alternet--2020-12-26--The Trump administration’s final push to make it easier for religious employers to discriminate

With little warning , the EEOC published a 112-page overhaul of its guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace .
The feedback period was proceeding with no time to spare — she would have to file any comments by Dec. 17 .
“ To my knowledge , that was the first time that pretty much everybody heard about it , '' said Kaur , who was busy handling home schooling for her children , ages 8 and 10 , when the announcement popped up .
“ There 's so much happening , and I think it 's very strategic the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The guidance is among scores of last-minute actions that ProPublica is tracking on their way through the approval process , many of them accelerating as it became clear that President Donald Trump 's time in office would end on Jan. 20 .
The EEOC 's guidance explains the complicated statutes and legal precedent that govern how employers must deal with religious freedom issues in the workplace .
It does n't have the force of law , but it can be cited in lawsuits , and it serves as a manual for managers navigating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the document 's dense language and footnotes , Kaur was particularly distressed because of what she found to be a slant toward large Christian employers like colleges and social service agencies , rather than smaller religions like Sikhism , which face widespread prejudice .
For example , in recent days , she 's had to focus on advising health care workers who keep long beards as part of their religious practice .
Some hospitals and nursing homes ban facial hair to ensure a proper fit for face masks , but Kaur has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both COVID-19-safe and allow medical staff to observe their faith — which the new guidance does n't address .
As the comment period ended , dozens of other civil rights groups and Democratic leaders filed letters appealing for more time and agreeing that the new guidance could allow for more discrimination under the guise of religious freedom , rather than less .
Unlike many midnight regulations that President-elect Joe Biden could roll back , the EEOC commissioners have multiyear terms , so the Biden administration wo n't be able to change the board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kaur fears that adverse case law could accumulate .
“ It is our belief that these proposed changes in the manual , and what I think is a clear bias towards Christian viewpoints at the expense of all others , it 's just going to have profound negative effects for years to come , '' she said .
Most administrations kick rule-making into high gear once they know their party is leaving the White House , and Trump 's is no exception .
A flood of new entries in the Federal Register includes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lanes for religious institutions to exclude those who do not share their faith , or narrow the options for beneficiaries of federal programs who feel uncomfortable receiving services in a religious context .
Some of the freshly finalized rules codify an executive order that Trump issued in 2018 declaring that faith-based organizations should have full access to government grant programs without having to modify their operations .
They deliver on the promises that Trump made to evangelical Christians during his presidential run , and which he and Vice President Mike Pence campaigned on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's website contains 228 mentions of “ religious freedom , '' in posted speeches , press releases and other official statements .
Earlier in the term , Trump 's religious freedom agenda focused on the Department of Health and Human Services , which adopted a rule that protects health care providers who object to certain procedures — namely abortion — on religious grounds , among a host of other actions .
Even now , HHS is witholding funds from states that require their insurance plans to cover abortion .
Later , Trump moved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the operations of government itself .
In an October interview with the Religion News Service , Trump touted his administration 's work to install religious freedom liaisons in every Cabinet agency .
“ Led by Pastor Paula White , this Initiative is working to remove barriers which have unfairly prevented faith based organizations from working with or receiving funding from the federal government , '' Trump said in a written Q & A .
On that front , the first big change finalized Dec. 7 was at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department that enforces compliance with civil rights laws among recipients of federal dollars .
The new rule clarifies that private companies can qualify as “ religious employers '' under certain conditions , and that religious employers may deny positions to people who do not subscribe and adhere to their faith .
That could include not hiring people in same-sex relationships or someone of a different religion .
Advocates for marginalized communities say that the rules open the door for religious institutions to use faith as a pretext for firing or simply declining to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to employ because of other factors — such as sexual orientation or medical disability — even though discriminating on those bases is still illegal .
“ If that employer just throws up their hands and says 'RFRA ! '
it 's like a get out of jail free card , '' said Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow , referring to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act , a 1993 law that strengthened the test for what can be considered a burden on the free exercise of religion .
Religious employers say that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but they still supported the change .
Jamison Coppola , legislative director of the American Association of Christian Schools , said that most people who work for his member institutions accept that abiding by faith-based principles is part of the deal .
“ It 's a rare occurrence where people enter an employment decision and then realize , 'Oh , I guess we have some difference of opinion about this , ' '' Coppola said .
“ I just think that we do n't run into it that often , because of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 're trying to do as an assembly of believers . ''
Among the largest supporters of the rule was Catholic Charities , which , according to USAspending.gov , received approximately $ 189 million in federal contracts and grants in 2020 across all of its affiliated organizations .
