I am CuTRis

What we have now under Trump in the USA, is that sick racist sexist crap that has been whispered forever and I can remember hearing it occasionally throughout my childhood. As an adult, I thought it was mostly gone, but it exists in especially rural areas. Those places where diversity does not really exist, seem to foster the most resentment against people who are different. That crap has spewed up and become normal now. It's shameful. While I'm the first to admit that liberalism got out of hand a few years ago, what's happening now is wrong, it's shameful and it really sucks. But there are still a lot of people who still think this is good. Their resentment has clouded the reality of the entirety of America being swallowed up by the rich and unscrupulous. If you just listen to Trump and Musk, they have laid out the takeover and lied about everything that their supporters believe in. The answers to the exam are right in front of us, but half of the population is determi...

Recently at my dad's funeral, I was reunited with some second cousins who I played with frequently when I was very young. Our families would get together sometimes. I haven't seen them since we were kids. I haven't thought much about them over time. But when I saw them again, a deep-seated memory arose inside of me. I can remember being at their house, in their neighborhood, when an older kid started picking on me. Instead of helping me or telling this other kid to stop, all of them joined together to laugh at my misfortune and call me names! I remember I felt quite alone and helpless and wasn't sure what to do at my young age. So as I said, I haven't thought about this for decades. But the memory arose shortly after I saw these two people. Apparently it was quite traumatic and stuck with me all these years even though it was buried. So if you think that bullying doesn't matter, I believe it does. I believe that calling people names, and vilifying certain groups...

This was a new coworker when I was at the Minnesota Historical Society--just before Covid-19 and mass layoffs. Targeting immigrants with such bogus, emotional stories is nothing new. https://cutris.blogspot.com/2020/01/hate-mongers-please-stick-to-facts.html br />

I just made a woman driving really mad, because I tend to get on the freeway by matching speed with the other cars. She was trying to keep me from getting on the freeway, and wanted to make me stop until she went past. Instead, I hit the accelerator and I went faster than her, and then I slid in front of her. Oh my she was mad! She was honking, shouting and gesturing. There's a lot of really angry people in the world, who are only happy when causing harm and spreading their unhappiness. They are also often, especially brave when they have a few thousand pounds of rolling metal around them.

     Fascism arrived in town draped in the nation’s flag and holding a Bible. He smiled at the people and talked about how tough things were becoming. He said he wanted to help. The smile quickly turned to a frown. He pointed accusingly at the immigrants and tapped the suspicions of the population.      “Those people come here from their shit-hole countries and try to take what is ours!” he said.    Some of the town’s people looked approvingly at Fascism. Afterall, he was carrying a Bible! And he was wearing a flag! He also was disapproving of those odd people who came here to take their jobs.      “They want your jobs,” Fascism went on, “and they bring diseases.”      Fascism began to notice a few people who eyed him suspiciously. They were the ones he would attack next. They were the people who believed in fairness and equality. Some of them were educated.  ...

My wife and I have seen recently, how tragic events bring out the best, and the worst in people--who are supposed to be close. It's revealing to see who is trustworthy and who is looking for personal gain. There are a lot of unscrupulous people in the world. Some are pretending to be friends. Others attack when you are vulnerable. In the end, they have to live with their choices.

The guy at the grocery store was clearly upset that I was wearing a mask (since he wasn't). I could tell when he looked at me and shook his head. Later, he checked out in front of me; and after he was done arguing with the cashier, I let him know that his cheese had fallen on the floor-before he pushed his cart away and left it behind...

The principal told me (by phone) that she "doesn't have a magic wand." This, because I asked if an incident at school had been addressed so that it wouldn't happen again. "Well I don't have a magic wand," she said, "so I can't tell you that it won't happen again." Now I'm reasonably sure, that she knew what I meant, and if she didn't and it happens again, we will be sitting face to face the next time I talk to her. I don't appreciate that kind of patronizing language during a serious discussion addressing child safety.

