Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning what he did. I think where we differ is that you consider his action as a high risk of inciting evil deeds (which I'm not saying isn't there, it might have); whereas I don't consider it higher a risk than, say, the media portraying violence to the audience, or a film depicting violence, terror and evil. Again, I personally don't see the benefit in getting worked up over something that really doesn't influence my own personal life. If I dislike his lyrics, I stop listening to him and move on. However, my intentions are simply to offer a different opinion on things, and not instil my opinion on anyone. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I respect that.
Hey Dan, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, and I respect that too. Let's just say that you're a lot less demanding of him than I; you may consider that to be "getting worked up" but I find it disgusting that he can now benefit from American ardor. As a member of the American public, the most that I can do is to comment and discuss his actions through that prism. Let the reader then decide what they should do with that information; but at least they will have been informed.
I dunno... I mean Ralph of course you are welcome to throw him in the shit pile... but putting things in perspective... there was already anti-american sentiments, the US has launched 2 wars already in the middle east, there have been stories, pics and videos of US torture of Iraqis, now you have 2 innocent girls(civilians) run over by some moron in a tank... Yes, it was quite tasteless, yes he could have tried to reel back some of his anger... but srsly, it was 8 yrs ago(I'm 26 now and I do stupid shit on impulse almost weekly), and it's not like he's only done songs that are cutesy, he had songs that even the ROK banned... he's controversial... even Gangnam Style is controversial... ROK maybe an ally, but in the end even allies can't turn a blind eye on all the bullshit that you stir in the world... politically they're tight, but doesn't mean the people all approve of what goes on...
I must say, I hate the song. I don't believe there's any sincerity in his apology. If he didn't make it big with his song especially in the US, then I highly doubt that he would even apologize for what he did. Again, with the showbiz in the US, it's just a matter of time that people will move on and forget all about it. Sad but true.
"good. sick of those people wanting to be koreans." I think what he meant was, that he's tired of seeing the seemingly unending multitude of imitation horse dancers on YouTube, et al. You should take the time to read the long version of the Bridge Vehicle accident as it provides a lot of background info on the anti-US movement and what they're willing to do in order to get other Koreans to take their side. Your "...some moron in a tank" comment, shows a tremendous lack of information as what really happened. Further, the problem I have with Psy is, that he's reportedly been part and parcel of this "US out of Korea" movement for well over two years even before he rapped - sang that performance in question. So it wasn't like he walked into the whole thing unknowingly with youthful hubris (as some pundits have claimed, that he was scammed by the lies of the anti-US movement); it was exactly where his head was at, and politically, exactly where he wanted to be. At that time, he was proud of his extremist anti-US views. Psy wasn't simply mouthing vile words. He was an active participant in organized mass recruiting of other Koreans (through social media, song, concerts, rallies, propaganda) to hate Americans simply because he wanted the US out of Korea. He was living this "movement" for years. While he is free to express such views, and frankly Americans have died for his right to do so, his attempt to incite others to kill US troops and their families crosses a very significant line. Given his known background as a pillar of that group, should we now ignore this past and allow him the luxury of not holding him to account for it? I certainly don't think so.
