Since late May, Black Lives Matter protests in NYC have called for the defunding of police. The death of George Floyd spurred civil unrest that called for one main thing: Defund NYPD.
Defund NYPD
Defunding the police doesn’t necessarily mean completely restricting their funds. It means reallocating or redirecting funds to other government agencies. It does not mean abolish the police completely.
The 2020 fiscal year suggests New York City will spend a total of $10.9 billion dollars on the NYPD.
This NYPD’s operating budget totals $5.6 billion dollars, making it the third-largest agency operating budget. As a result of the pressure of protestors, New York City cut $1 billion from the police budget.
The proposed budget cuts
Within this $1 billion dollar cut, the City Council plans to redirect some of those funds to budget “badly needed infrastructure.”
The Coalition in City Council wants this $1 billion to be used to suspend the hiring of new police officers by 3%. They also want to cut uniformed overtime by 5% and cut non-personnel expenses by 4%.
The Communities United for Police Reform wants the money to be used to cut overtime, public relations and surveillance technology use, and cap uniformed officers. It will also fire abusive officers and deduct settlement payouts from the operating budget as a punitive measure. It will also cut modified duty.
The proposed cut will also freeze new hires, cancel new cadet classes, and cancel cadet training programs. It will also reduce uniformed officers by about five percent and remove officers from schools, transit systems, homeless outreach, and mental health response programs.
Where are the funds actually going?
Since the proposal passed on July 1st, people are wondering where these proposed funds are actually going.
It turns out that the proposed budget cut made by the city council is still funding the police, just a little more discreetly. Their new budget boosts enforcement against all other drivers in a blatant bid to fund the city government with excessive law enforcement.
This new budget reassigned 165 traffic-enforcement agents to the Department of Transportation, meant to assign tickets for cars that are “blocking the bus lane” or “double parking in a bike lane”.
However, it is clear that they have not done their research. These tickets and fines are directly related to the revenue of many cities’ police departments. When the citizens are unable to pay, this builds tension between the police department and the citizens.
The city council is doing everything but adhere to what protestors want, even when we’ve spelled it out for them.
Kylie and Kendall Jenner have been recently put under fire for failing to pay their Bangladesh workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their clothing line, Kendall and Kylie, allegedly has refused to pay their Bangladeshi apparel workers due to the lack of sales being made during the pandemic.
These claims originated from a report in Remake, where the original article showed a list of companies that were affiliated with Global Brands Group, although this listing has since then been removed.
KYLIE + KENDALL response
On Thursday, Kylie and Kendall have since then responded to these allegations but not before limiting the number of comments people could make on their Instagram posts that demanded the models and reality tv celebrities pay their workers.
In this post, they state they are not affiliated with “GDB.” The post also stated, “The brand has worked with CAA-GBG in the past in a sales and business development capacity only, but we do not currently have any relationship at all with GBG.”
Screenshot was taken of Global Brands Group on 6/23/20
In a separate post, KylieCosmetics also spoke up against these false accusations, stating
“There is a rumor that some people are perpetuating online, which is unfortunate. The Kendall and Kylie CLOTHING BRAND does NOT MANUFACTURE anything in Bangladesh and ‘Kendall and Kylie’ is NOT CURRENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBAL BRAND GROUP. We feel terrible that this problem exists, but this rumor regarding the Kendall and Kylie clothing brand is completely untrue…”
Remake responds
Remake issued a new statement due to these recent developments.
“To this, we must ask: Do KENDALL + KYLIE know who their suppliers are? And can they confirm that the women who sew their clothing line have been paid during the coronavirus crisis?” the statement continued.
“Until we receive clear answers from the KENDALL + KYLIE team and are given proof that they have paid garment makers, we will continue to investigate. We’ve also invited the KENDALL + KYLIE team to dialogue with us to learn more about the women who bring their label to life.”
While they may not be affiliated with a company that refuses to pay the basic minimum for their workers, this still begs the question, how involved are Kylie and Kendall Jenner within their own business?
The treatment of Bangladeshi factory workers is a problem that is facing a long-overdue response. Many of the workers are women that are forced to work in conditions unfit for any human while barely receiving any pay. They are also offered little to no benefits.
These are real human beings that deserve to have their lives treated with respect and yet it seems as though many companies view their lives as disposable.