The second change , finalized a few days later after a lightning-fast trip through the Office of Management and Budget , was a joint effort of nine agencies that elaborated on the religious freedom exemptions for recipients of their own spending .
It gets rid of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federally funded social services , from food banks to job training , provide referrals to secular alternatives .
In the case of “ indirect '' aid that travels with the beneficiary , like child care and housing vouchers , it eliminates the requirement that there must be a secular option available .
The concerns with those rules center around the possible exclusion of people who may feel uncomfortable getting aid in an explicitly religious setting , even if providers are not allowed to proselytize as part of the programming .
“ They are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests of these large social service providers ahead of the people who receive the service , '' said Maggie Garrett , vice president of public policy at Americans United for Separation of Church and State .
“ Their priority is not the LGBTQ youth who is seeking services because they were kicked out of their home . ''
Not all religious organizations — or even Christian organizations — support the changes .
Some have recommended that the requirements for secular alternatives be kept because of the delicate political balancing that has gone into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It eased peoples ' conscience or concerns about having more faith-based groups be involved in these services , '' said Stanley Carlson-Thies , founder and senior director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance , which represents Christian employers .
Now , he fears a backlash .
“ I personally do n't know of anybody who was asking for this change , but there it is , and I do n't think it 's a good change , '' Carlson-Thies said .
“ And I think that one thing that 's going to happen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to go through a regulatory process and take those out , and they 'll do other things too that to my mind wo n't be so positive . ''
Finally , the Trump administration is moving forward with its guidance for all employers , whether they contract with the federal government or not , through the EEOC .
The last time the agency updated its religious freedom guidance , in 2008 , it went through an expansive , yearslong process that incorporated feedback from a panoply of groups that represent faith communities and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocates for LGBTQ people and women 's reproductive rights .
Trump 's EEOC has shifted its emphasis toward supporting the rights of religious employers and employees .
For example , it took up the case of two Kroger employees who were fired after they objected to wearing a rainbow heart emblem on their uniforms , which they interpreted as a symbol of support for gay rights .
In a November online forum hosted by the conservative Federalist Society , EEOC General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson articulated the new focus .
“ The EEOC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all aspects of employment discrimination right , whether getting it right helps the employee , or whether getting it right helps the employer , '' she said .
“ Religious liberty has been a high priority for the current administration , where everyone I have spoken with has been unequivocally supportive of religious liberty for all . ''
However , many religious groups felt left out of the process that led to the EEOC 's new guidance .
The updates were put together in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orientation to be protected classes in an employment context , making it much more difficult to discriminate against gay , lesbian or transgender people in the workplace .
EEOC spokeswoman Christine Nazer said the new guidance was drafted by the agency 's office of legal counsel , with no input from external stakeholders .
Many groups that closely track religious freedom issues found out about the updates during a three-day listening session convened by the commission 's Religious Freedom Work Group , which is led by Assistant General Counsel Christine Lambrou Johnson .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johnson is a member of the Christian Legal Society , which describes itself as “ a fellowship of Christians dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through the practice and study of law , the defense of religious freedom and life , and the provision of legal aid to the needy . ''
Nazer said the Religious Freedom Work Group 's duties are separate from the development of the guidance , and that the commission voted to publish the guidance for public comment on Nov. 9 , giving additional time for discussion .
But at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic commissioners said that they had n't had enough time to provide input or that it was rejected by the commission 's Republican members .
The Democratic commissioners also raised questions about the legal soundness of some of the guidance 's interpretations and pleaded for the vote to be delayed .
It was n't .
In addition to liberally interpreting exemptions from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for religious employers to hire and fire on religious grounds , the guidance also raises the bar for intervention when one employee might be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it says little about some of the common questions raised by the COVID-19 pandemic , such as the Sikh nurses that Kaur has been helping negotiate accommodations with hospitals , which would be easier if the EEOC had set out a clear position .
In response to these concerns , Nazer said that the commission is “ carefully considering all of the comments provided to us by our stakeholders as we finalize the guidance . ''
“ Manuals like this , that are sort of taken as law even though they 're not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to rely on to make a decision on whether discrimination took place , '' Kaur said .
“ We have the Title VII protections in the Civil Rights Act for a reason , and to try and decimate it in a way that 's not supported by the law is a sad and disappointing attempt at getting around having to be fair to everybody . ''

With little warning, the EEOC published a 112-page overhaul of its guidance on religious discrimination in the workplace. The feedback period was proceeding with no time to spare — she would have to file any comments by Dec. 17.
