Is Mark Lee FULLY aware of the history behind the confederate flag?
2oS rx, 3oC, Temperacne, 5oS, High Priestess
Y’all… this man is AWARE! Fully fully aware!! When I say hes aware. I mean he knows about the dark history of slavery and racism in America. He knows about the atrocities committed against Black slaves by White people under their belief of the confederate flag.
He knows Black/African American history down to the T. He knows it all, the segregation, political movements/leaders. I don’t know why I’m thinking of Malcolm X specifically, but he’s the one Black leader he’s focused on… merely obsessed with him? Probably because of Malcolm X’s distaste for YT people specifically?? For some reason I’m getting heavy imagery of Mark just watching Malcom X’s speeches, interviews for hours… and I mean just glued to the screen. Rewinding, fast forwarding and repeat.
I’m honestly not even kidding. Mark is obsessed with Malcolm X… a bit too much. It’s the only thing replaying and showing up intuitively in my head.
He knows about the flag, he knows about how riled up and rightfully angered people are when they see this flag in this present day of age. He knows it’s not normal to just support this flag in general!
Why would he wear the shirt though?
Yes! Mark actually saw that shirt, pulled out his card and bought it with ZERO hesitation. And why you ask? Well, it’s because… he supports it. Supports the history of the flag. Supports the meaning of the flag. Supports ALL the ill minded views behind the flag.
It may be sad… but it’s unfortunately true.
Did he think he wouldn’t be photographed with this shirt on?
KNoS rx, 9oC, KoS, PoS rx
Yea. He thought he wasn’t going to be photographed but he still didn’t really care or feel any sort of remorse… regret and embarrassment walking around with that shirt in public. He genuinely thought he looked “fire”, “niche”, “edgy??” He honestly felt like him (the guy in the picture), or maybe I can say that’s how people looked at him in public?? They saw what views he aligns himself with but paid him no mind because well… racism?? or they just thought he’s a weird confused Asian guy because why are you walking around with a confederate flag in public??
How does he feel about the backlash online?
Empress, 5oW, moon, 5oC, PoC, QoP rx, Star rx, AoC rx, Magician
Hes seeing all the comments, articles and twitter posts. He can tell the fans are disappointed in him and angered by him. Especially after they mourned his departure from NCT, he is aware they feel stabbed in the back to be honest.
He does feel a tad bit of remorse, but he’s concerned about his PR. How this is affecting his image in the Western scene? Mainly with black producers, but it looks like, he isn’t necessarily aiming to work with them… could he consider being a country artist? Christian artist? Work closely within the country music scene???
He really wants to work with the white Christian musicians, I don’t see him spitting bars anymore. He’ll just play his guitar and sing about his avoidance? Relationships? Depression?
There’ll be no soul in his new songs. No flavour. Just… guitar strings and cursive singing/mumbling??
What does SM think of Mark’s flag shirt drama?
KNoC, PoP, 9oW, 10oC reversed, 6oP reversed
SM is having a field day with this drama, they probably even more relieved he didn’t do this while under their contract.
I know right… it’s hypocritical because it’s not like they haven’t done this before. It seems as if when the appropriation and racial drama would circulate around about NCT… they paid off news outlets to not report on it. From twitter pop media accounts to a random low ranking news article. They know how crucial PR is in the West… so they cover everything up immediately.
Now with Mark, the one member they didn’t want to leave the company, is now involved in this T-shirt controversy. They’re laughing at him behind his back because if he had stayed, they would’ve covered for him by now, but he chose to ditch them. They’re not helping him with ish… and will just watch him kind of tarnish his reputation/image.
They kind of saying, “This is your mess now, deal with it. Leave us out of it!! You’re no longer under our contract so why should we help you? Why should we pay for your PR cover ups, if you arent even generating income for us?”
How does Mark feel about getting no help from his former company?
World, hierophant rx, KoW, KoP, 10oP rx, 9oS rx, PoW, 6oW
He feels wronged. Backstabbed. Looking from outside in.
He thought SM would have his back?? He thought that since he worked there for most of his life, his company would somehow still have his back.
Theres two male figures.One in charge with the music production, concepts, lyrics, demos and etc. The second one in charge with international PR, marketing, social media control/maintenance?? Bots? Paid fan pages? Western media interview connections? He had hope or trust that, they would be on his side… help him with the resources they’ve had and been using while he was in NCT…
But once that contract termination was signed. Their connections were done for… and I see it won’t be mended. The two male figures won’t even lift a finger to help Mark, they have to focus on their career, contract rules and finances. From their POV, their dynamic with Mark was business centred, purely business. Mark was their golden ticket to success and PR, probably generated income for majority of the company. Since he left, it’s been kind of rocky on their end specifically with their finances and pay because how can they offer brands? Deals? Partnerships? involving NCT without Mark? Mark was probably the one member in high demand for both local and global projects/media for SM.
It’s as if they’re saying, “If you’re making us lose money since you’ve left, you want us to take away more of our money to help YOU? If we lose partnerships and revenue, so will you too. If we’re sinking, we’re not giving you any raft either.”
How do the NCT members feel about Marks shirt controversy?
I can’t say they necessarily hate him in a way… but some members who were envious of his spotlight are kind od having a laugh at this. For others… they just think it was a stupid move. I did say they supported his departure from NCT, but they themselves can’t and are willing to not cover up for him at all.