Nevertheless...Shirley Jackson

 It’s October! And I couldn’t let October go without talking about the Mistress of Psychological Horror, the woman who persisted in the face of her mother ridiculing her via letters and her husband being well…awful. A woman who wasn’t perfect and was aware of it, but who used that to weave magic into the stories of her everyday life, the unrepeatable, the unmistakable, Shirley Jackson. 

Shirley Jackson was born in California in 1916. Don’t let her autobiographical details fool you, she hated talking about herself: 

“I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material, can only give bare chronological outline which contains no pertinent facts.” 

As an example, she regularly gave her birth year as 1919, making herself three years younger to fit with her husband, Stanley Hyman, who was actually born that year. Shirley wasn’t quite what her mother expected: unconventional, preferring to write rather than socialize and fit in with her peers. She and her mother had a contentious relationship, with her mother criticizing her love of writing and her appearance, including her weight, which would be a persistent issue for Shirley throughout her life. Shirley’s younger brother, the traditional son of a well to do family that fit their mother and father’s standards better, once said, according to Ruth Franklin in her biography, “A Rather Haunted Life,” 

“[Geraldine—their mother] was just a deeply conventional woman who was horrified by the idea that her daughter was not going to be deeply conventional.” 

And ‘not going to be deeply conventional’ was an understatement. But their mother was not going to give up easily. The family moved east during Shirley’s senior year of high school, and she graduated in 1934. Her parents insisted on sending her to a college close to home, The University of Rochester, to keep an eye on her. But Shirley transferred after taking a year off due to depression, and at Syracuse University, she started to become the woman who would write some of the most bone chilling horror stories of her time. Some that still will make your skin crawl today. She had friends, she wrote for the school literary magazine, and received a bachelor’s in journalism. One of the people she met while working on the paper would go on to become her husband and the father of her four children, Stanley Hyman. 

Shirley and Stanley would go on to marry and eventually move to North Bennington, Vermont. Stanley was a teacher at Bennington College, a college exclusively for women. When they moved to Vermont, according to Shirley’s memoir, they had their three year old son Laurence, or “Laurie” as he was called, born in 1942, and a newborn daughter, Joanne, aka Jannie. In Vermont, their family expanded, and they welcomed Sarah, whom they called Sally, and Barry. 

In 1948, she published her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, and while it is not her strongest work, reading the story of a mysterious death troubling a town as they find that the highway is going to go through the wall around their town is a surreal experience. There is just something unsettling that, after you finish it, leaves you feeling like you saw something you shouldn’t have. 1948 was the year of unsettling stories for Shirley, because she also published the short story, which made her famous, The Lottery, about a small town that once a year stones someone to death. The Lottery was what put her on the map, and she became the primary income for her household, though according to all accounts, Stanley still controlled the purse strings. 

Shirley went on to write Hangman, The Bird’s Nest, The Sundial, The Haunting of Hill House, and We Have Always Lived in a Castle, all horror stories, and each was better than the next. Many consider We Have Always Lived in a Castle her best work. She also wrote for a women’s magazine, routinely publishing stories about her home life that eventually became two books, Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons. She called them a ‘disrespectful memoir of [her] children.” They added another layer to her fame, and through them, she was put into the public eye even more. 

Raising Demons, written and published in 1957, landed her a magazine spread, which, unfortunately, reached her mother in California. Her mother proceeded to belittle Shirley about her appearance and pointed out that millions of people had seen the same thing. Shirley replied with a sharply worded letter standing up for and defending herself, but her mother’s words had struck their mark, and Shirley became incredibly self-conscious. This was not helped by the fact that Stanley was cheating on her regularly (often with students and friends) and had, according to rumors, coerced her into an open marriage. 

