this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024
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Nice whataboutism. Just because others do it too doesn't mean it's suddenly not bad when Taylor does it. They should all stop, and if she wants to keep being a voice for positive change, she needs to be leading the way.
She's been credited with getting a lot of young Americans to vote. She's a pop star. How many things does she need to lead the way on? Why can't that Chipotle CEO who was posted about here last week be the face of this problem? Supposedly he flies his jet every day.
Good for her! To be clear, I think she's doing absolutely wonderful things in these regards. You can look elsewhere on this thread for my own unprompted praise of the good things she's done. She doesn't need to lead the way on any of them, she's doing pretty alright.
The fact that you can't name him. It doesn't have the same impact. Swift leads a public life, she's one of the most recognizable names in America. And, she's doing absolutely shit in this regard. It's perfectly fair to call her out on that, especially if she wants to be an outspoken climate conservationist.
Do you think doing some good things makes it okay for you to do bad things? That it somehow tips the scales? Like, lets say I put a fire out in an orphanage. Do I then get to kick some puppies to balance the scales? I don't think so, that sounds silly. So why does it balance out for Swift? Because she gets people to vote and because she's a pop star (that one's kinda weird but okay) we can just accept the bad things without criticism?
Here's the problem with your argument. Taylor Swift actually has a reason to use a private jet on a regular basis. She's actively moving around the world doing tours and needs the ability to travel great distances at a moment's notice. However rich douchebags with too much time on their hands like Elon Musk don't have this need. Neither do many of the other ultra rich people out there who own private jets and fly them all over the place.
And to clarify, I'm not a Swifty. I don't really care for her music at all. I just think it's goddamn stupid to criticize someone who actually has a purpose for using such a conveyance while there are others who have absolutely no reason to need such things who are getting a free pass just because they aren't targets of a political campaign that is desperate to neutralize her influence.
At a moment's notice? Are you referring to the well planned tours?
I'd posit that every person who owns a private jet uses it to move around the world at a moments notice. That is, after all, the thing jets excel at. So now we're getting into what we consider valid reasons to move around the world.
I'd argue that a world tour, sure. You can use a jet for that. I don't think any reasonable person would counter that. How about just a US tour? A city a day? That's pretty doable without a jet. And yet, she uses it for similar occasions.
I don't disagree that Elon and Mr Starbucks and Gates and all the rest should stop using theirs all the time. That's not, and had never been the argument that I've made, or any other person in this thread. They should stop, and so should Swift, where it's possible.
Do you run company that specializes in musical tours? Do you know what it takes to successfully manage one?
I'm not saying that private jets aren't incredibly wasteful in terms of their CO2 production and fossil fuel usage. I'm just saying that the motivation for criticizing Taylor Swift is less about how much she uses her private jet and more about how much political influence she might wield in the coming months. I think the arguments against her are bad faith arguments made either by people who simply don't like her for the sake of not liking her or are trying to disarm her influence in whatever way they can. And I find that completely silly. And every "yeah but" argument you make and every person who downvotes me just proves me more and more right.