MY THOUGHTS ON LAST WEEK.

Monday [Midweek] Mutiny | 9.16.2025

It’s no longer Monday, so I suppose this is more of a Monday Midweek Mutiny, but I simply needed more time with this one . . . to think about what I wanted to write and how I wanted to write it.

And, I suppose the first thing I want to say is, “Thank you.”

If you’re reading this, thank you for supporting my work, my voice, and my opinions over the years — particularly during the times that we have disagreed on things (which I’m sure has happened a time or two).

Now, my entire career has been built upon my opinions. Anyone who has followed me for more than five years knows this to be the case. Especially if you were around from 2013 to 2019 — back when I commented on, made fun of, and/or downright demeaned damn near everything about life and society: dating, work, politics, sex, food, movies, drugs, holidays, clothes, and more. But one thing always remained the same: I write about the world as I see it.

As a person, I’m curious, gregarious, and deeply self-reflective. I love to experience life. The new, the novel, the unknown — these things fuel my mind like gasoline does an engine, using my experiences to derive what I believe to be true about myself, the world, and both my place and my purpose within that world.

With that said, the shooting of Charlie Kirk hit close to home for me. Not because I agreed with everything he said (a lot I didn’t) — but because I, like him, have made a career from being open, opinionated, and often criticized.

Over the years, I’ve received my fair share of doubt, social vitriol, and less than friendly discourse, but never once have I feared anything would come of it other than the loss of followers and the occasional loss of a professional opportunity.

Last week, I lost thousands of followers across social media. And, I’m sure some future publishers and potential clients (I still do a lot of contract work as a Creative Director) will look at my social media presence and choose not to work with me because of things I’ve said both recently and in the past. But, I’ve always accepted this falloff as an unavoidable trade-off in order to remain true to who I am as a person and a writer. During times like this, I remind myself of the following:

Those intent on misunderstanding you will misunderstand you no matter what you say or do.

Once somebody has a preconceived notion of who you are, or what you stand for, they will seek all evidence to support their theory. In this regard, I’m often criticized for not “choosing a side” — which I believe is just another way of saying, “I need to put you in a box.” Or, “I want to make a quick judgment about who you are as an individual.”

Well, the truth is, as an individual, I’m fairly apolitical. I’ve never fully identified with either party. And, I sincerely believe the two-party, two-sided system we’ve all been pushed into is an overall detriment to society. It feeds conflict that same way early cartoons convinced us that all dogs hate all cats. But anyone who has raised the two animals together knows that’s just not true. Sure, there will always be outliers and exceptions (also the case with political beliefs and opinions), but for the most part, if you remove the notion that cats and dogs are bitter enemies, you’ll find that when familiar with each other, they actually become good friends. Likewise, if we removed the notion of two political parties driven to destroy one another, we’d find that most of us would get along quite well.

I’m not lost in the belief that any particular party or politician will “save” me. I’ve always been independent, and I believe the majority of my life is up to me and my decisions. I’ll pivot when I need to, I’ll change when it’s called for, and I’ll deal with the repercussions of my choices, on my own. But one thing that I will never do is relinquish my support of others being able to do the exact same thing. I truly don’t care how anyone chooses to live, worship, or love — as long as they are not actively harming others or using their beliefs to justify/celebrate the harm done to others.

The real issue here is that we’ve been brainwashed as a society. We’ve lost the ability to disagree and communicate effectively. Far too many people have become extremists without even realizing it. And, the ones who do realize it, are proud of it because their beliefs are consistently reinforced by algorithms, public outrage, and the comments section of what seems to be every post these days. You can’t even write about something positive happening in your own life without somebody mentioning the fact that somewhere others are suffering.

I fear the fabric of society has been stained so deeply the past five years that we’re never going to be free of it. But, that’s no reason for me to stop what I’ve been doing for more than a decade. I’ll keep writing, I’ll keep living, and I’ll keep sharing my words (and opinions) with those who want to read ‘em.

I would encourage you to do the same.

And, when we disagree, that’s great. We’re individuals, we’re not meant to see and interpret everything with the same lens.

Hell, I’d actually prefer you disagree with me more often than not. Because if we can disagree, and still get along, that proves we have a strong, respectful bond.

It’s easy for people to hate the same things — it’s hard for people to hate different things and still not hate each other.

With that said, thanks again. I do appreciate your support, and I value both your time and attention when it comes to reading these emails each week.

-Kyle