“To my knowledge, that was the first time that pretty much everybody heard about it," said Kaur, who was busy handling home schooling for her children, ages 8 and 10, when the announcement popped up. “There's so much happening, and I think it's very strategic the way this was brought out."
The guidance is among scores of last-minute actions that ProPublica is tracking on their way through the approval process, many of them accelerating as it became clear that President Donald Trump's time in office would end on Jan. 20.
The EEOC's guidance explains the complicated statutes and legal precedent that govern how employers must deal with religious freedom issues in the workplace. It doesn't have the force of law, but it can be cited in lawsuits, and it serves as a manual for managers navigating thorny situations.
As she dug into the document's dense language and footnotes, Kaur was particularly distressed because of what she found to be a slant toward large Christian employers like colleges and social service agencies, rather than smaller religions like Sikhism, which face widespread prejudice. For example, in recent days, she's had to focus on advising health care workers who keep long beards as part of their religious practice. Some hospitals and nursing homes ban facial hair to ensure a proper fit for face masks, but Kaur has been able to work out accommodations that are both COVID-19-safe and allow medical staff to observe their faith — which the new guidance doesn't address.
As the comment period ended, dozens of other civil rights groups and Democratic leaders filed letters appealing for more time and agreeing that the new guidance could allow for more discrimination under the guise of religious freedom, rather than less.
Unlike many midnight regulations that President-elect Joe Biden could roll back, the EEOC commissioners have multiyear terms, so the Biden administration won't be able to change the board's composition until 2022. Meanwhile, Kaur fears that adverse case law could accumulate. “It is our belief that these proposed changes in the manual, and what I think is a clear bias towards Christian viewpoints at the expense of all others, it's just going to have profound negative effects for years to come," she said.
Most administrations kick rule-making into high gear once they know their party is leaving the White House, and Trump's is no exception. A flood of new entries in the Federal Register includes several rules and guidance documents that widen lanes for religious institutions to exclude those who do not share their faith, or narrow the options for beneficiaries of federal programs who feel uncomfortable receiving services in a religious context.
Some of the freshly finalized rules codify an executive order that Trump issued in 2018 declaring that faith-based organizations should have full access to government grant programs without having to modify their operations. They deliver on the promises that Trump made to evangelical Christians during his presidential run, and which he and Vice President Mike Pence campaigned on again in 2020 — the White House's website contains 228 mentions of “religious freedom," in posted speeches, press releases and other official statements.
Earlier in the term, Trump's religious freedom agenda focused on the Department of Health and Human Services, which adopted a rule that protects health care providers who object to certain procedures — namely abortion — on religious grounds, among a host of other actions. Even now, HHS is witholding funds from states that require their insurance plans to cover abortion.
Later, Trump moved on to further integrating religious organizations into the operations of government itself.
In an October interview with the Religion News Service, Trump touted his administration's work to install religious freedom liaisons in every Cabinet agency. “Led by Pastor Paula White, this Initiative is working to remove barriers which have unfairly prevented faith based organizations from working with or receiving funding from the federal government," Trump said in a written Q&A.
On that front, the first big change finalized Dec. 7 was at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, an agency within the Labor Department that enforces compliance with civil rights laws among recipients of federal dollars. The new rule clarifies that private companies can qualify as “religious employers" under certain conditions, and that religious employers may deny positions to people who do not subscribe and adhere to their faith. That could include not hiring people in same-sex relationships or someone of a different religion.
Advocates for marginalized communities say that the rules open the door for religious institutions to use faith as a pretext for firing or simply declining to hire people whom they would prefer not to employ because of other factors — such as sexual orientation or medical disability — even though discriminating on those bases is still illegal.
“If that employer just throws up their hands and says 'RFRA!' it's like a get out of jail free card," said Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow, referring to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a 1993 law that strengthened the test for what can be considered a burden on the free exercise of religion.
Religious employers say that situation likely won't occur often, but they still supported the change. Jamison Coppola, legislative director of the American Association of Christian Schools, said that most people who work for his member institutions accept that abiding by faith-based principles is part of the deal.
“It's a rare occurrence where people enter an employment decision and then realize, 'Oh, I guess we have some difference of opinion about this,'" Coppola said. “I just think that we don't run into it that often, because of how we approach the totality of what we're trying to do as an assembly of believers."
Among the largest supporters of the rule was Catholic Charities, which, according to USAspending.gov, received approximately $189 million in federal contracts and grants in 2020 across all of its affiliated organizations.