Eat the Rich
This performance by the Jenners and Kardashians is just another example of their performance activism. From posting a black square on #BLACKOUTUESDAY and still not donating any of their wealth, over $900 million, to any charities or bailout funds.
friendly reminder that kylie jenner just bought a 36.5 million dollar mansion in california and refuses to pay her UNDERPAID Bangladeshi workers for their labor. cyberbully the fuck out this dumb bitch till she pays up. pic.twitter.com/Xazw8S0PHT
The Cheeto Jesus seems a little confused about what he knows versus what he thinks he knows. Is it denial? Maybe a little bit of narcissism?
Mans is so off that psychologists were brought in, to sum up, and analyze his personality traits and motivations. For Vanity Fair, Howard Gardner, a psychologist at Harvard, responded, “Remarkably narcissistic.”
According to The Atlantic, George Simon, a clinical psychologist who conducts seminars on manipulative behavior, said Trump’s narcissism is “so classic that I’m archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there’s no better example…”
In a recent video talking about the COVID-19 virus, he seems to pull out facts that are only true in his head.
When asked to comment on the COVID-19 vaccine progress, he seemingly went off on a tangent of his own while still utterly confident he was answering the question at hand.
“My attention span is very short…” (Trump: Surviving at the Top, 1990)
“I have an attention span that is as long as it needs to be..” (Time, August 18, 2015)
So much for that long attention span!
In his response to how the COVID-19 vaccine was going, his speech was no different from every other speech he has given within the four years of his presidency.
In other words, he is “working closely with the best of the best” as he apparently always is and the COVID-19 vaccine is “coming along nicely.”
Trump has even brought up the fact that we have an Ebola and AIDS vaccine.
“It is amazing people can just live on a pill now…” While this would be fantastic, he has unfortunately failed to recognize a small detail…
We currently do not have a cure for either of these diseases but good on him for thinking big!
This does not inspire confidence:
Today, Trump said "we're very close to a vaccine" for #coronavirus
Turns out he was talking about an Ebola vaccine, which isn't the pandemic we're fighting now
His contradictions don’t just stop when talking about the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, it continues to go even further when acknowledging LGBTQ couples and their rights.
“I’m against gay marriage.” (Fox News, April 14, 2011)
Back in 2011, he spoke to a Republican women’s group in Las Vegas after a roasting where he went as far as to compare his opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage to his reluctance to use a new kind of putter.
“It’s like in golf. A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.”
If Trump wins and picks another Supreme Court seat, say goodbye to: * access to abortion * gay marriage * Dreamers/immigration * environmental rights * rights for PwD, BIPOC * union/labor rights * voting rights * access to medical care And more. 2020 winner will pick 1 or 2 seats
This has been proven true to the citizens of the US for the duration he has been president. However, Trump is now trying to take his homophobia one step further and prevent LGBTQ couples from adopting children.
Perhaps Trump has forgotten about the separation of Church and State, but that seems to be a repeating pattern since he can’t quite remember anything he ever said before.
“If two people dig each other, they dig each other.” (Trump University “Trump Blog,” December 22, 2005)
Mr. Trump, trying to stop LGBTQ couples from having basic rights sure isn’t letting them “dig each other.”
In his own words, “I couldn’t be a one-man show …,” but he sure seems to be doing a great job of being a clown.
If you ever find yourself in need of a haircut in South Korea, get one from one of the best. In Sae Eeyongwon, Seoul, you can find the first female Korean barber who has yet to set down her clippers.
A look into that South Korean Barber Life
Lee Duk-hoon is known as one of the oldest barbershops in town; it’s been open since 1975. If you ever get your haircut from her, you’ll notice that some of her tools may even be older than you! One of her straight razors–German Made, Steel blade–is almost 60 years old.
Lee Duk-hoon is now 88-years-old. She started cutting hair alongside her father when she was 19, before receiving her barber license in 1958.
When she first started cutting hair, many people did a double-take–they never imagined a woman working in a male-dominated industry. If a woman did earn money, she was usually a nanny, a bartender, or becoming a prostitute around the US military base.
Duk-hoon was unaware of this when she was younger. All she knew was her dad and his clippers.
In a time where women were believed to just stay at home, Lee Duk-hoon set that expectation aside. In fact, she hardly even thought about how she was the first female barber. Her priority was feeding her six siblings, her husband, and four children.
Duk-hoon has set quite a name for herself to the point where she would have several famous figures come by.
