Hello Swifties.
Mine has never been a political blog, but it has been a blog that exists in a world with politics. Everywhere there’s a group of people there will always be politics there. Even covering Taylor Swift does not grant this blog an exemption from talking about them, specially if Taylor herself breaks the silence and speaks her mind. She knew this would win her no small number of enemies and, of course, hatred and lots of negative feedback. She knew and she did it anyways.
The reaction was fast and furious. The usual belittling commentary about entertainers should stick to what they know, the patronizing comments about her age or some play on her lyrics, or some sardonic comments trying be the next meme. You have to admire her passion though, even if you’re not on her side. The thing is, it’s becoming really hard to justify the violence and injustice committed in several sectors of law enforcement against people of color.
I know there are all sorts of manifestations of civil unrest going on out there, and they’re not all riots, but riots have happened because people are angry. Tensions are high. I am not condoning violence, but the amount of frustration and anger after the death of George Floyd was just impossible to stop. I know that rioting and looting are not justified, but why is oppression and harassment on a largely general scale against minorities so widespread and hidden under the rug? One of the two happens with people that carry a badge, it should be firmly punished.
The answer is simply systemic racism and some people consider that a political opinion. I was raised in Ecuador but now live in Canada. My ethnicity is half Latino and half Asian. I am privileged to be male, to have a university degree and to now live in a first world country. But all countries have a history of racial incident and a degree of systemic racism and it is in law enforcement where it becomes evident first-hand. If that firmly puts me in the camp of one political stance against the other, so be it but I believe this to be simply a question of human decency.
This is not an issue you can ignore. If you can, please make sure your own privilege is not in the way. You can participate, you can protest, you can sign petitions and you can vote. And to be clear, while I definitely don’t like the guy in power that doesn’t mean I endorse the opposition’s front runner either. They’re both problematic and voting for the lesser of two evils is not an easy decision. You should also remember there are other positions and local governments that could make a more lasting impact in your area. What you should do is get involved.
On other news, Jack Leopards & The Dolphin Club covered Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” for an episode of Killing Eve. Yeap. Jack Leopards. And the Dolphin Club. You can probably figure out who they are. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, the producer was originally named as Nils Sjöberg. Ring a bell yet?
Yes, it’s Jack Antonoff. And apparently, Taylor has mentioned the dolphin is her spirit animal. Also, T-Swizzle has used pseudonym “Nils Sjöberg” before. I wonder if Taylor ever gets together for tea with Carmen Sandiego.
Coming up in the Calendar:
- Hopefully, some good news. We could all use those. Don’t ignore current events though. We cannot afford ignorance.
(Sources: Taylor Swift via Social Networks. Featured Image: Taylor Swift)
The Swift Agency 