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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.

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

lock-1 By Chrissy Stroop 14 Jan 2026
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

By Chrissy Stroop 15 Dec 2025
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

By Chrissy Stroop 01 Dec 2025
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

By Chrissy Stroop 14 Oct 2025
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Navigating American Moral Panic