Kevin Sweet

@kevin-sweet.bsky.social

43394 Followers 118396 Following

i try to be curious not just furious - fear, hatred, and anger can blind us to the humanity of others - for any issue and any side we take. 😍✌️🌍🌏🌎🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸🥰🎉 we can be better if we know ourselves and each other better - please human responsibly. 👍❤️

an image of a social media post from Facebook by Kevin Sweet which reads as follows:

if we actually knew what folks who disagree with us the most go through and care about we'd stop Most of the harm we currently endure - but the less we have in common the less accurate our experiences of each other are - because we can only ever rely on our own past experiences as we try to judge the present - and we Suck at guessing stuff we haven't been through or been through in ways that others have.

it turns out we aren't realizing how much we're misunderstanding about each other - the more we assume others are just like ourselves with a different set of experiences - the more and more quickly we learn and grow.

isolation from understanding what those most different from ourselves experience and value leads to harm - the more we can understand the impact of our actions the more true to what we want for ourselves and others we may be - there's Always more to learn. ✌️⚖️👍❤️

a dark background of flowers frames a black box of white text which is as follows:

I want the greed to die with the generation of men who built entire systems around domination, exploitation, racism, misogyny, endless war, and hoarding wealth like dragons sitting on piles of gold while the rest of society burns. I want this era of ancient men with dead eyes and private jets deciding whether children eat, whether immigrants vanish, whether workers collapse, whether forests burn, and whether ordinary people get to live with dignity to finally fucking end.

image of a social media post with text as follows:

mileswildermusic
Some of y'all will never understand the grief of just how close we truly have been for the last 70 years to solving some of the biggest problems in the world and then just consistently choosing to prioritize the very special little feelings of the worst among us. As a society we have chosen to pour nearly uncountable resources into the greedy mouths of billionaires for whom nothing could ever be enough, while we let every good thing starve in front of us.

I want the greed to die with the generation of men who built entire systems around domination, exploitation, racism, misogyny, endless war, and hoarding wealth like dragons sitting on piles of gold while the rest of society burns. I want this era of ancient men with dead eyes and private jets deciding whether children eat, whether immigrants vanish, whether workers collapse, whether forests burn, and whether ordinary people get to live with dignity to finally fucking end.

appears uncredited - source Facebook post by Lee Etta - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DaaEZuKjA/

a social media post reads:

Kelly
@Kelly_le

I didn't survive a pandemic, The Great Recession, 9/11, smoking in restaurants, O.J. Simpson, the Challenger explosion, two wars, boomer parents, Hurricane Katrina, Columbine, Y2K, AND a Corey Feldman album to be taken out by goddamn Donald Trump.

A background image has the same forearm in a fist repeated with tats of the peace symbol, and a heart with an arrow through it labeled LGBT within, and the male / female symbols interlocked - in a black box containing white text of the foreground is the following text:

Resistance is NOT a one lane highway.
Maybe your lane is protesting, maybe your lane is organizing, maybe your lane is counseling, maybe your lane is art activism, maybe your lane is surviving the day.
Do NOT feel guilty for not occupying every lane.

We need all of them.

@Itteoal

An image with the following text:

In 1969, we went to the moon with less computing power than your phone. Yesterday, we went back, for the first time in 53 years.

In between: we built the internet, mapped the genome, created Al.

And we're still bombing hospitals, letting people die without insulin, and watching the planet burn.

The technology evolved. The humanity didn't.

thekadefrequency

Secular Revolution

A social media post follows:

K. Creek
@sgrstk

They don't want us to believe in dragons because having a dragon would legitimately solve ALL of your problems.
Gas prices too high? Fly. Too many enemies? Fire. Not getting any dates?
Who cares, you have a pet dragon.

