Smart ARMYs Uncover What BTS's RM Really Meant When He Said "A Pebble Can Be Political"

In a new interview with Variety, BTS‘s RM made an unusual statement: “Even a pebble can be political“. But while his words may not make sense at first, clever fans have uncovered the deeper meaning behind them.

When Variety interviewed BTS this month, one of the topics they discussed was the group’s staggering $1 million USD donation to the Black Lives Matter movement back in June. In the interview, the BTS members shared that their action was all about the group’s overall message of tackling prejudice and violence. Suga and RM both explained that while some see the Black Lives Matter cause as political, they don’t consider BTS to be political figures.

However, RM went on to say that “everything is political eventually“, following up with, “even a pebble can be political“. At first, many ARMYs weren’t quite sure what RM meant by the statement. Some non-fans even criticized the analogy, dismissing it as meaningless.

Initially, the majority of fans concluded that RM was simply stating that even the smallest and most seemingly insignificant parts of life play a part in politics. However, history buffs like @ItalianARMY_BTS on Twitter soon realized that the statement went deeper than that. To understand it, you need to go all the way back to ancient times—specifically, ancient Greece.

The idea of democracy began to develop in ancient Greece some time around 600 B.C., and with democracy came voting. Of course, ancient Greeks weren’t able to create the kind of ballot system we see around the world today. Instead, to cast their votes, they tossed small colored pebbles into clay jars: a white pebble meant “yes”, and a black pebble meant “no”.

Vase painting by Douris depicting a pebble vote, circa 460 B.C.

Once the session was over, the clay jars were smashed and the pebbles were tallied to determine the popular vote. So, while RM’s statement that “a pebble can be political” may seem unusual at first, it seems likely he was referring to a crucial aspect of ancient politics.

Unsurprisingly, ARMYs are impressed that RM managed to work an ancient history fact into his interview answer so casually. In fact, the comment was so off-hand, many believe even the interviewer didn’t pick up on the meaning. Of course, RM’s incredible knowledge not all that surprising given how often BTS reference ancient Greece in their music. “Fake Love”, “Blood, Sweat and Tears”, “Dionysus” and more all call back to the period’s mythology.