recently there was an article talking about people who had to end friendships with swifties because of their literal cult behaviour and i keep thinking about one quote where a swiftie told her now ex friend who suggested other female songwriters "well i just have more expensive taste than you". when you think of this phenomenon from that angle, with a new album every 6 months, all the bloated chart numbers from people buying like 8 vinyl variants of the same album every time, massively inflated tour ticket prices etc, it really all falls into place. i'm honestly shocked that person in the article so readily admitted it like that, because it backs up what i've been saying this whole time, which is that hardcore swifties' behaviour for the most part isn't about them genuinely thinking she's the songwriter of a generation or whatever, it's about status, about money, about paying to be in the "in" group, and the obsessive focus on swarming around anyone with a less-than-glowing view of her or her music is just about keeping it that way.