I am what you might call a “taste-maker.” I make taste, which is quite different from having taste. It’s also not to be confused with being a taste tester, those fine people who are necessary in times of great confusion and gastronomic delights.
While it’s dangerous and self-defeating to admit you like something, it never hurts to come clean about hating things. Showing appreciation is the same as revealing a vulnerabilty, giving your enemies the power to use it against you. When you hate something, you are the one with the upper hand, standing apart from the fray, remaining distrustful of authority and superior to everyone else. Your taste hasn’t yet been sullied by the unadvisable affinity for a boy band or avocado toast.
It requires no thought either. Saying you hate The Beatles is a great way to become known as a defiant rebel. You’re showing people you go against the crowd and have taste that is hard to pin down. What moves you is unknown – as it should be. You don’t like catchy melodies or things other people like. You see Ringo as a dog’s name and wonder what effect painting a submarine yellow does to the ecosystem. Good questions, nary a Beatlemaniac ever thinks to ask.
Keep what you love under wraps, since that's more unique than putting it under sandwiches like bread commoner.
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