translated words.
I would often read a post with pure bile then the link for an article.
I read the article and saw absolutely NOTHING that can trigger such vile remarks.
And that was when I realized, we read between the lines using our own prejudice.
And that is where we fail to see what YG family protocol is all about.
It's not to BLINDLY support YG and YG artists.
It is to show them respect, to show their fans respect.
YES, EVEN WHEN THEY DO NOT RESPECT US.
Because we are YGstans. WE *bleep*-ing know better.
I am proud to be a YGstan.
I am among the most intelligent, loving and supportive mofos in KPOPLANDIA.
Surely I can't support YG artists as openly as I did before.
But I would gladly compartmentalize to keep people from fighting.
I would not force the YG Family protocol to anyone ever again.
Because a true YGstan will find his or her own way.
And we would find ourselves in YG concert, YG events, gathering and groups offline and online.
Being a YGstan has changed. It is not just all about YG now.
YGstans are YGbiased fans who still know how to listen to good music from outside the family. They show their YG level love to others and it draws people to them.
The true mark of a decent fan is not being part of a Voting group or a protection squad.
It is not the fact that we want to BEAT other groups and get trophies.
It is when you can say "I got this friend of mine to listen to (insert YG artist here) and she says that the song was awesome."
It is when you TURN other fans into fans of YG artists that you can say you are a YGstan.
It is when you can listen and support and not speak ill of the YG artists who work equally as hard as your UB that you can call yourself a DECENT FAN.
Crab mentality is not part of the YG Family protocol.
If you don't think you can prevent yourself from doing that, please feel free to continue supporting your UB but do not make the YG family or any of its many decent members feel like shit because we choose to support as hard as we are doing it now.
As for the born haters and sickos in our YG Family, don't worry about them. YG family are full of patient CLEANERS. They would fall out when a scandal or a bad thing comes up. Then we can shrug them off and kill them off, like ticks on a dog.
Prepare yourself for 2016.
The YG Family protocol will be put to the test.
Choose your UB. Support who you love. But do not forget that RESPECT IS KEY in the YG Family.
This has been Pinaywriter. I am Blackjack VIP who is a member of the INNER CIRCLE and is iKONIC. I am a YGstan. I pray for all the artists and work hard to support them. Always.