The second change, finalized a few days later after a lightning-fast trip through the Office of Management and Budget, was a joint effort of nine agencies that elaborated on the religious freedom exemptions for recipients of their own spending. It gets rid of the earlier requirement that religious providers of federally funded social services, from food banks to job training, provide referrals to secular alternatives. In the case of “indirect" aid that travels with the beneficiary, like child care and housing vouchers, it eliminates the requirement that there must be a secular option available.
The concerns with those rules center around the possible exclusion of people who may feel uncomfortable getting aid in an explicitly religious setting, even if providers are not allowed to proselytize as part of the programming.
“They are really putting what they believe are the interests of these large social service providers ahead of the people who receive the service," said Maggie Garrett, vice president of public policy at Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “Their priority is not the LGBTQ youth who is seeking services because they were kicked out of their home."
Not all religious organizations — or even Christian organizations — support the changes. Some have recommended that the requirements for secular alternatives be kept because of the delicate political balancing that has gone into these rules over the years.
“It eased peoples' conscience or concerns about having more faith-based groups be involved in these services," said Stanley Carlson-Thies, founder and senior director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, which represents Christian employers. Now, he fears a backlash.
“I personally don't know of anybody who was asking for this change, but there it is, and I don't think it's a good change," Carlson-Thies said. “And I think that one thing that's going to happen is that the next administration is going to go through a regulatory process and take those out, and they'll do other things too that to my mind won't be so positive."
Finally, the Trump administration is moving forward with its guidance for all employers, whether they contract with the federal government or not, through the EEOC.
The last time the agency updated its religious freedom guidance, in 2008, it went through an expansive, yearslong process that incorporated feedback from a panoply of groups that represent faith communities and those impacted by them, such as advocates for LGBTQ people and women's reproductive rights.
Trump's EEOC has shifted its emphasis toward supporting the rights of religious employers and employees. For example, it took up the case of two Kroger employees who were fired after they objected to wearing a rainbow heart emblem on their uniforms, which they interpreted as a symbol of support for gay rights.
In a November online forum hosted by the conservative Federalist Society, EEOC General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson articulated the new focus. “The EEOC has an interest in the courts getting all aspects of employment discrimination right, whether getting it right helps the employee, or whether getting it right helps the employer," she said. “Religious liberty has been a high priority for the current administration, where everyone I have spoken with has been unequivocally supportive of religious liberty for all."
However, many religious groups felt left out of the process that led to the EEOC's new guidance.
The updates were put together in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision in June that declared gender identity and sexual orientation to be protected classes in an employment context, making it much more difficult to discriminate against gay, lesbian or transgender people in the workplace. EEOC spokeswoman Christine Nazer said the new guidance was drafted by the agency's office of legal counsel, with no input from external stakeholders.
Many groups that closely track religious freedom issues found out about the updates during a three-day listening session convened by the commission's Religious Freedom Work Group, which is led by Assistant General Counsel Christine Lambrou Johnson. According to her LinkedIn profile, Lambrou Johnson is a member of the Christian Legal Society, which describes itself as “a fellowship of Christians dedicated to serving Jesus Christ through the practice and study of law, the defense of religious freedom and life, and the provision of legal aid to the needy."
Nazer said the Religious Freedom Work Group's duties are separate from the development of the guidance, and that the commission voted to publish the guidance for public comment on Nov. 9, giving additional time for discussion. But at that meeting, the body's two Democratic commissioners said that they hadn't had enough time to provide input or that it was rejected by the commission's Republican members. The Democratic commissioners also raised questions about the legal soundness of some of the guidance's interpretations and pleaded for the vote to be delayed. It wasn't.
In addition to liberally interpreting exemptions from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for religious employers to hire and fire on religious grounds, the guidance also raises the bar for intervention when one employee might be harassing another on religious grounds. And it says little about some of the common questions raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the Sikh nurses that Kaur has been helping negotiate accommodations with hospitals, which would be easier if the EEOC had set out a clear position.
In response to these concerns, Nazer said that the commission is “carefully considering all of the comments provided to us by our stakeholders as we finalize the guidance."
Kaur is not comforted.
“Manuals like this, that are sort of taken as law even though they're not, are what our government is going to rely on to make a decision on whether discrimination took place," Kaur said. “We have the Title VII protections in the Civil Rights Act for a reason, and to try and decimate it in a way that's not supported by the law is a sad and disappointing attempt at getting around having to be fair to everybody."


alternet--2020-12-26--DeSantis aide flees Twitter after backlash over shocking remarks about COVID-19 victims

Fred Piccolo , a communications director for Florida Gov .
