Leave Jay Park Alone

I have been wanting to say this for a very long time, but because I honestly do fear the wrath of pissed off Hottests, I've kept my mouth shut and fingers silenced.

While I do support the efforts made by Hottests internationally to bring attention to their departed leader, and I think what they've done is so overwhelming and cannot be described in a few simple phrases, and while I still believe that if the Hottests wanted to solve world hunger, they could ... I can't help but think that it's just time to let go.

Not give up hope, but just let go.

There are many factors surrounding the situation that we do not know about, that we will never know about. The music industry is a very dirty business, filled with politics and men wanting to become even richer than they already are. The whole situation with Jay leaving South Korea and JYP being blamed is being portrayed as black and white.

Jay is the victim, JYP is the villain. Case closed.

There are a lot of gray areas, though, along with a lot of conspiracy theories. We will never know what truly happened, what conversations Jay had with JYP before leaving South Korea, what conversations he had with him after he left. We'll never know what went through Jay's thoughts, what he is feeling right now about this whole ordeal.

Like I said, I respect the Hottests and all of their efforts. You guys have accomplished and organized extraordinary things. However, spamming JYP's Twitter account and telling him that he should rot in Hell is extreme, unnecessary, and offensive. Would you like it if someone told you to rot in Hell? No, you wouldn't. And you especially wouldn't like it if people from all over the world were saying that to you. Also, creating a Twitter account called "followmeGorilla" is more sad than humerous. It's sad that you guys have accomplished so much in a mature manner, yet a few of you have taken it upon yourselves to revert back to being twelve-years-old.

I thought Hottests were all about "Love and Respect?" That's not very loving and that is extremely disrespectful. I know you're all better than that.

We all know you want Jay back as leader to 2PM. I want that too, honestly. I really do want to see him with Junsu, Wooyoung, Nichkhun, Taekyeon, Junho, and Chansung, on stage once again. That's where he belongs.

But you can't rush this situation. There are still many people who are angry and upset over what he said four years ago. It should have never escalated and resulted to this from the start, but unfortunately it did. Jay made a mistake and eventually all mistakes are forgiven. I just feel like there needs to be time. Time for the anger to subside, time for the issue to be forgotten about.

When it is time for Jay to come back, he'll come back. He isn't ready, though. And you have to respect his decision.

KBS traveled to Seattle in hopes to get an interview with him. They basically stalked him around the city, talking to the local Korean-Americans, talking to his neighbors, showing up at a place where his younger brother is known to hang out with friends, talking to his friends, and showing up at the same place as Jay and shoving a camera in his face.

His brother even said, "He stays home a lot." Meaning that during one of the very few times Jay decided to live a normal life -- a life he used to live, a life that cannot be given to him in South Korea -- he was denied that and quickly left. I know you've all seen the footage (if not, it's here), but did you see how at peace he looked when he first showed up to the dance battle? Did you see how happy he was to just be with his friends, be with people who are not screaming his name, who are not fawning over him?

He was not Jaebeom, the leader of 2PM. He was Jay Park, the Korean-American, Seattle native, being like any other twenty-two-year-old and hanging out with his friends.

And that was ruined once he saw the camera. He was tense, he didn't want to be there anymore. He tried enjoying one night of normalcy, one night of being JAY PARK, but he wasn't able to. He left just as quickly as he arrived.

I honestly do think he needs to be left alone. He will not forget how much you love him, how much you want him to return. He knows. I love Jay and I wish him the best in whatever he does in life, whether it be with 2PM or if it's without them. Either way, whatever happens and whatever he decides to do in the future, Jay just needs to be left alone.

I'm not saying that you should stop assembling flash mobs or stop sending him things, that you should give up hope that he'll return. I'm just saying to lighten the efforts just a bit, because the more you do, the more the Korean media stays focused on it, and the more the issue stays in everyone's mind.

The only way he will come back is when this issue's negativity is forgotten.


TKPA