September 24 2012 Do we benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect?

Mistakes consist  of actions or judgments thought of as misguided or wrong. Some people learn from them, while others think its okay to repeat the same ones. We think that most models, actors, or even star athletes, are perfect in terms of looks, health, and relations with friends and family. However, do we actually benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire and respect?

In Korea, there is a famous singing group called T-ara, all of whose albums had big hits and whose members are being trained to become actresses. Their debut took place in 2009, with only five members, but two of them withdrew from the team. In 2010, they made a comeback with six members as people all over the world became fans, including Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and America. Everything was successful until another member was put into the group.

The seventh member joined T-ara in 2011. Unfortunately, fans did not welcome her as they did the rest of the members. Rumors about her started to spread and anti-fan clubs sprung up. Whispers grew that the other members were bullying her, and fans increasingly started turning their backs on the group. The news of the bullying started spreading in the form of pictures and videos, proving that the new member was left out. As a result, a website appeared, We ask the truth about T-ara, attracting over 20,000 members.

After about three months of trouble, the boss of T-ara’s company decided to kick this member out because of “the complaints from the rest of the members and others around him.” He also put two new members in the group, one in July and another one soon after. No one except T-ara knows the truth and there is still speculation whether the seventh member was actually bullied or if the things that most people believe are true.

Because of this incident, young fans are forming gangs called “T-ara play” in which individual students get bullied in succession for a few days at a time, the process lasting about a month. This shows us that T-ara has taught children that bullying is totally fine. Thousands of parents write letters to this girl group, explaining how their act has made their children victims.

In conclusion, we definitely do not benefit from learning about the flaws of people we admire because humans copy every action of those they respect, whether good or bad. More than half of T-ara’s fans have the idea bullying isn’t wrong because their role models do it too.