Chrissy Stroop
@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social
Cofounder of The Flytrap @theflytrapmedia.bsky.social Senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches Former weekly columnist for openDemocracy Ball State (BA) and Stanford (PhD) alum Pacific Northwest via a long, weird, winding road
After a couple of days of emailing with Ghost support, www.bugbeardispatch.com is back up! I still have no idea why or how it broke in the first place, but expect a new newsletter soon
The Bugbear Dispatch
A Newsletter about Navigating Modern American Moral Panic
bugbeardispatch.com
By the way, I know I've neglected it for way too long, and to all my readers and subscribers, I am sorry. I've been working on some health issues, both physical and mental. Today I wanted to get back to writing, and now my website is borked. I hope I can get this sorted soon
Chrissy Stroop@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 2mo agoSo, The Bugbear Dispatch seems to be down, and I'm not at all sure why. The domain www.bugbeardispatch.com is active and paid for. I bought it and maintain it via WordPress. Other sites on Ghost seem to be working. Wondering if anyone can help me with this problem? I'd be grateful!
So, The Bugbear Dispatch seems to be down, and I'm not at all sure why. The domain www.bugbeardispatch.com is active and paid for. I bought it and maintain it via WordPress. Other sites on Ghost seem to be working. Wondering if anyone can help me with this problem? I'd be grateful!
Feel free to browse our back catalogue for more!!! www.theflytrapmedia.com
The Flytrap
Feminist cultural criticism against the algorithm
theflytrapmedia.com
And here's @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social on why the founding fathers just... sucked: www.theflytrapmedia.com/the-founding...
The Founding Fathers Sucked
In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.
theflytrapmedia.com
Looking for something to read while you procrastinate? 👀 We got you. Here's a thread of what we've published recently. 🧵
Was listening a bit to the @hartmannreport.com on the radio enroute to my psyche appointment and the amount of middle aged men calling in to disparage the accuser against Platner, saying "it's fishy" "why didn't she lock the door"(???) Etc is sickening but unsurprising.
ICYMI I wholeheartedly agree, as I laid out in my latest for @theflytrapmedia.com The Founding Fathers Sucked share.google/x0uVsFJq9rtP...
The Founding Fathers Sucked
In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.
share.google
Kat Abughazaleh@katmabu.bsky.social · 3mo agoI actually don’t care what the founding fathers would say about the present and I don’t think you should either
@katmabu.bsky.social, you might appreciate this essay: bsky.app/profile/theb...
Chrissy Stroop@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 3mo agoFew things are more corrosive to democracy and conducive to complacency than the hero worship of a country's founders and the rhetoric of national greatness. For this semiquincentennial, I want some goddamn iconclasm and irreverence toward our slaveholder constitution share.google/JCEJtu5PiQDy...
5. The Faith-Based Militia: When is Terrorism ‘Christian’? by @fredclarkson.bsky.social — bit.ly/4p8OSkE 6. The Patriot and Armed Militia Movements by Chip Berlet and @matthewnlyons.bsky.social — bit.ly/4vhJjBQ
Articles mentioned: 1. County Capture by @cgallaher.bsky.social and Priya Dixit — bit.ly/PEW24CountyC... 2. In a Disturbing Trend, Far-Right Candidates are Getting Crucial Support from Militia Groups and Churches by @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social — bit.ly/4wv9QN5
Thread 👇
Political Research Associates@praeyesright.bsky.social · 3mo agoFor years, PRA has examined how far-right militias advance a White nationalist authoritarian agenda. Assembled here are several articles to help you better understand how these militias are deepening authoritarianism in the U.S. Learn more here: politicalresearch.org/research/law....
For years, PRA has examined how far-right militias advance a White nationalist authoritarian agenda. Assembled here are several articles to help you better understand how these militias are deepening authoritarianism in the U.S. Learn more here: politicalresearch.org/research/law....