6:00 PM • 04 Apr 26

Kevin Sweet

i think we can't be convinced of true things without experiences that lead us to believe that thing -

and i think that the limitations of what we have already experienced - which forms the basis of what we currently trust as true - carries Much more weight in our minds whether we realize it or not -

as we rely on all those beliefs - along with not realizing what we don't know - as we judge our current experiences.

it is a catch-22 of trust that can trap us in misbeliefs despite our best intentions -

i have found that truly looking to understand a wide variety of perspectives through listening Directly to others about what they experience and value along with what they believe and why - helps me learn a lot i wouldn't otherwise - and find Some of where my experiences have misled me.

we All feel informed and justified in our beliefs - there's Always more we can learn about each other and the issues that impact us - i wish you All the best in your paths through life.

please human responsibly. ✌️⚖️👍❤️

Kevin Sweet

i think others are me with a different set of experiences - we All seem born without asking into resources out of our control which shape us and what we trust -

our experiences shape our beliefs - which are a sacrosanct part of the full autonomy of body and mind we All deserve -

beliefs which aren't Who we are - but rather just vehicles for our values

values we can best be sure we follow if we recognize how those experiences which shape our beliefs are Always limited in how they might inform - and yet unlimited in how they may mislead -

through listening Directly to others about what they experience and value along with what they believe and why - we may learn the differences in our unique string of experiences which leave gaps wherein misunderstandings can lie.

we All feel informed and justified in our beliefs - there's Always more we can learn about each other and the issues that impact us -

please be honest and kind with your self - and others -

please human responsibly. ✌️⚖️👍❤️

A screenshot from the animated series The Tick - from an episode featuring a whale running cross country - the image shows a reporter at a desk with the title "FACTS AT 5" and an inset image showing the whale running.

TrumpFile.org @TrumpFile

NOT-SO-BREAKING NEWS 🚨

Your country already has concentration camps. Your country is already kidnapping citizens and legal residents. Your country is already "losing" people they kidnap and disappearing them across state and country lines. Your president is already arresting journalists and politicians, murdering citizens, threatening war, invading countries, and signing new allegiances with other dictators who will use their countries to defend him.

You already live in the hell you're afraid you're headed towards. If you aren't talking to your friends, family, and neighbors about this everyday, then what the fuck are you waiting for?

On a plain black background the following text is center justified:

STOP BEING
DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN.
BE HONEST,
HAVE MORALS,
SHOW EMPATHY,
VALUE INTEGRITY.
SIMPLY BE A GOOD HUMAN.

#KeepGoing • DharmaAbides

an sepia toned photo image of a wood post of a barbed wire fence towards the left side of the image - a silhouette of a bird is in stark relief atop the post - to the right of the bird and above the wire of the fence and prairie are the words:

I had a choice: I could either let the darkness of the world swallow me, or I could do what I could to help make the world a little bit brighter.

-Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Someone said - "once we love
ourselves, people no longer look good to us unless they are good for us."

INTROVERT. waiters (can't be certain what "waiters" really is - the script is indiscernible to me)

this is an image with a crème colored background with and text in green calligraphy where the lines kinda make up the form of a pine tree by being aligned in the center of the page - red dots amongst the text give the impression of ornaments.

Do
all the
good you can,
by all the means
you can, to all the
people you can, in all
the places you can, as long
as ever you can

John Wesley

a dark background of a photo of a diverse group of faces barely discernible is behind the following text:

We come in different colors, faces, languages, and stories. We are shaped by different places, beliefs, and ways of living.

Still, beneath all of that, we are human.
We feel pain, hope, fear, and love in familiar ways. That truth should matter more than anything else.

It asks us to soften, not divide.
To respect differences instead of fearing them.
To help when someone is in need.
To lift each other up, because none of us are meant to stand alone.

@amazingQuotesWorld

gean-grey-blog

One time I was leaving a friend's place and an older lady with basically no English came up to me and communicated that she was very cold and needed a ride. She pointed to tell me where to go.

I got there and her daughter or granddaughter came out and was like omg her phone died we were worrie
And then the older lady said something and the younger lady translated.