Because of the nature of the service and the security measures involved, airlines have long been able to treat their customers poorly, get away with it and still turn a profit. When United Airlines CEO, Oscar Munoz praised his staff for "removing a belligerent passenger," the view from his "ivory tower" apparently didn't afford him the realization that public opinion would overwhelmingly be against him. In fact, this is why most companies hire a public relations/communications person—to do the speaking for them. In my own work history, I had occasion (years ago) to write for a division director because in spite of his advanced degree, he wrote only slightly better than my preschool-age son. So after the airlines caused the problem by overbooking the flight (which is standard operating procedure for airlines in the U.S.A.), a man who clearly didn't want to miss his flight was forcibly removed and bloodied in the process. It is accepted by authorities, ...

Just down the street from where I live, there is Section 8 Housing that has frequent police visits and is likely the habitat of the people who travel through the neighborhood stealing mail, etc. That said, none of them has ever pulled a gun on me. Yet yesterday, not so far away, a crazy white guy did just that. He also appears to have gotten away with it because he "had a permit to carry." So how many of these people with permits are a danger to the public? Because this guy followed my car into a police parking lot because he wasn't really intent on acting like a person authorized to carry a deadly weapon would be expected to act. Is it truly safer for the rednecks to be armed? If so, who is it safer for? I'm pretty sure if I stopped in a dead-end street rather than a police parking lot this guy would have had no problem shooting me. I'm pretty sure more guns in more hands is not going to make any of us safer. And did you know that private gun sales between ind...

Children's Lives Matter! Yet more and more are being killed and no one is protesting! How come? http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3706001.shtml?cat=1

If you've heard of the numerous cowardly attacks on individuals in St. Paul recently, you might be interested to know that Michael Jackson has been arrested!

This dad is paying attention to what happens to his kids. You have to like what he did; and you have to wonder about the people who caused him to have to do it. http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/01/21/prior-lake-father-calls-out-teen-daughters-bullies-online/

There are too many bad fathers killing their children! Children's Lives Matter! http://cutris.blogspot.com/2014/12/heres-another-baby-killer-protest-this.html http://cutris.blogspot.com/2014/12/child-killer-arrested.html

Somebody should protest about adults killing babies! What the hell is wrong with America? We've got IDIOTS protesting about white cops killing black criminals who resist arrest; but does anybody have the guts to protest when an adult assaults and kills a one-year-old child? What kind of screwed-up society is this? Brooklyn Park Police Search for Man after Death of 1-Year-Old http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3645332.shtml?cat=1 America needs some independent thinkers. We've got plenty of people who will join the mob and pretend like they have admirable motives. If you want to do something "good," protest people who hurt and kill children, old people, animals and anyone who can't defend themselves! And by-the-way America, when you send the police out to arrest this child killer, make sure you don't send any white cops...

I found this draft I  made back in February of 2010. I drew the picture (during a staff meeting) of the ALC administrators, when I worked at the school district. I decided not to publish it back then because "they" were trying to tell me I couldn't blog. Now I don't work there so here it is 4 and a half years later. Who are these two people? I'm not particularly talented at drawing, so it could be lots of people. I drew this picture of two people, for no particular reason. The interesting part about it is that while these people may resemble certain individuals who may play a role in my daily activities, they also resemble certain individuals from my past work with the county. How is it that this unlikely duo, could reemerge in the guise of two unique, new individuals, yet share many of the same traits as those from the past? In some ways, it is freaky. I'm in a new place in a new time and "poof!" I'm "transported back to another time a...

We may think of bullies in terms of adolescent boys, but over the years I've noticed that they can come in a variety of forms. One of these is the middle-aged woman with the nasty mouth. This person likes to make nasty comments and does it from some vantage point that feels safe. Often they look for positions with some kind of power; where they can satisfy their desire to make others uncomfortable. I'm fortunate to have nice bosses at my current job, but I did recently have a run-in with a bully from outside of work who exhibited 'classic' bully behavior. The interesting thing I've found out about bullies over the years, is that they are rarely actually 'tough.' If you stand up to a bully, they frequently run and cry and pretend that they are the victim. This is very typical, or what I consider to be 'classic' bully behavior. They are only comfortable when their victim is unable or unwilling to fight back. Often a bully who has been confronted w...