These famous figures include Doohan Kim (a Korean politician who was a known mob boss) and Joonyung Jung (the founder of Hyundai Group) as well as several central figures in the Korean Government.
“Nervous? Why would I be nervous?” said the female barber.
“They’re just customers. If they’re being picky, I just run them away”
Talk about a woman who isn’t afraid to stand up for herself.
Her regulars tend to vouch for her, each one harboring the same opinion: she’s just the best.
With her thorough cuts and great socialization skills, there’s no reason to even think about ditching her business. Since her salon’s opening, her prices have not gone down once in the past decade.
Her services start at about 10,000 won or $8 per cut and even lower for seniors and neighbors with cerebral palsy.
Despite business going down due to COVID-19, she is still satisfied with her clientele. As long as she could pay her bills and buy food, she was more than happy to keep the prices the same.
“I just need my regulars,” Lee said. “It’s not like I’ll be taking anything with me when I go.”
A humble life and even humbler beginnings, Lee Duk-hoon sets the bar for showing loyalty to her craft. Maybe it’s time for one of us to get a haircut from her too.
The home to just about every video you can find. A place where you just need one more and the start to the most recent trend YouTube apology videos.
In fact, so many YouTubers/digital influencers have been creating some (rather terrible) apologies, YouTube has now turned this into its own genre.
Here we’ll take a look at those who’ve apologized on the platform.
Summer McKeen – The victim apology
Summer McKeen, a popular YouTuber has faced backlash over her racist remarks. In an apology video (that has since been taken down), she claims she recognizes she has white privilege.
She even plans to talk about “important topics.”
Her life is just “too hard” but she is grateful everyone has brought her actions to her attention. She just can’t understand how “people can have exceptions to love” and she’s super sincere, like “from the bottom of my heart” sincere.
James Charles – The terrible acting apology
James Charles, one of Instagram and YouTube’s most well-known influencers. He is best known for his makeup brand and makeup videos on YouTube.
In his heavily edited apology video, he apologizes for his actions against another YouTuber, Tati Westbrook. While the issue of the video is not as drastic as many others, the reason why this video stands up in the midst of horrible apology videos is the terrible acting.
People have since then put up reviews of his YouTube video, criticizing his insincerity. Or creating their own versions of his apology video, such as the one below, edited to show only his awkward pausing.
Laura Lee – The fake crying apology
Viewers called out popular YouTuber Laura Lee on several occasions over her liking racist tweets. In her video, she states that filming her apology was one of the “hardest things I’ve ever had to do” although the viewers think watching her try to cry was probably harder for her.
She has since then removed the video from her YouTube channel. But the damage has already been done.
Jenna Marbles – The sincere apology
https://youtu.be/Gm1fSZMNVr8?t=40
Perhaps one of the most actual sincere YouTube apology videos is from Jenna Marbles. She has canceled herself and decided to back away from YouTube.
Marbles apologized for many videos that she had produced in 2011 and 2012 when she first started the channel- including blackface and racist remarks against East Asians.
She has taken these videos off her channel for years now, in response to criticism and genuine personal growth. Despite her vigilance on regularly removing negative content from her past, Jenna has still decided to come out to apologize for her hurtful actions.
Many consider her a great role model for many YouTubers as she is self-aware of her mistakes and actively shows herself trying to make a difference.
However, many Jenna fans and other viewers are unhappy with her exit.
jenna marbles just quit youtube i- deadass feel like my mom just abandoned me
— greenland shark enthusiast (@echoesofspring) June 25, 2020
Others applauded the sincerity of her apology while also making it clear that it’s not up to the white community to accept it or forgive Marbles.
Ladies and gentlemen, The Puppy Monkey Baby has done it again. Another gross misuse of his power and Twitter fingers course.
On June 27, President Trump decided to take his complaints up to Twitter once more but this time, he’s done something a little more “exciting.” Trump called for the arrest of the protestors who he believes took part in the dismantling of the Andrew Jackson statue.
The president posted these tweets in the span of three minutes, creating an immediate call to doxxing. Quite simply put, the most powerful person in the country is targeting and harassing citizens, as well as encouraging others to do the same.
We know what Trump trolls will do. Plus we know that many of them are white supremacists. So, the outcome of these measures could easily lead to hate crimes especially for those protestors of color.
