Scuse (skoo·zee) came from a phrase every midwesterner knows well, “Ope, ‘scuse me.”
As a group of rural midwestern 90’s babies, we grew up understanding the value of kindness and a familiar phrase. We’re proud to be misfits, who faced first-hand what it’s like not to fit the mold our rural communities wanted for us. With that came painful coming-out stories, trials of young single-parenthood, and the judgment of our families and peers who didn’t understand why we couldn’t just fit in. We learned early on it takes finding your community, and the power of hard work, to encourage waves of change. We left our nests in search of new opportunities, searching for a community that had similar hopes for the future we wanted for the world.
The murder of George Floyd and the movement following his death awoke something within us. For the first time we were forced to face the intense darkness of present systematic racism that had never before been a topic of conversation for us, nor was it ever addressed in our small rural communities. Mad at ourselves for not seeing it and mad at those for enabling it, we became fierce advocates for the movement that began in our home of Minneapolis. We watched as our loved communities, our safe zones, became war zones.
We frequently visited our home nests to experience the progression of these two seemingly parallel worlds becoming even more divided by the forces of a pandemic, politics, racism, and mainstream media. It was tearing apart our families and our life-long friendships. It pained us. It brought us to our knees in anger and tears. We’ve known all along the world isn’t just rainbows and butterflies, but we couldn’t accept the way our worlds were becoming more and more divided. WE REFUSED to. So we decided to make our lives around altering that fate.
Scuse is a collective effort born from our unrelenting passion to leave the world better than we found it. The effort has been a long journey in search for the right components to bring us together. It’s a long tale that began with turning an old family farmhouse into an Airbnb and tells stories of UFOs, rural business owners, computer nerds, elders, single moms, a few stoners, and a lot of queers. But that’s a tale for another day.
We know that in order to move forward we must focus on elevating the voices of all those that struggle to be heard. We know it starts with strengthening local communities, sharing the untold stories, and reminding people what we all have in common. Only then can we build an inclusive world that empowers diversity, entrepreneurship, and inclusivity. We know now more than ever, we must utilize the rapid advancements of technology to empower the masses, not the powerful few.
Scuse reflects everyone and everything this journey has been and continues to be. We’re working hard as one inclusive community to RISE UP and create positive waves of change. Bridging our worlds has been incredibly difficult and yet our most rewarding work to date. We are eternally grateful for every moment, person, local business, and teacher that brought us here. Together we can and we will build stronger local communities by using technology for good.