The aftermath of the major earthquake in Myanmar is still not over.
So far, the death toll that has been counted is 1,700 people, and some estimate that this number could reach tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand.
It's as if the Earth was suddenly cut with a knife, buildings shattered into powder, and everywhere you look, ruins stretch as far as the eye can see, like the end of the world.
Thailand, neighboring Myanmar, has also been affected.
In Bangkok, Thailand, buildings shook violently, and the infinity pool on the top floor created a waterfall effect due to the shaking.
Residents say they have never experienced such a terrifying earthquake, with many running to government shelters for emergency refuge.
The Prime Minister of Thailand has also declared a state of emergency.
But what we want to focus on is the Bangkok airport during the earthquake.
At this moment, a dramatic scene is unfolding at Bangkok airport.
Celebrities are showing their ugliest and most disgraceful human nature to the fullest, and this "scandal" has repeatedly topped China's online hot searches.
The story begins with a concert.
On March 29, a top Korean boy band, "Doorman," will hold a concert in Bangkok.
Many fervent Chinese fans have traveled across the sea to see their concert.
But just on the 28th, an earthquake occurred.
Thailand felt a severe tremor, and the country immediately entered a state of emergency, with the possibility of aftershocks, water and power outages, and loss of communication signals at any time.
At this time, the right thing to do, both logically and from a humanitarian perspective, would have been to cancel the concert immediately and notify the fans to go home and take shelter quickly.
But "Doorman" performed an unexpected "trick" at this time.
They posted an announcement to cancel the concert and then deleted it instantly.
It was only several hours later, after ensuring they were safely on a plane back to Korea, that they "thoughtfully" reissued the announcement.
Why did they do this?
A fan provided an answer:
As soon as the earthquake struck, Bangkok airport urgently responded, and many flights could not take off and had to be rescheduled temporarily.
"Doorman" concealed the cancellation of the concert, keeping those fans who had traveled thousands of miles hopeful and unwilling to leave.
This way, no one would compete with them for flights, ensuring their departure at the earliest opportunity.
They had already confirmed the cancellation of the concert, but they chose to inform the fans only after ensuring their own safety.
They knew that issuing the notice earlier could have spared the fans from disaster, but they chose to prioritize their own interests.
Some fans even revealed that to leave quickly, they snatched the shuttle bus that fans had booked in advance at the airport.
This is a complete disregard for the lives of their fans!
Ironically, when a team member was once asked what they would take if they encountered the end of the world, he answered affectionately that he would take his fans.
When there's no trouble, they are affectionate oppas, but when there's a crisis, they trample on their fans.
Faced with the question from fans still stranded in the aftermath of the earthquake, "What should we do?", they remained silent.
Only after landing safely did they hypocritically post comforting messages, yet completely omitting any mention of the fans still stranded in Thailand.
Their grandiose statements seemed like a pale public relations performance.
And those fans who traveled alone to Thailand to see their idols are seen as less than nothing in their eyes.
Meanwhile, fans in Thailand are experiencing a life-and-death struggle.
Due to the earthquake, many places have already lost water and electricity.
The Thai airport has a large number of fans stranded.
The price of air tickets has skyrocketed.
Many of them are students who worked part-time for half a year just to see their idols.
Now, the fee for changing a ticket costs thousands, and they simply cannot afford it.
Some people have only 50 yuan left after paying for their tickets, with no money for food or hotels.
Many of them are alone, overcoming their fear of traveling abroad for the first time and their concerns about human trafficking incidents in Thailand, just to be closer to their idols.
But when disaster strikes, they are like a piece of discarded rag in a foreign land.
Financial pressures can still be partially resolved through family and friends.
The most terrifying thing is the loss of communication signals due to the earthquake, causing many fans to lose contact, some even facing dire situations.
Many people have been unreachable since the earthquake began.
Weibo and TikTok are flooded with missing person notices.
The sight of these young faces is incredibly heart-wrenching.
Warnings are constantly issued, alerting people to be wary of human traffickers taking advantage of the chaos.
Rumors of people being abducted, true or false, are spreading, increasing everyone's panic.
It's even possible that rumors of fans' deaths are deliberately spread to blur the lines.
In a foreign land, with language barriers, harsh environments, and disconnected signals, and not enough money, just thinking about the situation is terrifying, let alone what these missing fans might be experiencing.
Many of them are teenagers or in their early twenties.
Some traveled from Inner Mongolia, transferring several times to reach Thailand.
Some heard about the earthquake before boarding the plane, but because the official announcement had not been made, they still did not want to give up and embarked on the journey to see their idols.