"She knew she could trust you because you have pink hair"

I thought it was funny at the time. But when I think back on it I think she was basically saying "you had a visible sign of not vibing with the system I was afraid of"

Be weird. Be colorful. Help random people.

our Canaan Dog Tikva - who is white with red markings is laying on a grey couch atop pillows with her favorite squeak toy turtle - muzzle nestled between her forepaws.

a photo of someone i'm going to assume is J.J.R. Tolkien - but am too lazy to double check right now - stands outside in an overcoat and brimmed black hat with a pipe held up to his lips - green grass and a fence with homes beyond seems to be the out of focus scene beyond - beneath the photo is the following quote:

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till."
J.R.R. Tolkien

The R-word is deeply hurtful, unacceptable, and diminishes the dignity of individuals with Down syndrome and other disabilities.
As an organization dedicated to creating a community that welcomes, embraces and supports people with Down syndrome, we are saddened that President Trump used this slur.
Our nation's leaders influence attitudes and culture, and we expect them to model respectful, empowering language that honors the value and humanity of every person.
down syndrome association
of greater cincinnati

"YOU HATE AMERICA, DON'T YOU?" SHE SAID.
"THAT WOULD BE AS SILLY AS LOVING IT." I SAID. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO GET EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT, BECAUSE REAL ESTATE DOESN'T INTEREST ME. IT'S NO DOUBT A GREAT FLAW IN MY PERSONALITY, BUT I CAN'T THINK IN TERMS OF BOUNDARIES. THOSE IMAGINARY LINES ARE AS UNREAL TO ME AS ELVES AND PIXIES. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY MARK THE END OR THE BEGINNING OF ANYTHING OF REAL CONCERN TO THE HUMAN SOUL. VIRTUES AND VICES.
PLEASURES AND PAINS CROSS BOUNDARIES AT WILL."
- KURT VONNEGUT -
LIBQUOTES.COM

a photograph of Betty White wearing a snazzy pinkish red and black patterned button down shirt gives a wry smile while throwing up horns using her right hand held up with the two inside fingers down and outer two up.

text overlaid at the top and bottom reads:

"WHY DO PEOPLE SAY "GROW SOME BALLS"' BALLS ARE WEAK AND SENSITIVE!

IF YOU REALLY WANNA GET TOUGH, GROW A VAGINA. THOSE THINGS TAKE A POUNDING."

A broad view of water and horizon with nothing else to see spreads out before us in this photo overlaid with the following text:

You become your best self when you work on things people can't take away from you: mindset, character, integrity, authenticity, discipline, and kindness

@Thought world

This is a page with "NO KINGS" to the right of the symbol for the No Kings protests - a drawing of a crown with the use of a simple heavy black outline forming the base & then upwards to form the sides & the left & right points of the crown before coming down towards each other & then back up again to form a center point - the inside is colored gold - and two heavy red lines cross each other over the crown forming a "X".

The title "Top 10 Rally Reminders" heads two columns of five boxes where every other one is either red or blue and constrains texts that reads:

Lead with Love, Not Anger.
Focus your energy on what you stand for, not what you stand against. Anger fades; compassion lasts.

Smile & Greet Others.
Say hello, wave, or share a word of encouragement. Small acts of friendliness build community trust & lower tension.

Lift Your Voice with Positivity.
Joy is contagious. The more you smile, sing, and stay grounded, the safer and stronger everyone around you feels.

Make Your Sign Speak Peace.
Choose messages that uplift-creative, clever, values-based signs draw attention without aggression or profanity.

Model Nonviolence in Every Action.
If confronted, breathe, stay calm, & step back. Do not engage or argue, alert a Guardian in an orange vest.

Look Out for One Another.
Offer water, a smile, or friendly chat to someone nearby. Check on families, elders, & people with mobility needs.

Celebrate Families and Kids.
Keep the atmosphere family-friendly, & invite children to join in with chants & songs-joyful ways to express civic pride.