Hill House, released in 1959, preceded a struggle for Shirley, both mental and physical. Having struggled with anxiety for most of her adult life and suffering from a heart problem, she developed agoraphobia. After We Have Always Lived in a Castle, she was plagued by writer's block as well. With the support of her family, she began therapy, which worked well for her, and her agent gave her the task of sitting down every day and writing whatever came to mind. For a while, it acted as a journal or diary experience for her, but eventually she began working on a new novel, Come Away With Me. Unfortunately, she died in her sleep at the age of 48 before she could finish it. 

Shirley, while remembered for being one of the masters of her genre, was also an incredibly strong woman. She dealt with her husband’s infidelity and her mother’s degrading remarks to write her novels, raise a family, and live her life as best she could. In a world where the outside can seem terrifying and the weight of the world can crush us, think of Shirley Jackson, described by her oldest son in the following quote:

“She was always writing, or thinking about writing, and she did all the shopping and cooking, too. The meals were always on time. But she also loved to laugh and tell jokes. She was very buoyant that way.” 

Sources

Cooke, Rachel. “Laurence Jackson Hyman on His Mother Shirley: “Her Work Is so Relevant Now….”” The Guardian, The Guardian, 12 Dec. 2016, theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/12/laurence-jackson-hyman-mother-shirley-jackson-dark-tales. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

Franklin, Ruth. Shirley Jackson : A Rather Haunted Life. New York Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2017.

Jackson, Shirley. Life among the Savages. Penguin Books, 2019.

---. Raising Demons. S.L., Penguin Books, 2021.

---. The Letters of Shirley Jackson. New York, Random House, 2021.

School boards, opinions and guys named Chad

My roommate during my sophomore and junior years of college once told me that she didn’t believe you could appreciate the rest of the world if you look at what was going on in your own backyard. She was correct, of course. She was definitely the level headed one of us, and often said things like this, that I knew she had been thinking about for a long time before giving them a voice. This is one of those things she said that stuck with me over the years and for good reason. 

I’m lucky enough to live in a blue state, and my city also voted blue during the 2024 election. I am fortunate enough to live now in a more open-minded community where the majority believe in equal rights and also listening to other people’s opinions rather than telling them they are wrong and these are the reasons and acting as if their opinion is the law. And I deeply appreciate that. I also appreciate that I received a brilliant education (for the most part), even though I lived in what is technically considered a village and my graduating class had one hundred students in it. However, the drama unfolding on the school board in McLean County is absolutely laughable, as someone from a small town. For context, all but two towns in McLean County are small towns. (Bloomington and Normal are the only two cities in the county and the only two towns with a population above five thousand: Bloomington has a population of 79,232, and Normal has 53,304. The next biggest township is Randolph, with a population of 4,269 as of 2024.) I was technically in a different district, but it’s interesting to see how different things are now that it’s the other sides opinion being challenged.

I grew up in a town that, by most standards, is tiny. It’s technically a village. Fiction novels, at least contemporary fiction novels, and Hallmark like to paint small towns as these adorable, quaint, loving communities where everyone looks out for each other. If you play by their rules, sure, that’s probably accurate. But if you don’t march to the tune of the high school band (even if you are in the band—I can’t march in step to save my life), you’re probably going to be alone and depressed. A lot. And you’re definitely not going to enjoy the class that my high school offered called “Consumer Education.” And while it did teach us how to balance a checkbook and fill out a resume, the rest of it was one big lecture on why Republicans and white men were definitely the best and the rest of the world was wrong. I didn’t put my hand on my heart during the Pledge of Allegiance and rarely said it, which earned me the side eye, but for the girl next to me, who refused to stand for it, she was grilled about her beliefs in front of the class. I wish I had had that confidence in my beliefs that she had back then. Today I wouldn’t hesitate, but eighteen years ago, I just was content to sit in the back of the room and completely tune them out. On a couple of occasions, I did voice my opinion and tell them they were wrong. But to say they shoved their beliefs down our throat was an understatement.