No one expected that their selfless love would be met with their idols' ruthless betrayal.
In the end, it was fellow countrymen in China who extended a helping hand, initiating a mutual aid document.
Compatriots in Thailand delivered water and instant food to the stranded fans.
Netizens in China continuously helped them contact their families and airlines.
Some people, without seeking anything in return, personally spent thousands to buy tickets for the stranded fans, just hoping they could return home quickly.
The mutual aid of ordinary people often comes closer to the brilliance of humanity than the statements of celebrities.
Even strangers who do not know each other are selflessly protecting their safety, but the idols they nurtured with love and real money, at the moment of life and death, turned a blind eye to their suffering.
Looking at the continuously increasing list of missing persons on the document, I realized for the first time how clearly:
Between celebrities and ordinary people, there lies a chasm called "privilege."
Celebrities can retreat fully escorted by bodyguards, while fans can only sleep rough in a foreign land.
In the face of disaster, where is equality for all?
These privileged celebrities simply see fans as tools to be used.
They need you to spend money to support their rankings and buy their albums, and they are gentle and considerate.
But at the moment of life and death, their retreat is faster than anyone else's, and they won't even give a reminder.
The so-called warm-hearted persona, affectionate oppa, is just a persona created to deceive you into spending money.
They are essentially celebrities who are high above, how can one expect a person who has gained wealth and fame to have deep empathy for ordinary people?
The hypocrisy of the celebrity economy lies here; they are just glamorous commodities created by capital.
They appear glamorous and respectable, but they are rotten to the core, and a light poke reveals the ugliness and filth inside.
Some might ask: Where does the money for fans to chase stars generally come from?
In fact, their money often comes from asking their parents or saving from their living expenses.
There was a news story before about a 16-year-old girl who had been chasing stars for 7 years. When her idol released a new album, she swiped her parents' credit card to buy 700 albums in one go and posted it on Weibo to show off, receiving many likes from other fans.
This kind of news is not uncommon.
When a certain artist released a digital album, the fan group demanded: students with no income should start with 100 albums each.
Foshan Public News reported that a girl became crazily obsessed with a certain celebrity, her grades severely declined, she asked for money late at night to buy the star's songs and products, and even told her parents that she would hate them for a lifetime if they didn't give her the money.
However, it's heartbreaking that this family is not well-off, the parents do the most humble jobs, yet they have to bear the high costs of their child's star-chasing.
They can't even feed themselves, the parents earn hard-earned money, they don't dare to eat or wear well, yet they support their idol's face by buying luxury brands they can't afford themselves, which is simply too magical.
So, how do their idols treat them, whom they treat so sincerely?
Li Dan once threw a piercing question at "The Roast": Who are the bodyguards hired by celebrities to protect against?
You say it's against enemies? How many enemies are there?
Look at the news, how many times have those celebrities' bodyguards fought enemies? And how many times have they fought fans? The latter's data is definitely greater than the former's.
In the end, celebrities hire so many bodyguards to guard against fans.
A bloody reality in the entertainment industry is that very few celebrities really treat fans as friends.
More often, they treat them as tools, as leeks.
Don't believe it.
After the exposure of receiving support gifts, a certain celebrity's Xianyu account urgently deleted more than 200 successfully traded items.
Attentive netizens compared and found that many were gifts from fans, and these gifts were resold to make a net profit of over 200,000 yuan.
If fans knew that their gifts were not even opened by him, but were sold for money instead, what would they think?
The relationship between celebrities and fans is inherently unequal.
One pours everything to keep him in glory and wealth, while the other stands under the spotlight enjoying fame and fortune.
How can the eyes of those above see the hardships and difficulties of ordinary people?
I'm not completely denying the meaning of chasing stars.
Having idols to admire, learning their strengths, thus having the motivation and goals to strive towards their successful direction, this has a positive meaning.
However, in the current fan circle, most have gone astray.
They blindly worship, spending a lot of money for their idols, wasting all their time and energy on chasing stars, neglecting their studies, wasting their careers, which is foolish and ignorant.
You like an idol, whether it's his face, his efforts, or his various strengths, but in the end, what you like is what you don't have in him.
So you desperately want to get close to him, to gain energy from him.
Therefore, an idol should be your motivation to keep moving forward, not to consume you, not to keep you spending money.
I really like what Sa Beining once said:
The real pursuit of stars is actually chasing yourself, you are actually designing a persona state of your ideal life for yourself, what kind of person you want to become, and then you slowly strive to become that person.
When we learn to view the halo of idols with rational eyes and plan our lives with a clear mind, the passion and longing inspired by idols will eventually settle into nutrients for our own growth.
