A quick reminder of what happened and the ramifications on the night
Below: what the pictures taken before and just after tell you about Ye and Taylor
Before he took Taylor’s Mic Ye had been drinking heavily Vox August 26th 2019 Getty image
This is the picture just after the one I posted on Tuesday; it shows a star-struck compliant Taylor – photo VOX August 26th, 2019 Getty Image
So, a drunk Ye was counting on Taylor Swift, a sweet 19-year-old, not resisting him taking her mic, and he was right; she didn’t. They had never met before, but a drunk, arrogant Ye decided he could get away with it.
This incident was the start of Ye’s campaign to bully Taylor Swift – he knew from her giving up the mic she would probably let him get away with more, that she was probably a firm believer in playing nice, irrespective of what a perpetrator does. Remember, such a campaign would go down well with his base. Don’t get me wrong – if I were black, I’d be furious all the time, but that wouldn’t give me the right to take it out on a 19-year-old kid getting her first VMA.
Predictably, Taylor thought the audience was booing her. He wouldn’t have dared take that mic off Pink or Lady GaGa, but a Star-struck nineteen-year-old was easy.
What it tells us about Taylor and Ye at the time is that Taylor was still too nice, and Ye was an arsehole – the technical term for those who behave like a nasty ten-year-old disrupting a class just for the sake of it and just because they can.
As in this case, bullies often rely on surprise to disarm potential targets. What potential targets need to learn from this is never be surprised. If you feel shocked but aren’t in danger of physical violence, take a step back and think Wait a minute, what is really going on here, and what question do I immediately need to ask – even just asking a question can stop a perpetrator in their tracks as it shows the perpetrator that this target will question them and gives a target time to think – so good questions could be:
What are you doing?
I didn’t catch that; what did you say?
What exactly do you mean by that?
Can what you say be evidenced?
I don’t think what you are saying is factually accurate
What are you doing?
I didn’t catch that; what did you say?
What exactly do you mean by that?
Can what you say be evidenced?
I don’t think what you are saying is factually accurate
Remember, you are just a reasonable person asking a reasonable question, which you have the right to expect as a reasonable response.
What are you doing?
I didn’t catch that; what did you say?
What exactly do you mean by that?
Can what you say be evidenced?
I don’t think what you are saying is factually accurate.
Remember, you are just a reasonable person asking a reasonable question, which you have the right to expect as a reasonable response.Remember, you are just a reasonable person asking a reasonable question, which you have the right to expect as a reasonable response.
A Bectu member was working in an open plan area when someone above them in the food chain snapped at them. Others in the area said, “She is always rude to you.” So, encouraged by the fact others had noticed, the union member decided not to tolerate it anymore. The next time, she needed an answer from the rude person. She asked, and they snapped. She said, “I’ve just asked you a perfectly reasonable question to which I have the right to a reasonable response.” The shock on the perpetrator’s face was worth a thousand words – she didn’t get the apology she deserved, but the perpetrator was polite to her from then on. She had just drawn herself a critical workplace boundary.
I would probably have said in Taylor’s place, “Yes, Kanya, you’re right; that’s why she’s up for the bigger prize of the best video of all.” I’m not criticizing Taylor; I have the benefit of hindsight, 30 years of workplace experience, 20 of those years as a full-time union rep and official. Taylor did the best possible at the time – she let the bystanders speak up as they did – Pink was seen giving Ye a mouthful, and Katy Perry said Ye had “Stepped on a kitten.” President Obama called him a “Jackass.” President Trump invited him to the Whitehouse – doesn’t that say it all!
What Ye was actually doing was using Beyoncé as a shield under which to bully Taylor. Ye was trying to characterize himself as Beyoncé’s knight in shining armour! Perpetrators can use causes in the same way. Well, it is for your country! Or careers, I’m only thinking of your career!
Vox was right. The incident defined Ye as a villain and Taylor as a victim in American culture, but I’ll look at how Ye embedded this role for himself and how Taylor escaped tomorrow.
#YeAsshole #taylorswift
