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Stop Dragging Taylor Swift and Start Supporting the Artists You Do Like

An Open Letter to the Haters

By Lily KristianPublished 5 years ago 4 min read
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Taylor Swift at the 2018 American Music Awards

I was at the mall a few weeks ago when I saw something that made my blood boil—a shirt. This shirt happened to have a picture of Taylor Swift on it. However, her image was distorted by flames and words that read, “RIP Taylor Swift,” and there was a faded picture of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in the corner. My brother got a rant from me on the car ride home about that shirt.

Sure, you can wear whatever you want wherever you want, and you don’t have to like the same celebrities that I do. The reason I have a problem with clothing like the shirt I saw is that it spreads such negativity. Besides the fact that Taylor Swift has been proven right in the whole Kanye/Kim scandal (do some unbiased research if you don’t believe me), the promotion of that type of sentiment is toxic. I’m a Taylor Swift fan, obviously. However, I would never wear a shirt with a burning image of Kanye West printed on it. Why? Without getting into the actual Taylor vs. Kanye debate, let me explain.

What is a person promoting by wearing a shirt like the one I saw? Hatred. Bullying. Negativity. The girl I passed who was wearing the shirt was presumably a fan of Kanye West. Instead of wearing the merch of the artist she liked to show her support, she decided to wear a shirt that tore down another artist. What does that do for Kanye? Best case scenario, nothing. Worst case scenario, it enforces the idea in people’s minds who might not have a favorable view of West that he is a spiteful person and that his fans enjoy the misery of others and partake in bullying.

Instead of wearing clothing or posting things that negatively portray an artist we dislike, wouldn’t it be more profitable to wear the clothing of an artist we do like, or to post something in support of an artist we like? I believe so. Negativity doesn’t get you anywhere. Whether you’re on Team Taylor or Team Kanye, your goal should be to support the person you believe in and love. Share good things they’ve done on social media. Spread why the celebrity you like is worthy of your admiration and respect. Show others why you support them. This will expose people to the positive things about your favorite singer, actor, athlete, etc., instead of exposing them to how bitter you are about someone else’s success.

It amazes me how much time people will put into posting hate against an artist they dislike on social media. Twitter is a prime example of this. The majority of “Stan Twitter” is people tweeting about why the artist their favorite is in competition with isn’t any good. Alternatives to this would be anything like posting statistics of the record sales of your favorite artists, their ticket sales, videos that prove their talents, and even your own personal reasons for being a fan.

Not only does posting positively about the artists you like online make more sense, it decreases the amount of negativity flooding social media. Social media has given everyone the opportunity to have a voice. Unfortunately, a lot of people have decided to use that opportunity to spread negativity. I am very active on Twitter. I can say from experience that scrolling through Twitter for too long will make anyone feel down. It’s full of bullying and unnecessary drama. Sure celebrities probably don’t spend their free time scrolling through our posts about how much we dislike them, but what if they did? Celebrities (yes, even Taylor Swift if you can believe it!) are people too. We shouldn’t act as though mean-spirited posts on social media about a celebrity wouldn’t bother them just because a lot of other people support them. Let’s say your mom and dad and siblings all love and support you unconditionally. Does that mean it doesn’t bother you at all when the bullies at school pick on you or when your coworker starts spreading gossip about you? Doubtful. We need to stomp out the idea that celebrities are immune to the power of words.

In addition to that thought, the negativity aimed at an artist often spills over to the fans of that artist. Another lovely part of Twitter is seeing two fandoms constantly at war with each other. They hate each other’s favorite artist, and they hate each other. The negativity at that point transitions into actual bullying in so many cases. It’s really sad that instead of being a community for people to celebrate and support the celebrities they like, social media is a place to fight over celebrities and make people who disagree with you feel terribly about themselves.

All this to say, stop treating Taylor Swift—or any celebrity for that matter—like they’re not a human being with the same feelings as you and me. Taylor has spoken at concerts and to fans about how the negativity spread about her online has negatively affected her mental health and even her drive to continue doing what she loves. Hatred doesn’t get you anywhere, and it doesn’t get the artists you do like anywhere either. You stay in your lane, I’ll stay in mine. Think about how much more beneficial it would be for all of us to start supporting and promoting the things we love instead of tearing down and mocking the things we don’t. It’ll make us better people, and it’ll make social media a better place to spend our time.

"No matter what happens in life, be good to people. Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind."–Taylor Swift

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About the Creator

Lily Kristian

Future broadcast journalist and lifelong Swiftie!

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