Keep It Clean and Respectful.
Leave our rally space as beautiful as you found it-or better. Treat it with respect, care, and gratitude for peace.

Be Mindful of Words & Tone.
Speak with kindness, even when disagreeing. Avoid insults, sarcasm, or chants that demean others.

Carry Joy Beyond the Rally.
After the event, share stories, photos, & reflections that highlight unity & courage-show the world what peaceful power looks like.

an image with a picture of Chuck Todd at the top left and members of the National Guard to the right of that has the following text below:

I DON'T THINK FOLKS REALIZE HOW SURREAL IT IS FOR THE TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD TO BE INVADING ILLINOIS AGAINST ILLINOIS' WISHES.
THE FACT THAT THE TEXAS GOVERNOR REFUSES TO RESPECT ANOTHER
STATE'S RIGHT SHOULD ALARM TEXANS.
IMAGINE THE OUTCRY FROM ABBOTT HIMSELF IF IT WAS TEXAS ON THE RECEIVING END OF UNWANTED NATIONAL GUARD FROM ILLINOIS?
- CHUCK TODD

OCCUPY DEMOCRATS

this is a screenshot of a social media post set against a waterfront painting backdrop (i think)- it reads:

Grosdoriane
"How was the left radicalized?"
Bro, I'm not radicalized. Literally all of my political views are just extrapolations of the most basic premises of human decency.
Universal healthcare isn't
"radical." I figured that one out when I was, like, 8 years old.
Get a grip.

A cartoon split horizontally into two panels says BOSS in the top with VS in the middle and LEADER in the bottom shows in the top part a cart with a person in a suit sitting in it pointing forward as three grey people pull - in the bottom part the person in the suit is in the lead pulling the cart with three three people.

a sunset like background shows behind a black and white picture of Jane Goodall with her hair back and a turtleneck and shawl wearing a necklace with a pendant of Africa - on the left are the words:

"You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."
-Dr. Jane Goodall

VN

A deep blue background sets off the following text in bold white:

Schrödinger's Antifa: A generation of snowflakes who need safe spaces to complete their gender studies degrees and who would have pissed themselves on D-Day, but are simultaneously a highly organised group of violent domestic terrorists working to overthrow the government.

black text on a simple light mottled background reads:

I'm not afraid of
werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels,
I'm afraid of what real human beings do to other real human beings.

- Walter Jon Williams

this is a black and white photo of a young person in a dark t-shirt with short hair and sunglasses perched on up their forehead looking towards the camera - text overlaid on the bottom portion reads:

*Jake",8,transgender, central Illinois: from his mom on gender-"I've always liked the analogy that a friend of ours made, Hannah Simpson. She compares being transgender to handedness. How do you know you're right handed or left handed?
No one tells you. You're not born with a mark on your hand telling people which you are. You just know. when you put something in the wrong hand, you know then too. You know it feels wrong, not right. That's how gender is. When a trans person is walking around the world in the gender they re not, they know it feels wrong. They just know. And when they transition, when they live authentically, Its like picking up a pencil in the right hand. It feels good, it feels natural and organic and right."

two side by side pictures - on the left a giraffe looking towards the camera standing in a field with trees and hills in the background - on the right a depiction of a white unicorn walking through wildflowers.

above reads:

how are unicorns fake but giraffes are real

like what's more believable a horse with a horn or a leopard-moose-camel with a 40 foot neck

a photograph of a page of a book - slightly yellowed paper with black text which reads:

SMALL KINDNESSES

Danusha Laméris

I've been thinking about the way, when you walk down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs to let you by.

Or how strangers still say "bless you' when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. "Don't die," we are saying.

And sometimes, when you spill lemons from your grocery bag, someone else will help you pick them up. Mostly, we don't want to harm each other.

We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.