Two male teachers would take turns discussing why Hilary Clinton was a terrible person. Why the left was out to destroy America, and we were all communists. Why Barack Obama should not be president. I even remember them mocking climate change (that and the time they said women were too emotional to be in office were times I remember speaking up, they were just too obnoxious to block out on those days). Participation was part of your grade, so I had a C in the class because I only answered questions that had a factual answer, and they couldn’t twist it into a lecture. My notebook was full of doodles, and after school, I would go home, grab my iPod, and walk for miles listening to Green Day’s American Idiot, or The Clash, or Anti-Flag. 

We all complained, those of us who weren’t rednecks. But no one ever did anything. We just needed to learn about other people’s opinions, seemed to be the resounding mantra. If you were on a scholastic team, it was even worse since one of the teachers was the coach, and out of the classroom, he became even more sexist and racist. But again, since the guys on the team agreed with him, there wasn’t much that we could do since no one would back us up. Just deal with it, was what other teachers said, the ones that weren’t dealing with the bullying from the rednecks because they accused the beloved quarterback of plagiarism (god forbid he be held accountable for his actions…the sarcasm ought to be dripping from the screen now). And so we did. We put up with it until we graduated, which, since this was a senior class, was not too long, thank goodness. But I really wish someone had held these teachers accountable for pushing a far-right agenda on us. It did teach me that other people have opinions and how to ignore them if they are being waved in my face…so that’s nice, I guess…

Or it was. Until I saw some headlines and statements that teachers in Normal and members of the county school board are being called on to resign or be fired because the teacher was wearing an Abolish ICE shirt, and the president of the school board referred to MAGA as a cult. If you’ve been paying attention, you can probably imagine that I agree with both of these people, but that’s not my issue here. My issue is that because the views of the people involved are not supportive of the current administration, parents want these people removed from schools or offices. I’ve read quotes that politics has no place in schools and that teachers shouldn’t be telling their students their opinions. And, yes. A resounding yes. I agree with that. But at the same time, it’s only an issue for these people now because it’s not their opinion being supported in the classroom. But…what did the students have to say? Well, guess what! They supported the teacher!

One student said, “By wearing that shirt, he is sending a message to his students that regardless of immigration status, you are a cherished member of our community and our schools, and we all belong here,” she said. “…I’d strongly recommend those who support the proposed firing of Mr. Chapman reconsider the message they’re sending by doing so. There’s a teacher shortage already. Why fire one who clearly cares about supporting his students and our community?” And this isn’t even a student who has his class. 

A navy officer weighed in as well, “I know Matt to be a role model, an advocate for every player we coach. Except for the occasional referee, I have observed Matt to be one of the kindest and compassionate people I know. He genuinely cares about every player and student.” 

So, what does the other side have to say? Well, at the meeting, a man (I am not making this up) named Chad Berck, represented the McLean County Republican Party…look, we already know this isn’t going to be great, so let’s get his quote out of the way:

“The McLean County Republicans strongly condemn the continuing pattern of political indoctrination, bias, and disrespect for parental values within the Unit 5 school district. Our schools exist to educate, not to propagandize, and yet we continue to see examples of left-wing ideology being encouraged, facilitated, or tolerated at every level of the district’s leadership.”

Let’s be clear. I don’t have a problem with political opinions not being allowed in schools, but these are the same people who want prayer in schools and would have no problem with their own opinions being talked about. And this is all over a t-shirt. So, what about the president of the board? Well, not surprisingly, he mentioned Charlie Kirk in a less-than-flattering light and also called MAGA a cult and ‘deplorable.’ So, what did Chad have to say about this? 

“Equally alarming is the conduct of the Unit 5 school board president, who has repeatedly shown disdain for conservative parents and community members. Labeling them MAGA cultists and deplorable. Such language is unbecoming of any elected official, particularly one charged with representing all the families, regardless of their political beliefs.”

