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Ali's avatar

Only Karim could find a way to write aboutTaylor Swift and the UFC in the same story and make it compelling. Well done

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John's avatar

Swift is a good example of a society with politics framed around spectacle co-opting cultural signifiers to align with whatever their current agenda is. She has often been a plug-and-play figure for various cultural/political groups and movements. Besides her 2020 endorsement of Biden, she largely keeps her mouth shut, making her the perfect canvas for a schizophrenic and culturally void American political climate.

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Negadelphia's avatar

Huh. I've always thought Taylor Swift was popular with Nazis (no, most American conservatives are not actual Nazis, but I think the two groups like a lot of the same things). I guess that must pre-date her endorsement of Biden. I can't even imagine a worse value for political dollars than paying to rig the Super Bowl; how many millionaires would you have to buy off to do that? And for what tangible benefit? People have some wild ideas.

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Anthony Pearsall's avatar

Yes, TSwift experienced an unwanted Nazi boomlet several years ago, being a very successful country-western singer, all-American, girl-next-door wholesome (already transitioning to being an enormously successful pop star. As is well known, comrades, country music is the sonic home of countless MAGA fans and all too many singers. Beyond that, Miss Swift LOOKED like a poster girl for National Socialist propaganda posters, the perfect Aryan, like an ideal representative of the Nazi Party's organization for young women, the League of German Maidens.

I guess that when she began to show that despite her partly-Southern upbringing, she was a coastal-elite-kinda-liberal through and through, the Nazis and the Nazi-adjacent movements had to sadly, angrily realize that they had been betrayed yet again.

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nem0's avatar

That's exactly what happened. After years of deliberately crafting a persona who never delved into politics, TSwift realized she was being seen that way. She turned around and made it clear that she supports LGBTQ+ and sane governance. Good on her. I don't suggest anyone idolize anyone, but if you're gonna look up to someone, she seems decent.

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rachel elizabeth's avatar

Fantastic work as always, Karim!

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