We have so little of each other, now. So far from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these fleeting temples we make together when we say, "Here, have my seat," "Go ahead-you first," "I like your hat."

a sepia toned photo is a close in shot of two forearms and hands intertwining fingers across the top of a bench - one forearm has a tattoo and fingers painted - the other is without - there are wristbands or hair ties on both - text in the upper part of the image reads:

Be a hand that reaches out.
Be a smile for those who have no reason to smile.
Be a light for those who live in darkness.

a screenshot of a social media post and reply goes as follows:

Gunther Eagleman™ @Gunt... •18h

Food stamps should not be used to buy soda.

Chris Gloninger, CСМ,...@ChrisGloninger

Wild how a poor person buying a $1 soda with food stamps sends you into a moral panic, but billionaires writing off private jets and yachts on their taxes? Not a peep. Your outrage is as cheap as that soda.

a screenshot of a social media post and repost and reply is as follows:

donnieisaprettyboy:
"what if kids identify with something and it ends up just being a phase-?" good. stop teaching and expecting kids (and adults honestly) to formulate permanent traits and ideas of themselves. everything in life is a phase. that doesn't make it any less legitimate while you experience it. let people explore themselves and know it's okay if what you think about yourself changes.

agendermetalbender: reposted

thegirlwiththeloontatto:
People say "phase" like
impermanence means insignificance.
Show me a permanent state of the self.

a photo of a hardware store (likely Home Depot) aisle sign showing what can be found there lists the following:

Lubricants
Rope & Chain
Screws
Tie Downs

a photo of humongous sleek white yacht starkly standing out against the dark blue water below and a light blue sky beyond has the following text filling the sky:

One of the biggest con tricks capitalists ever pulled was convincing the gullible that socialism means making working people pay for the lifestyles of idle layabouts, when that's precisely what capitalism does.

AAV

An image of a social media post is as follows:

Sony Thang
@nxt888

Empire doesn't just lie to you.

It trains you to lie to yourself.

To hate the wrong people.

To fight the wrong wars.

To fear the wrong enemies.

It turns victims into suspects.

Oppressors into saviors.

War criminals into Nobel Peace Prize winners.

And it does it so seamlessly that by the
time you wake up, you've already helped
build the cage you're trapped in.

This is the genius of imperial propaganda:

It doesn't force obedience.

It manufactures belief.

in an example of how translations can lead to novel results - a green sign nestled in a patch of grass reads:

小草休扈请勿扛搅

DO NOT DISTURB
TINY GRASS IS DREAMING

this is a drawn political cartoon in a single panel where it is composed of strikingly different sides - on the left side of the panel depicted in various colors we see the open doors of a building above which signage reads "Elementary School" - in front of which a child in blue pants with an orange sweatshirt and red backpack is being dragged by their hand by a person in a red cap and a jacket that reads "ICE" towards the right side of the panel - which is starkly black and white - with a railroad cattle car waiting on tracks and people wearing nazi uniforms loading the cars with another kid as other people peer out from within.

along the tracks is the artist's signature "JOUQUETTE"

a white background has at the top a blue donkey on the left facing a red elephant on the right with the following text below:

(INTENTIONALLY) LOST IN TRANSLATION
Democrats: We'd like cops to stop killing minorities.
Republicans: Dems hate police.
Democrats: Women should have the right to choose.
Republicans: Dems want to kill babies.
Democrats: We need reasonable immigration policies
Republicans: Dems want open borders.
Democrats: We kneel in protest of inequality.
Republicans: Dems hate the flag, soldiers and America.
Democrats: We should wear masks to protect others.
Republicans: Dems want to take away your freedom.
Democrats: We should have background checks.
Republicans: Dems want to take your guns.
Democrats: Feds should not be policing in cities.
Republicans: Dems encourage rioting
Democrats: People should have a living wage.
Republicans: Dems want to give everyone free stuff.
Democrats: We want religious freedom for everyone.
Republicans: Dems want Sharia Law.
Democrats: Taxes should be used for the benefit of everyone
Republicans: Dems want socialism.

