Why This 'Top 40' Trans Woman Doesn't Like BreadTube | TaraElla & Friends #7

TE: Welcome back to TaraElla and friends. In the past, I have had my fair share of criticizing BreadTube from an LGBT perspective, mainly from a more intellectual or philosophical angle. However, other people, like my friend Simply Happy, have had similar feelings but from a more practical, top 40 hits angle, if you know what I mean. Today, I'm going to interview Simply Happy, a self described 'top 40 person' who doesn't like BreadTube, but doesn't really care about the philosophical side critiques from people like myself either. So let's start. Simply Happy, why do you call yourself a top 40 person?

SH: I consider myself a top 40 person, you know, like a person who likes to listen to top 40 radio hits. And I love my top 40 hits. I really don't like music snobs who think their music is better, when it's clearly not as popular. If something's popular, there has to be a good reason for that. I also have this attitude towards almost everything else in life. If it's popular, it's almost always good. It's why I only pay attention to popular things.

TE: I think you certainly do have the right to choose to only pay attention to the popular things, but I think you'd be missing out on so much. There are so many great things that aren't popular simply because of commercial reality, you know, how much money there is to promote it. But I totally respect your lifestyle choices. However, there is something I must ask you: do you have a problem with people who have non-mainstream tastes in life?

SH: No, I don't actually. What I have a problem with is people who think they're so much better than the rest of us because of their odd choices. Like, they choose to be unusual, they choose to embrace unusual ideas, and they think they are so much better because of it. And, let's face it, many of those unusual choices can be harmful for you, like they are psychologically unhealthy. They are unpopular for a reason. That's why I have a problem with BreadTube. They keep promoting ideas I believe are psychologically unhealthy, and my friends in the LGBT community keep swallowing it. It's really taken a toll on their self confidence.

TE: You know I actually sort of agree with your concern about parts of BreadTube. It's really psychologically unhealthy for the LGBT community to see people oppressing us everywhere. It's not good for us, personally, to see bigotry and hostility where there ain't such intention, or for us to be oversensitive to other people's comments. I've said this in relation to the trans community's response to JK Rowling, Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, and several others. I think this mentality is a result of bad theory. My approach is to fight bad theory with good ideas, and bad philosophy with good philosophy, if you know what I mean. However, you seem to not quite agree with my approach.

SH: I actually consider myself, like, pretty anti-philosophy in general. It's the idea of philosophy that's gotten people into all this mess in the first place. If people could live in the here and now, and there's nothing more than that, I think many people would be happier. Your thing of fighting bad philosophy with good philosophy is noble, but I don't think you'll win, because the concept of philosophy itself encourages people to embrace weird ideas, so as long as the concept exists, the weirder ideas will win. That's why the solution is to stop debating philosophy and listen to more top 40 radio. Philosophy is unpopular, and top 40 radio is popular, for a very good reason!

TE: But you said you were concerned that your LGBT friends are being sucked into problematic philosophy. Wouldn't debunking those ideas help pull them out?

SH: I don't believe in going round and round in circles like that. Instead, I think we should pull them out by getting them to enjoy what real life has to offer. Like listening to top 40 radio. Of course, we can also poke fun at ideas that simply don't make sense. I call it 'fighting weird with normal'.

TE: You know, I'm still skeptical of your take, but I have to admit that I am having very limited success with my approach so far. Therefore, I'll keep an open mind on your alternative approach. So let's keep this conversation going for now.