Now, yes, calling people names for their political beliefs is abhorrent…especially in an elected position. But until the Mclean County Republicans decide to show that same ire towards their fearless leader, Donald Trump, I would recommend taking a seat. Because you can’t possibly expect others to continue being bullied and not stand up for themselves. Oh…wait…but if we try, you get upset and ask to be removed from the office. Too bad we can’t do that to you. It’d be one thing if no one supported Alex Williams, the school board president. But I’m going to leave the blog with this quote from a parent at the meeting, Jade Lamar, because I think it sums it all up quite nicely:

“My objective today is to provide encouragement and support. Do not flinch at all at what is being stated by those who support all the ‘isms and the hypocrisy that is clear as day. It takes leadership courage to say things that make others uncomfortable, and the time is now to push. Silence is what leads to conformity of oppression.”

Sources

“Election Night Reporting.” Clarityelections.com, 2025, results.enr.clarityelections.com/IL/Bloomington/122759/web.345435/#/summary. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

Howell, Ben. “Students, Community Members Largely Defend Teacher at Unit 5 Meeting over “Abolish ICE” Shirt.” WGLT, 16 Oct. 2025, www.wglt.org/local-news/2025-10-16/students-community-members-largely-defend-teacher-at-unit-5-meeting-over-abolish-ice-shift. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.

“McLean County, Illinois Cities (2024).” Worldpopulationreview.com, 2024, worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/illinois/mclean-county.

What is Going On?

 Seriously. What is going on in the United States right now? I don’t understand how the judge needs two hours to deliberate after a three hour hearing on whether the National Guard should have been deployed to Illinois. It’s pretty cut and dry, especially if you want to believe that they are there to protect ICE. Because, no. They aren’t. At all. ICE has been the problem. ICE killed a man because they didn’t let go of his car. ICE said, “Do something, b****” and then shot a woman in Chicago. ICE got a priest in the head seven times with pepper balls. ICE is causing all the problems. They are separating families, taking people away, and putting them god knows where because they sure as hell won’t tell anyone. And yet they need the protection. Absolutely not. 

Oh and then, you have the president saying that 1) Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson should be jailed for not protecting the hate group that is causing the problems (and let’s be honest here, the reason he wants them in jail is because they disagree with him and called him out on being absolutely awful in every way) and 2) that they cancelled free speech. You can’t cancel free speech. Not in this country, it is literally written on this document that people talk about all the time, especially his supporters. They really like to talk about Amendment number 2 on the Bill of Rights. For those of you who don’t remember your constitution from the test we all had to take in high school, let me refresh your memory:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

So, things that you can do under the First Amendment: disagree with the President, pray to whatever god you want to, demonstrate against whatever you want as long as it is peaceful, and the press is allowed to expose the truth about the President. Because, you know, that’s their job. In both of my points above, the president has violated the Bill of Rights. Which, let me see, what have I had the misfortune of hearing every time there is a mass shooting? Oh, yes. Violating Amendment Number 2 is treason. So, why is saying you have canceled everyone’s right to free speech, putting in the troops so people can’t protest, and trying to imprison people who disagree with as well as starting an insurrection on January 6th, 2021, not treason? I mean…are people not witnessing the same thing? Does MAGA see something else entirely? 

And since I’m on a roll, let me also quote the Declaration of Independence and then follow it up with Amendment Number Four.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” 

Everyone is created equal. Everyone. I’m sorry if you think that looking a certain way makes you better than everyone else. You’re wrong. I’m sorry that you think that because you have been privileged to have more money, to have been born at a certain time, or to be a certain skin color, that means that you have more rights than anyone else. You are wrong. Terribly terribly wrong. Onto amendment number four:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” 

You can’t arrest someone or detain them without a warrant. You can’t enter their home without a warrant. You aren’t supposed to be able to do any of these things and yet ICE is grabbing people off the street because of how they look. And Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court said that was okay. That’s treason, that’s against the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. And somehow, someway, no one is doing anything about any of this violating of the Constitution. We’re holding hearings, but no one is answering the bigger question: why are republicans in Congress allowing this to happen, and how are none of Trump’s supporters seeing the problem? 

