Chrissy Stroop - The Bugbear Dispatch

Photo by James Lee, via Unsplash. A picture of a clown-faced, red-nosed, Uncle Sam like figure with swirling eyes on a blue background. It appears to be a pinball machine.

Immigration, ICE, Donald Trump, Greenland, Venezuela, Portland, Minneapolis, Oregon, Minnesota, Fascism, Surrealism, slowing down, taking stock, coping, strategies for staying functional

Fighting the Demoralizing Power of American Surreality

My fellow bugbears, I want to wish you all a happy New Year, but the phrase feels a bit awkward given how off the rails the illegitimate American regime has been since the beginning of the year. If you were asked to come up with one word that sums up

A closeup of a thin twig, covered with a dusting of snow, with dead, drooping leaves hanging off of it. All in all, a good visual representation of how I feel at the end of 2025.

Good Riddance to 2025

Not gonna lie, I don't really want to look back at the shithole year we're about to leave behind. Even as I type this, the year continues to be shitty, with two GOP congressional representatives putting forth bills likely to be voted on before Christmas that

Protesters, most standing and one seated, standing on a sidewalk. Two are holding a large black banner with "LET GAZA LIVE!" on it in large block letters.

The Ugly Reality of American Islamophobia

Moral panic, especially in the United States, has always been a defining leitmotif of The Bugbear Dispatch. Sometimes, that means writing about current events directly tied to the news cycle; sometimes it means writing more abstract or at least less newsy essays with insights that are relevant to our historical

Some gray grave markers, man old and weathered, some with vines growing over them, and one in the shape of a cross, with relatively tall grass growing around them.

Some Thoughts about Fear, Death, and Christianity

In his Society without God (NYU Press, 2008), sociologist Phil Zuckerman documented the many ways in which the Scandinavian countries--some of the least religious on earth--put highly religious countries, and particularly the United States, to shame with respect to positive social outcomes. It's a good read, and, while

A picture of a section of asphalt with stenciled graffiti on it that reads, in white block letters, "TELL THE TRUTH."

The Autumn of Our Discontent

Thoughts on Political Violence and the Death of American Civil Society Update: Shortly after the publication of this essay, Disney reinstated Jimmy Kimmel (presumably as a result of calculus over the loss of Disney+ streaming subscriptions). This is a victory, though not a massive one. The legacy media are still

A basic portrait of James Dobson overlaid with the text (in bright fuchsia letters) "Please speak ill of this dead man."

Let's Speak Ill of the Dead: Reflections on James Dobson

Administrative Matters Hello, fellow bugbears! It has been a painful process—and the financial blow remains painful, and will for some time—but the migration of ye olde Bugbear Dispatch from Substack to Ghost is more or less complete! It will still take me some time to master the Ghost

Grafitti that says "FUCK NATIONALISM" in big black ("fuck") and pink ("nationalism") block letters on a red brick wall.

Site Migration, The Bugbear Dispatch, Newsletters, Leaving Substack, Ghost

Testing out Ghost

Hello, fellow bugbears! I'm in the process of migrating everything from Substack to Ghost. If you received The Bugbear Dispatch via email before, you should be getting it now. I'll check in with some of you to make sure that's happening. Meanwhile, my old

Newsletter

Leaving Substack and Other Thoughts on Cutting Ties with Old Affiliations

The Bugbear Dispatch is, as of today, two years old! I want to thank all of you who have been with me for some or all of that time, and I hope the newsletter will have a bright future. One thing I’m announcing today is that the future of

Newsletter

What Constitutes Healthy Exploration of Spirituality?

Part II: Why Some Approaches to Spirituality Are a Bridge Too Far

Newsletter

What Constitutes Healthy Exploration of Spirituality?

Part I: Gods that Fail and the Seductive Nature of the Forbidden

Newsletter

The Morning Reflections of a Birthday Bugbear

Happy(?) Birthday to Me

Newsletter

The Return of the Bugbear

Your friendly neighborhood bugbear is back and thinking about Eastern Europe and American extremism