Agent Tay...into the fray
Taylor Swift isn’t really my jam. My daughter has a number of Swift songs in her rotation, though she isn’t a “Swiftie,” and the songs are fine. Swift is a talented artist, though I think not as talented as many others who get overlooked as she gets more awards than I think she deserves.
And there’s plenty I don’t like about how Swift seems to encourage an outsized “I need to be protected” vibe—and her followers can be petty and ridiculous in how they stan for her in many cases (especially engaging in flame wars with Beyoncé fans)—almost like she’s cultivating a celebrity version of “white women tears” to insulate herself from critique and legitimate criticism.
However, all that said, it gives me no small amount of pleasure to see how much rent-free space she occupies in the collective hive-mind of the right wing.
They see her as such a threat—a popular artist and celebrity who is in the Democrats’ camp and has followers galore. Someone who encourages people to get out and vote. The GOP in general, and right-wingers in particular, see her as some kind of magical, powerful force that threatens their hold on power.
I mean, the Republicans and other conservative types like libertarians have no doubt heard about the poll that Gen Z is more likely to identify as queer than Republican, and that scares them. Eventually, they know that even with a stacked Supreme Court and control of many states and majorities in Congress—much of it thanks to gerrymandering and voter suppression as well as marshalling the power of white people feeling threatened by progressive efforts to ensure the rights of non-whites and other marginalized groups—they are in danger if younger voters keep rejected their regressive and cruel policies on all fronts, including economic and workers rights ones.
Swift is the kind of lightning rod they hate. They don’t want to see success in someone who encourages non-Republicans to vote too. In someone who is white but not conservative who is in the spotlight and engaging with politics so publicly—as is the right of any American, celebrities included.
It’s gotten to the point that right-wingers are accusing Swift of being part of a psy-op plot by the left wing to “derail” the 2024 election. They literally think the left and the Democrats (many of whom aren’t very left-leaning to be honest, though they are far better than the GOP) are actually backing and elevating Swift directly. That she’s not “real” but rather some unholy idol lifted up to snare the souls of young voters.
They’re even mad that she’s dating football star Travis Kelce (whom I have my own issues with, as the media starts calling his fade haircut the “Travis Kelce” even though it’s been a staple of primarily Black men’s haircuts for ages). They say she’s ruining football by going to his games and cheering excitedly. They say she’s trying to use people’s love of football to “brainwash” them to her “agenda.”
Fox News even got mad enough to chide her for carbon emissions by using her own jet to fly out to a game to watch her partner do his tight-end thing on the field. Imagine that. The right is so mad that they acknowledged climate change briefly just to make her out to be a bad guy. Of course, they’ll be right back to saying that carbon emissions do nothing to the environment, but the satisfaction in seeing them be hypocrites over their hate and fear of Swift is delicious.
In the end, Swift is merely a popular and rich person who, like many musical and acting celebrities, don’t like right-wing politics. She’s just a target they’ve focused on so they can pretend they are the abused and oppressed ones when they are taking away people’s rights here, there, and everywhere.
So, Swift isn’t “Agent Tay.” She’s not a psy-op. I think there is plenty to criticize her over, but being a plant by Democrats to “unfairly” shift political support away from the right isn’t the truth. The truth is that powerful conservatives are out of touch with the majority of the population and just don’t care what the majority wants. They see themselves protecting everyone else against progress by reinforcing the white, the wealthy, the corporations, and anyone else who can help them destroy the poor, the middle class, the LGBTQ+ communities, the Black people, the Indigenous people, and so many others whom they hate. They would rather sow dissent than lift people up and encourage unity toward justice and progress.
And while I may not be a fan of Swift’s, I’m a fan of her living in their heads to cause them the torment they so richly deserve.
(Now, as I said, I think Swift is problematic in other ways, and I think she upholds dangerous and damaging standards of whiteness and white womanhood herself. No surprise that there are Democrats who don’t understand or don’t care how they advance white supremacy and racial divisions. I’ll have a piece on that issue, and my gripes with Swift, in a day or two, both here and on my Patreon. Stay tuned.)