I have been in touch with Scarlettah this week. This is part of what she told me this morning that she wants people to know, besides the fact that she is surrounded by love and support:
Chrissy’s whole piece is on point, but these paragraphs deserve special emphasis:
Chrissy Stroop@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 3mo agoFew things are more corrosive to democracy and conducive to complacency than the hero worship of a country's founders and the rhetoric of national greatness. For this semiquincentennial, I want some goddamn iconclasm and irreverence toward our slaveholder constitution share.google/JCEJtu5PiQDy...
It’s an uphill struggle getting people to accept that Christians can be bad people. But the even harder truth that people urgently need to grasp in this time of Christofascism is that for some understandings of Christianity, to be a GOOD Christian is to be a BAD person. Denial makes things worse
This is all to say that rich people are both creepy and bad at science.
Anyway, if you want a good basic grounding in what evangelicals do/believe, especially as it pertains to politics, I would recommend three books: Jesus and John Wayne by @kkdumez.bsky.social , Wild Faith by @swordsjew.bsky.social and Empty the Pews edited by @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social
Grieving the loss of Ryan Stollar—a kind, brave & deeply intelligent advocate for the overlooked children of fundamentalism, who I met reporting on the movement he helped begin. As the right re-embraces the harmful ideologies Ryan did so much to deconstruct, I'll miss his clear moral voice.
The Homeschool Apostates - The American Prospect
They were raised to carry the fundamentalist banner forward and redeem America. But now the Joshua Generation is rebelling.
prospect.org
Chrissy Stroop@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social · 3mo agoBreaking my social media hiatus today to ask people who know him to please check in on Ryan Stollar (publicly known as R.L. Stollar). Don't flood his mentions. If you know him, send him real, caring messages. Ryan's latest blog post is a suicide note. I'm heartbroken share.google/EHIf0SbX442L...
The Founding Fathers Sucked In honor of America’s 250 birthday, we should stop lionizing them. by @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social
The Founding Fathers Sucked
In honor of America’s 250 birthday, let’s stop lionizing them.
theflytrapmedia.com
I'm stuck with her as my rep and she is the WORST
Really appreciate the discussion and engagement in this thread
Elle@biknmusicmama.bsky.social · 3mo agoThis was a great article. I don’t actually agree the Founding Fathers “sucked,” but lionizing anyone that is a human- is bad news - and while these two men did bring about this country that I do love, their slavery thing was inexcusable and horrific and we shouldn’t sugarcoat it. Constitution too.
It if you haven’t read @agordonreed.bsky.social books on Jefferson, I find her perspective very measured and interesting. She wrote the book on Sally!
The amount to which I have grown to understand early US history was just driven by what we would now call greedy developers….
Adams was against slavery and also laughed in Abigail’s face when she said “remember the ladies.” Etc etc
Hot damn - this is a banger from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social - your must read for the day
The Flytrap@theflytrapmedia.com · 3mo ago"If 'all men,' let alone all people, have never been equal in the United States, how long is it reasonable to wait before we conclude the fault must lie in the system itself?" New from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social!
This gets at a real problem I've been struggling to describe. What if Donald Trump isn't an anomaly, but an immune response? We say the Framers' wanted to avoid someone like him, but here we are, because of their (mainly) undemocratic nature. Trump is their America reasserting itself.
The Flytrap@theflytrapmedia.com · 3mo ago"If 'all men,' let alone all people, have never been equal in the United States, how long is it reasonable to wait before we conclude the fault must lie in the system itself?" New from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social!
When you recognize that a small group of wealthy, slaveholding white men established a system of government upon the structures of settler colonialism, patriarchy, and racial capitalism that was designed explicitly to protect and sustain their power and status, a lot of things fall into place.
The Flytrap@theflytrapmedia.com · 3mo ago"If 'all men,' let alone all people, have never been equal in the United States, how long is it reasonable to wait before we conclude the fault must lie in the system itself?" New from @thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social!