By tweeting these calls to action, the president has told his citizens that he cares more about confederate statues than US citizen’s freedoms and safety.
No probable cause
People everywhere are angry about his tweets which indirectly incite violence. Despite his posts claiming they do “not cause probable cause to arrest,” this fine print does nothing to alleviate the protestor’s worries.
If Trump truly wanted to let the authorities handle it, he wouldn’t tweet these posts to 8.5 million followers. This makes the nature of these tweets very clear. He wants his followers to identify these people, and do with that information what they will.
Protestors are terrorists to Trump
Trump has tweeted over hundreds of tweets that call the protestors and anyone that supports Antifa, “terrorists.” He has stayed silent over the right-wing groups that have threatened these protestors and even murdered others.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that would prosecute those who vandalized statues to the fullest extent because apparently statues of racists are more important than those who are simply trying to live without the fear of being killed over their skin color.
Trump and his administration intend this order to protect these statues from “anarchists and left-wing extremists.” In an interview with Fox News, Trump has also stated that those who tore down these racist statues were “terrorists in a sense.”
But those who grossly abuse their power to murder innocent people aren’t terrorists?
We wonder how Trump’s PR team is dealing with what comes out of his mouth. We sure hope they’re getting paid for all the work Trump makes them go through.
The SAT and the ACT, or basically any standardized testing used for getting into a university used to be the bane of every high school junior’s existence. There are countless nights of studying for exams. Waking up early to take the exams. And then there’s waiting for your results.
However, since the introduction of COVID-19 into the US and its disrupting of all normal activities many universities have decided to stop using standardized tests as part of their admissions requirement.
Some universities are even taking it one step further. The University of California system voted on May 21 to phase out the SAT and ACT as an admission requirement over the next four years.
The University of California school system says they hope this change will quickly bring more fair admissions to poor, black, and Hispanic students. The test will be optional until 2024, but many universities are creating admission exams of their own.
So, what’s really good with getting rid of these exams?
The University of California is one of the first universities that have decided to omit standardized tests after a debate among the California Regents. This is where they came to the conclusion that these exams are inherently biased towards affluent, white, Asian American students as well as those who are able to afford a tutor.
Carol Christ, the chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley believes the move away from the admissions exams was something that should have been done long ago.
She even brought up the recent college bribery scandal as another point. Christ claimed that this bribery scandal was another consequence of the unfair admissions exams.
A look into the “new” judging process
If many universities follow the phase-out of admissions exams example, many people believe it will be fairer to judge a student by other means.
People believe using teacher recommendations, as well as their essays, would be a much better way to judge someone’s character. People also say a high school student’s grade is a much better way to measure a student’s academic performance.
Due to this decision, the CollegeBoard as well as the ACT inc is suffering, since the SAT represented more than half of CollageBoard’s revenue.
All eight Ivy Leagues have now made standardized testing optional for the class of 2025, each with similar messages to each other that mean the same thing: phasing out standardized tests makes it much fairer for students to try and enter.
Each Ivy League made sure to tell students that even though they were no longer requiring the SAT or ACT to be a part of their admissions process, the SAT subject exams would not affect the process, nor would it put other students at a disadvantage for not submitting them.
Many other universities are following the footsteps of these Ivy Leagues such as Case Western Reserve University and Oregon State University.
Twitter has recently released voice notes with the latest app update to some users.
People are all for it because sometimes typing out 280 characters is not enough for us twitter users who want to put our own twist to our tweets.
Using your voice to tweet instead of typing is exactly as it sounds, which adds a personal touch to the messages we send out. So for those of us who don’t have the feature yet, here’s the rundown on it.
How to use the VN feature
In order to use the Twitter voice note, click on the twitter composer app and tap on the icon that shows different wavelengths. By pressing the icon, you’ll be able to record your voice once you hit the record button.
Each twitter voice note lasts for about 140 seconds but of course, our stories must go on for more than just a little over a minute. If you happen to use up all the allotted time on a voice note, don’t worry. The Twitter app will automatically open up another voice note until you are finished.
After you’ve finished composing your tweet, tap the “Done” Button where it will send you back to your composition to finish sending your tweet.
The limitations
You are only able to use voice notes for the original tweet. Sadly, you can not use this feature to respond to people or retweet them with a comment.
Before you get too excited about this new update, this new twitter feature is currently only available to certain groups on twitter however as the following weeks go by, hopefully, more and more people will be able to use it.