I guess that’s my question: why? Why does anyone think this is okay? Why is it even a debate? No, you can’t grab people off the street and arrest them for being brown. No, you can’t tell the press they can’t print something because it tells the world how awful the president actually is when he doesn’t want to hear it. Yes, it is illegal to just randomly deport people without a trial (see amendments numbers five through eight). And yes, it is illegal to call for people to be arrested because they disagree with you when you are the president of the United States. And for the love of all that is good, look at Amendment Number 9:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” 

Now, someone needs to tell me why all of this is okay. Why are we letting people get away with this? Why is anyone okay with the governors having to be the ones who say, “Hey, you can’t do that?” Why is it okay to hate? And follow someone who has so much hate in their heart? The new Pope had to step in and remind everyone that Pro-Life doesn’t mean anti-abortion and screw everything else that moves. The Pope has to remind us that being kind is not ‘woke,’ it’s being a good person. 

And how in the hell are we supposed to do this for another three years? If no one stops them now, it’s only going to get worse. Something needs to happen before it’s too late.

And here, have a video of the amazing governor of my state standing up for his city and his state, because it makes me proud to be a resident of Illinois.

Sources:

Fields, Ashleigh. “Top DHS Official Defends ICE Officer Who Shot Pastor with Pepper Ball.” The Hill, 9 Oct. 2025, thehill.com/homenews/5547044-pastor-shot-pepper-ball-ice/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Hickman, Renee. “Bodycam Footage Conflicts with DHS Account of Chicago Woman’s Shooting by Border Patrol, Lawyer Says.” Reuters, 8 Oct. 2025, www.reuters.com/world/us/bodycam-footage-conflicts-with-dhs-account-chicago-womans-shooting-by-border-2025-10-08/.

Hickman, Renee, and Brad Brooks. “Footage of Deadly ICE Shooting in Chicago Suburb Challenges Official Narrative.” Reuters, 24 Sept. 2025, www.reuters.com/world/us/police-records-witness-accounts-complicate-dhs-narrative-fatal-chicago-area-ice-2025-09-24/.

National Archives. “Declaration of Independence.” National Archives, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 7 Aug. 2025, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

---. “The Bill of Rights: A Transcription.” National Archives, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 28 Apr. 2025, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript.

Price, Michelle L, and Sophia Tareen. “Trump Says Illinois Governor and Chicago Mayor Should Be Jailed.” AP News, 8 Oct. 2025, apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-pritzker-johnson-national-guard-illinois-3ca116f867916ac6538bf45ce391c94c.

Savage, Charlie. “Trump Baselessly Claims He “Took the Freedom of Speech Away” from Flag Burners.” The New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/us/politics/trump-freedom-of-speech-flag-burning.html.

Nevertheless...Frederick Douglass

 “It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”--Frederick Douglass

There are few people as well spoken, intelligent, fierce, strong, and passionate who have been as glossed over by history as Frederick Douglass. He is an intimidating presence to be sure, but he’s also a voice of strength and compassion about fighting oppression and injustice that needs to be heard, especially now. An escaped slave from Maryland, he delivered an Independence Day address in 1852 before an almost entirely white audience, his famous speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July.” The speech addresses the unfairness, the inequality, and the absolute horrors that the Fourth of July inflicted on those who could only watch the celebration, enslaved as they were to white people. 

The speech is poignant even now, in a time when the government is harassing people based on skin color, pulling them from cars, and separating children and parents. We can learn so much from Frederick Douglass by looking at his life, rather than if we only look at that speech, and all of it is necessary today. (Side note: this is by no means a comprehensive biography or even a very in-depth biography of Mr. Douglass. I could write more about him, but that length is not advisable for a blog post.)