an artistic depiction of Cerberus the three headed dog - guardian of the underworld - shown black and spiked with a long whiplike tail and lit from within with ethereal fire showing through its body mouth and eyes.

a photo of Governor JB Pritzker wearing a dark blue suit jacket over a light blue button down shirt unbuttoned open at the collar and a lanyard standing at a podium with a blue background has the following text in the space above him:

"AFTER WE'VE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST, DEPORTED OR DISPARAGED ALL THE IMMIGRANTS AND THE GAY AND LESBIAN AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE, THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED, THE WOMEN AND THE MINORITIES - ONCE WE'VE OSTRACIZED OUR NEIGHBORS AND BETRAYED OUR FRIENDS -
AFTER THAT, WHEN THE PROBLEMS WE STARTED WITH ARE STILL THERE STARING US IN THE FACE -
WHAT COMES NEXT?"

GOVERNOR JB PRITZKER

TRUMP
RESISTANCE
MOVEMENT

an almost black image with the right side of trump's face barely showing lurking on the rightmost portion is overshadowed by white text which reads:

My god how much more worthless can our Congress members be?
He is grifting in plain sight. He is selling sponsorships of White House events. He seized the Kennedy Center. He is selling federal buildings. He is attacking institutions. He is defying court orders.
He manipulated the market. He has weaponized the DOJ. He got rid of food safety. He got rid of disease control. He wants to destroy public lands. He wants to mine seabeds in international waters.
He is extorting minerals from other nations. He gave an unelected oligarch access to government data. He has broken trust with our allies. He has weakened global confidence in America.
It has been 135 days. America will not survive four years. Stand up.
Do something!

@ BoomerHitsDifferent

a black image with bright white text lighting up that darkness reads:

Teach your kids to be kind.
To include others. To be the friend who notices, who cares. Because not every child goes home to hugs, warmth, or love.
For some, that one kind friend at school might be the only light in their day.
Let's raise hearts that make a difference.

@All thats left unsaid

A shimmery gold background has "PinkNews" in the upper left and then inset is a social media post with a black background and white text which reads:

"Lynda Carter
@RealLyndaCarter

I didn't write Wonder Woman, but if you want to argue that she is somehow not a queer or trans icon, then you're not paying attention.

Every time someone comes up to me and says that WW helped them while they were closeted, it reminds me how special the role is."

An emblem labeled KENTUCKY HOUSE DEMOCRATS is in the bottom right of this photo of a child with a light complexion and light brown shoulder length hair wearing denim overalls and a flannel button down shirt sitting in a wood chair at a wood table - an empty plate is before them with just a lone crumb and a fork on the plate.

Text reads:

If you struggle to comprehend 3.2 million people losing federal food benefits, then just think about one.

A photo of Pedro Pascal in a tank top with a rust color mesh shirt over it is the background for a post with "LEFT BIBLE" in the upper right and in the bottom portion is the text:

"I can't think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorising the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist."

Pedro Pascal

A light blue background backs this image of eight pie charts (despite the "explained in one graph" claim - which i'll ignore since this still makes excellent points) with the following text and listed demographics:

The problem with Congress explained in one graph.

Millionaires in Congress
51%

Millionaires in America
5%

White Men in Congress
77%

White Men in America
31%

Women in Congress
20%

Women in America
51%

Over 55 in Congress
67%

Over 55 in America
28%

an image of the trans flag colors overlaid with the following:

I think that if there is a single thing that cis people should understand about trans people is that we aren't trans because we transition, we transition because we're trans.
Stopping a trans person from transitioning doesn't make them not trans, it makes them miserable.
Ellie Sage

www.wheretrueloveis.com

a black and white image has text on the left third and on the right a photo of Malcolm X shown in his glasses - sitting while leaning on an elbow out to the side resting his head on that hand - the text reads:

If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.

Malcolm X