It is also currently unavailable for those with androids but this will soon change as these features build up traction.
How have lucky VN users reacted?
In fact, celebrities such as Lil Nas X have been able to take full advantage of using voice notes.
Many other people have voiced their opinion about this great new way to express themselves. Even though they may not have the feature yet, people were ready to use it for only the best purposes.
Others felt that people’s intentions with the voice notes feature were the very reason why the app should not allow it.
y’all are recording your pussy making macaroni noises on voice notes & it hasn’t even been 24 hours. this is why twitter doesn’t give us nice things. pic.twitter.com/7pT3Z2iX3o
K-Pop has become a dominating music category all over the world, garnering fans of all ages and of all ethnicities.
With such a wide range of music and artists, it can almost seem daunting to someone who is unsure of where to begin but don’t sweat it.
We got you. Here are a few songs and a light K-Pop newbie guide to help you on your journey!
The epitome of K-Pop
For those that are looking for the epitome of K-Pop, aka hard bass, bright music, flashy music video and the obligatory English words mixed in, check out:
Big Bang: Bang Bang Bang
Big Bang is dubbed as one of the most influential K-Pop groups to date because of its widespread influence on the western world.
This K-Pop group consists of four members: Taeyong, G-Dragon, T.O.P, Daesung. Each one of these members has their own hit singles as well. Be sure to check out the “Kings of K-Pop”!
BTS: Fire
BTS is now known as one of the most popular K-Pop groups in the world for their amazing music and their acts of charity. BTS includes seven different members: RM, V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, Jimin, J-Hope.
Starting from a company that did not have much presence in the music industry to becoming one of the best-known names in the world, listening to their songs is a must!
EXO: Call Me Baby
One of Korea’s best-known groups all over the world, EXO makes a name for itself with music that captivates the audience.
Made up of nine members: Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Suho, Sehun, Xiumin, Chen, lay, D.O, and Kai, find them on YouTube with more than 500 million views on practically every video they have.
MOMOLAND: BBoom BBoom
MOMOLAND has six members: Hyebin, Jane, Mayun JooE, Ahin and Nancy.
This group was formed through a reality show named ‘Finding Momoland’. While originally consisting of nine members, three of them left the group in 2019 and 2020.
BLACKPINK: As If It’s Your Last
BLACKPINK has four members: Jennie, Rosie, Jisoo, and Lisa. They’re easily one of Korea’s most beloved girl groups.
Red Velvet: Red Flavor
Red Velvet can practically be considered one of the most prominent girl groups in Korea due to their unusual dual concepts while also experimenting with different sounds every time.
In Red Velvet, you’ll find five members: Joy, Irene, Wendy, Seulgi, and Yeri. Check them out to get into the summer spirit!
For the vibes
For those who want to hear something a little more mellow within the K-Pop genre, we got you covered.
Red Velvet: Bad Boy
Bad Boy is a perfect example of a song a little more mellow. One of Red Velvet’s popular songs for incorporating R&B into the pop genre, it is a song you have to check out.
Red Velvet: Peek a Boo
Combining both the mellow and pop together into a song that makes it work so well, “Peek-A-Boo” has been a fan favorite ever since it came out.
BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears
“Blood, Sweat, and Tears” falls more on the pop side of things but can be considered much more relaxed than others. “Blood, Sweat and Tears” has over 500 million views on Youtube, closing in on almost 600 million.
Gorgeous vocals, unique sound, and another dance that has yet to disappoint be sure to listen to “Blood, Sweat, and Tear”s to hear the range BTS has.
Seventeen: Don’t Wanna Cry
Seventeen is a K-Pop group consisting of 13 members that are broken into three subunits. The vocals include Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK, Seungkwan.
The hip hop is made of: S.coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon, and the performance group is made of Hoshi, Jun, The8, Dino. SVT has become a fan favorite in Korea for their catchy songs, be sure to listen to one of their most known songs.
Day6: You Were Beautiful
Day6 debuted in 2015 and has been making hits ever since then. Made up of five members: Jae, Sungjin, Young K, Wonpil, and Dowoon.
They are best known for being a Korean rock group. Instead of dancing in their music videos, watch them play each of their songs on their own instruments.
Something a Little Cuter
For the ones who are looking for that cute factor, K-Pop has, be sure to look over here.