Frederick Douglass, born in February of 1818, was passed from slave owner to slave owner until he landed with the Auld’s in Maryland. There, he was taught by his master’s wife how to read and write. The man was not happy with this, saying that being literate was how slaves would free themselves. Douglass took this to heart, saying that he saw immediately what his road to freedom would look like. He once famously said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” And is there a truer statement? Hardly. I’ve touched on this before, but reading is the gateway to free thinking. It teaches compassion and empathy. It shows how to ask the hard questions and look for a deeper meaning. It’s a way to learn the things we never would have thought to ask in the first place, and most of all, writing can show us the secrets that people don’t want us to know. 

In the United States, over half of adults read at or below a sixth-grade reading level. And you don’t have to go far to see an example of what that’s done to people’s spelling and grammar (which is especially sad considering all the grammar-checking apps that are out there), just look at any social media comments section. The scary thing is, the current administration doesn’t want you to read. They don’t want you to care. Why do you think they want you on TikTok? Because if you’re doomscrolling through social media, you aren’t reading or learning anything that will tell you how wrong pretty much everything they are doing is. This government doesn’t want freethinkers, they want mindless followers—people who can’t think for themselves. 

Frederick Douglass and his wife settled in Rochester, New York, and had five children. Douglass, though, was seldom around. He was outspoken, and his very presence attracted attention. He traveled the country and overseas, preaching the evils of and working to abolish slavery. And while he was angry, while he didn’t necessarily forget, he did forgive, because he didn’t want to be like his oppressors. Ten years after escaping slavery, he wrote an open letter to his former owner, describing what he went through and how this man would feel if his daughter were taken away and treated the same. But at the end of the letter, he adds, “there is no roof under which you would be safer than mine, and there is nothing in my house which you might need for comfort, which I would not readily grant. Indeed, I should esteem it a privilege to set you an example as to how mankind ought to treat each other.”

Douglass campaigned for black suffrage, especially during and after the Civil War, stating the obvious, that if black men could die for their country and freedom, they should be allowed to vote as well. Unfortunately, that wasn’t obvious back then. It seems people have forgotten that even today, as the current presidential administration works to remove people’s right to vote. And rights for one should be rights for all, Douglass believed, and so he preached, helping women campaign for their right to vote as well.  And Douglass was not a sexist; his first wife, Anna, with whom he was until her death and whose death is said to have shattered him, was the person who helped him escape. He got along well with women, seeing in them kindred spirits and maintaining that women were just as strong as men (don’t forget, it was he who gave Ida B. Wells her platform in Chicago at the 1893 Columbian Exposition). 

Douglass would live until 1895 in Washington, DC, working for equal rights, delivering speeches, and learning more until the day he died. He was constantly learning, wanting to do more good, to make things right for everyone. He famously said, “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.” We have to remember this. Just because we are different colors, different sexes, different religions, we all deserve our rights; we need to fight for each other’s rights. Those idiots in masks and law enforcement cosplay are not who we should want to be; that is not how we as a country should want to be seen. 

We should not bow before a government that demands that we be cruel to one another, that teaches us that people don’t belong anywhere because of how they look, and that says anyone shouldn’t have equal rights. We should not bow before anyone. Nobody should bow to a king, a slave owner or a dictator. Frederick Douglass got to see some strides made during his lifetime, and while we aren’t at the point of slavery, imagine how angry and ashamed he would be to see how far we have slid backward. Don’t give up hope. We’ve come so far, and we will move forward again. We just need to stop what is happening now, before it’s too late. 

Sources

“9 Greatest Frederick Douglass Quotes.” Advancement Project, 14 Feb. 2020, advancementproject.org/perspective/9-greatest-frederick-douglass-quotes/.

Douglass, Frederick . “Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service).” Nps.gov, 2016, www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm.

“Frederick Douglass | Freedom and Citizenship.” Freedomandcitizenship.columbia.edu, freedomandcitizenship.columbia.edu/content/frederick-douglass.

“Frederick Douglass Quotes.” BrainyQuote, www.brainyquote.com/quotes/frederick_douglass_134570.

“Homepage.” Literacy Project Foundation, literacyproj.org/.

Smithsonian. “Frederick Douglass.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/frederick-douglass.