Earlier today, it was announced that K-Pop super group BTS has been invited to the White House to speak with President Joe Biden about anti-Asian hate crimes, and to celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The South Korean band is set to visit on Tuesday, May 31st, the last day of AANHPI Heritage Month.

The White House's official statement read in part:

"President Biden has previously spoken about his commitment to combating the surge of anti-Asian hate crimes and signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May 2021 to provide law enforcement with resources to identify, investigate, and report hate crimes and ensure that hate crimes information is more accessible to AA and NHPI communities.

"President Biden and BTS will also discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion and BTS' platform as youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world."

Over the course of their super successful career, BTS has done plenty of work to further political and social causes. The group worked with UNICEF to launch the anti-violence campaign "Love Myself," and performed at the United Nations General Assembly.

Being invited to speak with President Biden is he latest in a string of huge accomplishments. Not to mention, the fact that the White House is looking to pop culture figures to deepen their commitment to protecting the Asian American community is also significant and appreciated.

Despite all this...

I have mixed feelings about the BTS-Biden meeting.

As a pop culture critic who pays attention to both Hollywood and Asian entertainment, I'm fully aware why the White House may have chosen BTS. Not only are BTS potentially one of the highest-profile Asian musical acts in recent years, but they also have a massive social media following, which ensures at least a great number of eyeballs whenever the super group chooses to do anything - let alone something as important as speaking about anti-Asian hate crimes.

However, as an Asian American, I'm also painfully aware of why BTS may not be the best fit when speaking about the anti-Asian hate crimes happening in the U.S.

One of the great tragedies of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. is the notion that the attacks are on people who are Americans - who may have been living here for a significant portion of their lives, or have been here for generations - and yet, due to their race, they're being singled out and made to feel unsafe in the country that's been home to them and their families for years, possibly even generations..

BTS, for all their success and commitment to anti-violence, are not Asian American.

They're seven boys from South Korea - and thus, any context they have about the violence will come from their upbringing there, and the amount of empathy they can generate from secondhand information about the Asian American experience.

Having the White House invite BTS, instead of an Asian American artist - such as Olivia Rodrigo, who has already been invited by the White House to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts - signals the White House's inability to separate Asians from Asian Americans and see the nuance between the two experiences.

The Asian American experience is famously varied, with Asian Americans having the most socioeconomic disparity among any group in America. Having a group from abroad represent Asian Americans and speak for us feels disingenuous, and demonstrates a superficial understanding of the community - in short, it feels out of touch.

Until recent years, Asian American creatives have long been sidelined in favor of talent straight from Asia. While those Asian performers are no doubt talented stars in their own right, Hollywood's tendency to look abroad results in them overlooking homegrown talent.

This then feeds into the dangerous cycle of Asian American creatives not getting chances to work, improve, or make a name for themselves, which then leads Hollywood to continue importing talent from abroad instead of cultivating Asian American talent at home.

It's hard not too see the BTS invitation as an extension of the racist notion that's plagued Asian American talent for decades; that all Asians are the same.

While BTS has a massive social media and pop culture presence, the White House platform could help cement an Asian American artist's career, which also makes the BTS-Biden meeting feel like a missed opportunity to elevate an artist who is currently actively living the Asian American experience, and the fear of anti-Asian hate.

The White House deciding to invite BTS to meet President Biden is also indicative of a greater problem with the American music industry at large.

When trying to think about who else could've been up to the task, I couldn't really think of any Asian American artist who has broken through to mainstream American music and could be representative of the Asian American experience, other than Rodrigo, and potentially Awkwafina.

While I genuinely doubt it's for a lack of talent, it's hard not to think that the unwelcome nature of the U.S. music industry to Asian American artists also plays a role in why BTS became the White House's only real choice - and that's a failure on the U.S. music industry's part.

I, by no means, want to gatekeep BTS or rain on their parade with negativity. As a BTS fan, I'm proud of this honor, and I'm sure they'll make an honest effort to represent my community. However, as an Asian American working in the media, I can't turn the critical part of my brain off.

While BTS is certainly leagues better than having no representation, I can't help but feel that the BTS-Biden meeting is a missed opportunity by the White House to show the Asian American community true understanding, support, and solidarity. I appreciate the effort, though.

Instead, why not stream this playlist of Asian American female artists and give these Asian American artists a bit of spotlight?

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Tags
BTS, President Joe Biden, White House, Olivia rodrigo, Awkwafina