Twice: Like Ooh-Aah
One of Korea’s favorite girl groups since their debut in 2015, they are best known for their cute concepts and even cuter members.
Be sure to listen to their debut single, the very one that put them high up on the charts.
IOI: Very, Very, Very
A Korean girl group formed through a reality TV show called Produce 101. This group was made up of 11 members from a pool of 101 members.
Although the group has now been disbanded since the end of their show airing, you can still find these girls in their own individual groups.
GFriend: Me Gustas Tu
A six-member group that has won countless awards even though they came from a music label that was not well known. Me Gustas Tu is one of the best songs to listen to if you want to hear a bit of that sweet, cute concept and have it be catchy as well!
IZ*ONE: La Vie En Rose
A relatively new group in Korea, this group was formed through the third season of ‘produce 101’. Debuting in 2018, their debut single is a song you just can’t help but put on repeat.
CLC: Pepe
Debuting in 2015, CLC has not yet found the traction it needs to become popular in Korea but each year they continue to put out songs that seem to get stuck in people’s heads. Be sure to check out their cute single, Pepe!
Sadboy K-Pop
Looking for a good song to play when you’re in your bag? K-Pop got you for that too.
BTS: Spring Day
Pining for that rare love, BTS uses seasonal metaphors to emphasize their message that things will pass and it will always get better- a perfect message to their fans who may just be going through something.
IU: Through the Night
IU is one of Korea’s most infamous singers for her strong vocals, soft voice and down to earth attitude. Through the Night is a love letter to someone that is not near her.
For those who understand the importance of ‘less is more’, IU is a perfect example of this in the music industry.
Jonghyun: Lonely
Lonely is an ode to the feeling of always being alone, even while with others. Jonghyun, unfortunately, passed away on December 28, 2017, after a long battle with depression and suicide. Rest in peace Jonghyun, we hope you’re feeling better where you are.
Lee Hi: Breathe
A single released shortly after Jonghyun’s death, this song is a message to Seoul and all of Jonghyun’s fans that were grieving over his death. It is a song that talks about empathizing with a stranger and all their burdens and reminding them to “breathe”.
AKMU: Last Goodbye
AKMU is a brother-sister duo that is best known for their unique voices and songs that speak to the heart. Last Goodbye is no different, a love song that is about ignoring a problem in a relationship in hopes they will be able to go back to the way they once were.
Korean R&B
K-Pop extends its branches into the r&b side of things as well.
DEAN: Instagram
DEAN is one of Korea’s best-known r&b artists. Instagram is a song about well, Instagram! DEAN talks about comparing himself to others through Instagram as well as how many of the bright and happy posts are just disguising how sad someone truly is.
Heize: We Don’t Talk Together
Heize is best known in Korea for her unique voice and style of songs. This song talks about blindly believing in a relationship where the other still has feelings for the singer.
McKay: Angel 2 Me
Angel 2 Me is a love song to their beloved, a song that tries to convey all the emotions they have for their lover and their affection.
Crush: Mayday
A song with a message of struggling to relax in a world where it’s always pushing them to go, go, go. Crush once again crushes it again with another song that captures the hearts of listeners.
Zico: Hello Tutorial
Hello Tutorial is about becoming too nervous to say hi to someone, no matter how much you practice. A song that emphasizes the stress about trying to get close to someone or even make the first step, Zico perfectly captures the emotions in one song.
K-Pop Classics
Of course, these are just a few of the songs that dominate the K-Pop genre. For anyone that wants to get into K-Pop, make sure you listen to these K-Pop classics that every K-Pop Veteran knows!
Taeyang: Wedding Dress
Girls Generation: Gee
EXO: Growl
Wonder Girls: Nobody
Zico: I am You You are Me
Brown Eyed Girls: Abracadabra
Hyuna: Roll Deep
Hyuna: Bubble Pop
Super Junior: Sorry Sorry
EXID: Up Down
SISTAR: Touch My Body
Girls Day: Something
f(x): Red Light
Shinee: Ring Ding Dong
PSY: Gangnam Style
Of course, there are TONS more to check out. We hope this helps you get started with appreciating music from other countries!
Justin Beiber and Ansel Elgort are two of the latest celebrities to have found themselves in the midst of sexual assault accusations.
Last week, a Twitter user, @ItsGabby, who has since deleted her account, tweeted about her assault.
