Ten Scary Things This Halloween

Tis the season– of inflatable skeletons, pumpkin carving, and eating so much palm oil in bite-sized chocolate candies that you can singlehandedly contribute to percentage points of the economic product of a developing country! I have always enjoyed the imagination of Halloween, but I’ve never been as much of a fan of the scary bits. I did, however, want to highlight some things that I personally think are quite a bit scarier than even the scariest haunted house.

10. The War on Higher Education.

There’s been a lot written about this, but the biggest thing is that this administration has been illegally– though with the tacit non-objection of Congress- clawing back Congressionally appropriated funding for universities that are, they claim, bastions of the “woke left.”

Michigan State has shed 1.4% of its entire staff base and more cuts are coming next year (don’t worry, not in Athletics– they get lavish renovations and new facilities and they sell off the old bits to superfans for a profit in the Surplus Store).

09. The War on Dissent.

My Congressman, Tom Barrett, tried to get me fired from my job at Michigan State University several weeks ago. I kid you not. The reason? Because I call his office every day and I tell his staff (or leave voicemails indicating) that I am disappointed with his refusal to demonstrate any spine whatsoever against the illegal and unconstitutional actions of this regime.

His chief of staff accused me of making “racist” and “misogynistic” remarks, and of making “violent threats” against the office. He said he was offended that I, in numerous voicemails, referred to Mr. Barrett as a “little baby bitch,” and said I was out of line by referring to them as “fascists.” I replied that if he didn’t want to be called a fascist, to stop doing fascist things.

Clearly, I still have my job. Better luck next time, Helicopter Boy. But gave me a good pre-Halloween fright in the meantime. Oh, and speaking of the meantime? Check out the folks who are running against him, like my friend William Lawrence, a Lansing born-and-raised, underdog candidate fighting for the working class of the district.

 

08. The Extrajudicial Execution of Alleged Criminals.

This administration has, as of last count, murdered or extrajudicially executed, at least 61 people in attacks on boats alleged to be smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. It is unclear whether they are actually smuggling drugs, because the government refuses to provide evidence. Defenses made by right-wing apologists on social media have included photos taken years ago.

Is this a distraction? Definitely. Is it illegal under international law? Absolutely. Somewhat scarier than a haunted pumpkin or whatever other Halloween nonsense is the threat of being blown up while out on a fishing trip. Again, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, and coming from a cadre of career liars, I’m afraid I cannot take them at their word.

 

07. The Erosion of the Free Press.

This has been in the works for years, of course, with oligarchs like Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post and aggressively restructuring its staff and editorial board, and with Fox News openly admitting that it’s not actually news, but rather entertainment.

But it’s gotten worse with news that the Larry Ellison Clan will be trying to buy up major networks to turn them into pro-Trump mouthpieces. Oh, and Bari Weiss? Don’t even fucking get me started.

06. The highly public arrest of elected officials and political candidates who are opposed to the government.

 I hear people say things like, “this is third world shit,” or, “this is banana republic shit.” Sure, it is– but it’s reductive to try and say that “we don’t do things that way in this country, like those people do in those countries,” because we are doing these things in this country.

Classic fallacy of thinking that the United States is somehow exceptional and that it could never happen here. It is happening here.

 

05. The creation of military police forces under executive control.

We’ve seen this one and we know how it ends.

04. Weaponization of the Justice Department to Punish Dissenters and Stifle Non-Compliance.

Most recently, it was a declaration from Stephen Miller, a guy who makes Karl Rove look like a saint, claiming that ICE agents have absolute immunity from prosecution. Like the rest of the administration’s arguments, this rests on the notion that the Supremacy clause of the Constitution essentially allows unlimited and unilateral Executive power.

This is certainly NOT what the framers intended. But it’s popular among the far-right as they look to consolidate power under a monarchic-style executive.

03. Masked militarized agents kidnapping people from their homes.

I don’t care what someone’s citizenship status is– they are afforded rights under the Constitution of these United States. Not according to ICE.

02. The Repetition of Information And Data That Are Demonstrably False, And The Insistence That They’re True.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has been publicly guilty of this since the Epstein Shutdown, saying that it’s impossible to open the government because the Republicans are not in control of the government, after recently touting how the Republicans are indeed in control of the government. In addition to traditional political blame games, there’s also assertion of things that are factually untrue on a shockingly frequent basis.

It’s dangerous.

 

01. Normalization of Authoritarianism.

I go on LinkedIn and see all of this casual drivel about how the signs of tens of thousands of layoffs in the Fortune 500 are evidence that companies need to be nimble and adaptable and focus on maximizing value. I read the news and hear about universities kowtowing to this administration.

Then there’s the fact that we’re just expected to come to work every day and keep cranking out that surplus value. It’s tough. I have mentioned in each of my classes that I struggle to think how to develop and deliver curriculum in an era in which truth, facts, and accuracy no longer seem to matter as much as “vibes” or “winning.”

And yet the line from the government is that we’re just meant to get in line.

I think not.