What To Say When People Rag On Taylor Swift
It’s been said that our generation lacks a counter-culture.
Why? Well, because it’s cool to be hipster. It’s completely trendy to not like “pop” anything. Admitting that your favorite movie is Pirates of the Caribbean, your favorite book is Twilight, and your favorite artist is Taylor Swift is a cringe-worthy version of social suicide nowadays.
Stupid, right? Let’s unravel this fear of the popular, starting with T. Swift. She’s magical in so many ways, and there are plenty of truly objective reasons to love her. Below are a few facts to help you speak now, in defense of our favorite fearless crooner.
1. Christmas may have come and gone, but no one will forget Swiftmas 2014. The seven-time Grammy winner spent her winter surprising fans with hand-written cards and personalized gifts. She even drove across state borders to meet a little baby boy named Leyton and bring him a toy car in person. Check out the tear-inducing video to see for yourself
2. Not only does she speak to her fans through 100+ released tracks and their heart-wrenching lyrics, but she also gives amazingly sweet, sincere, and grounded advice to fans going through breakups. She cares enough to speak to them personally, telling Hannah that her unrequited love is “selfless and beautiful and kind” and making Kasey a breakup playlist. Who does that, really?
3. She recently gave $50K to the New York public school system… and she’s not even from the big apple. Swift has been known to give back to education, donating funds and books to schools and libraries across the country.
4. She actually values her worth and sticks up for what she believes in. Last year, she pulled her music from Spotify in defense of music as a rare, important, and valuable art form. Earlier this year, she preemptively posted a bikini shot on Instagram, refusing to allow invasive paparazzi from making crazy amounts of money on her belly button (which had never been formally photographed until that point). Regardless of whether you agree with her politics, Swift is unapologetically herself and unashamed of having opinions.
5. Okay, so have you seen her Tumblr? She’s on it almost daily, talking to her fans, making them laugh, and building community in a way that no other platinum star has genuinely managed to do. Her level of commitment goes beyond the acts of kindness that are immediately picked up and distributed by news circuit. This is not news-worthy kindness; it’s just everyday happiness sprinkled into the lives of her fans around the world. And you can tell that it’s a two-way street.
Art and music are subjective to personal taste, and we get that. But objectively, you have to admit that T. Swift is really killing it as a human being.