“So when it happened, instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time and I was sobbing in pain and I didn’t want to do it the only words that came out of his mouth were “we need to break you in” the tweet stated, “… he made me think this is how sex was supposed to be. I WAS SO YOUNG AND HE KNEW THAT…”
There is no official date of when the assault happened, but Gabby claims Elgort assaulted her in his 20s. Elgort is now 26.
Gabby says she now has PTSD along with multiple panic attacks and has gone to therapy multiple times in order to cope.
Elgort offers a belated apology for his behavior. He says he still has a lot to learn.
Although people want to believe that their beloved celebrity would never do such a thing, we cannot avoid the evidence in front of us. Just because Elgort is not the person we have created in our minds, does not mean we can turn a blind eye.
False rape/sexual assault accusations only hold about 5% of rape allegations. This number may seem huge but for the most part, it can still be considered an incomplete number. This number comes from a study done on college students. College students on average, do not report their sexual assault 95% of the time.
Only an estimation of 8-10 percent of women actually reports their rape. Belknap believes we can infer that 90% of reports go unreported. These numbers are only estimates and we can only infer from what we know but Belknap does suggest that many rapes go unreported.
In total, only about 2-10% of false rape accusations are exactly what they sound like, false. This is an extremely small percentage of all the rapes that are reported.
We must take into account that it is more likely for someone that reports their rape to be telling the truth.
No matter how hard it is for us to accept that our favorite celebrity has done something harmful to another, we must remember we do not know celebrities personally.
Until there is hard evidence that proves they have not done anything wrong, it is better to be on the side of a liar than on the side of a rapist.
Justin Bieber’s read receipts
Justin Bieber has recently been accused of sexually assaulting someone while he was in a relationship with Selena Gomez.
Two accounts came forward with their own story of being sexually abused by Bieber, however, they are currently being debunked. One of the accounts has been deactivated since. Bieber tweeted directly in response to one of the accusations, claiming that it was false.
In the past 24 hours a new Twitter appeared that told a story of myself involved with sexual abuse on March 9, 2014 in Austin Texas at the Four seasons hotel. I want to be clear. There is no truth to this story. In fact as I will soon show I was never present at that location.
His response did not end there. He went on to offer support and redirected the conversation towards the real issue of sexual assault.
Rumors are rumors but sexual abuse is something I don’t take lightly. I wanted to speak out right away but out of respect to so many victims who deal with these issues daily I wanted to make sure I gathered the facts before I made any statement.
Bieber posted a series of tweets including evidence of where he had been and with who he was with.
The victim claimed Bieber stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel where he was then spotted on March 10th, a day after the alleged assault. Bieber has since states he was only there to eat at the restaurant.
Another Twitter defended Bieber, saying they had only seen him at the restaurant and not at the actual hotel.
The other reason this story might say I was staying at the four seasons was because a tweet from 2014 on March 10th not the the 9th says they saw me there . This is that tweet pic.twitter.com/piTHxjajvi
Justin continued using the fan’s tweets to help exonerate himself in the public eye.
However I never stayed at the four seasons on the 9th or the 10th. This person put another tweet up earlier saying they saw me at the restaurant the following night not the hotel pic.twitter.com/K4WHNRlC6k
Bieber also posted receipts of an Airbnb he stayed at with Selena Gomez and a few of his friends.
Furthermore I stayed with Selena and our friends at an airbnb on the 9th and on the 10th stayed at a Westin because our hotel reservation at LÀ Quinta and not the four seasons was messed up. Here are the receipts for the hotel on the 10th pic.twitter.com/hLNHnvJ6XS
Justin basically had all the receipts at the ready to prove his innocence.
On march 10th selena left for work and I stayed at the Westin as the receipts clearly showed with my friends nick and john before I left town. Once again not at the four seasons. We booked it for a couple days to stay for the defjam show but I bailed on the 11th to head back home pic.twitter.com/Ku15SCYz91
Sexual assault should not be taken lightly. However, false accusations diminish the experiences of actual victims and survivors.
They also lower the reliability of the #MeToo Movement, where sexual assault victims find the confidence to come forward about what has happened to them.
People may be conflicted about who they should side with when these accusations come to light, especially when a celebrity is involved.
Unfortunately, many people side with the perpetrator if he is favored or has social status. This causes other women who have been assaulted to not come forward, which can have harsh psychological effects. Usually, when one woman comes forward, others follow.
