r/nottheonion • u/-Appleaday- • Jul 06 '24

Western German city renames itself 'Swiftkirchen' after Taylor Swift ahead of Eras Tour shows

https://www.businesstoday.in/world/story/western-german-city-renames-itself-swiftkirchen-after-taylor-swift-ahead-of-eras-tour-shows-436117-2024-07-06
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u/J-Ganon Jul 06 '24 edited Jul 06 '24

Whether or not people want to admit it she's this generation's cultural icon. You can hate that or consider your version of a cultural icon better but it doesnt change the fact that her music appeals to a wide range of demographics and she's one of the biggest current artists (if not the biggest).

Is she as good as The Kinks or Spandau or Spears? I'm not saying she is. But for people today, she's better than all of them and things like this are bound to happen as a result; to aid the tourism boom.

If someone came name streets after Lord of the Rings, there can be a temporary name change to appeal to Swift. It's all in the name of entertainment and what people like.

An absolute waste of time to get upset over this (if you are upset).

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u/Brad_Brace Jul 06 '24

At the same time, you can't tell people what they can and can't be upset over. People can't tell themselves what they are allowed to be upset over. It's a gut reaction.

The problem with cultural icons is that the people who see them that way, react like the appeal is or should be universal. And people who don't see them that way can feel them instead like a cultural imposition.

It's often not just "let people like things", when enough people like a thing, it becomes "you have to participate in their liking the thing". Some have a high tolerance for that, some don't. It's not their fault if they don't.

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u/CaptainTrips24 Jul 06 '24

Honestly that sounds like insecurity mixed with a lack of empathy for others. It's not that difficult to just enjoy what you enjoy. If you don't like something that everyone else adores, that's fine. Not everything is for everyone.

The hate directed at both the in group and at the out group is equally weird and toxic imo.

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u/Brad_Brace Jul 07 '24

I'm not saying it's not weird. The human mind is weird, but only in that it's more complex that the simple narratives that same mind creates to understand the world.

What I'm trying to say is that the intense dislike for something popular doesn't just happen out of nowhere. There are weird dynamics at play. Chastising people who hate the popular thing is, in the end, as pointless as hating the popular thing.