Ron DeSantis ( R ) , found himself at the center of controversy for his gross disregard of the lives lost to COVID-19 .
In a late-night Twitter post on Wednesday evening , Piccolo shared a tweet that appeared to belittle the fact that people have died from the pandemic .
He tweeted , `` I 'm wondering since 99 % [ of ] Covid patients survive should n't you have 99 photos of survivors for every one fatality ?
Otherwise , you 're just trying to create a narrative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Orlando Sentinel , screenshots of Piccolo 's remarks were captured by Miami Herald reporter Ben Conarck .
The tweets , which were posted around 4:00 a.m. , were reportedly a response to remarks made by Reuters editor Corinne Perkins .
She tweeted a photo of a deceased COVID patient to shed light on the grim side of the pandemic that many people do not see .
With the photo , Perkins tweeted , `` This thread is dedicated to those saying we are n't seeing images of the reality of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not an exhaustive list but I wanted to highlight the stories [ Reuters Pictures ] photographers bring to light . ''
Despite the early morning hours , Piccolo 's remarks quickly caught the attention of Twitter users who offered deeply critical responses to his presumed lack of regard for the 330,000 lives lost during the pandemic .
The communications director even met the wrath of many Twitter users who noted the life-altering challenges many COVID survivors are facing .
`` Survive ?
I have friends who 'survived ' who have hair falling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room without getting winded , '' one Twitter user said .
Another Twitter user also argued that 1 % is not such a small number of people when compared to 330 million .
`` Do some math for me , Fred .
How many people is 1 % of 330 million ? ''
another Twitter user said .
In response to the flurry of tweets , Piccolo responded saying his words were merely an `` observation '' of the pandemic .
He concluded by saying his Christmas gift to himself would be to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 've made people far angrier with other things in the past , this is just an observation that I think was worthy of consternation , '' Piccolo said of his last tweet .
`` But I said this was going to be my Christmas gift to myself to get off of the medium , so I said let 's do it . ''
Despite Piccolo 's remarks and DeSantis ' handling of the pandemic , Florida is still one of the hardest-hit states battling coronavirus .
As of Saturday , Dec. 26 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 19.2 million positive coronavirus cases including more than one million in the state of Florida , alone .
The United States ' COVID-related death toll currently stands at 338,263 .

Fred Piccolo, a communications director for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), found himself at the center of controversy for his gross disregard of the lives lost to COVID-19.
In a late-night Twitter post on Wednesday evening, Piccolo shared a tweet that appeared to belittle the fact that people have died from the pandemic. He tweeted, "I'm wondering since 99% [of] Covid patients survive shouldn't you have 99 photos of survivors for every one fatality? Otherwise, you're just trying to create a narrative that is not reality."
According to the Orlando Sentinel, screenshots of Piccolo's remarks were captured by Miami Herald reporter Ben Conarck. The tweets, which were posted around 4:00 a.m., were reportedly a response to remarks made by Reuters editor Corinne Perkins.
She tweeted a photo of a deceased COVID patient to shed light on the grim side of the pandemic that many people do not see. With the photo, Perkins tweeted, "This thread is dedicated to those saying we aren't seeing images of the reality of COVID-19 in hospitals across the U.S. This is not an exhaustive list but I wanted to highlight the stories [Reuters Pictures] photographers bring to light."
Despite the early morning hours, Piccolo's remarks quickly caught the attention of Twitter users who offered deeply critical responses to his presumed lack of regard for the 330,000 lives lost during the pandemic. The communications director even met the wrath of many Twitter users who noted the life-altering challenges many COVID survivors are facing.
"Survive? I have friends who 'survived' who have hair falling out and can't walk across a room without getting winded," one Twitter user said.
Another Twitter user also argued that 1% is not such a small number of people when compared to 330 million. "Do some math for me, Fred. How many people is 1% of 330 million?" another Twitter user said.
In response to the flurry of tweets, Piccolo responded saying his words were merely an "observation" of the pandemic. He concluded by saying his Christmas gift to himself would be to deactivate his Twitter account.
"I've made people far angrier with other things in the past, this is just an observation that I think was worthy of consternation," Piccolo said of his last tweet. "But I said this was going to be my Christmas gift to myself to get off of the medium, so I said let's do it."
Despite Piccolo's remarks and DeSantis' handling of the pandemic, Florida is still one of the hardest-hit states battling coronavirus. As of Saturday, Dec. 26, the United States has reported more than 19.2 million positive coronavirus cases including more than one million in the state of Florida, alone. The United States' COVID-related death toll currently stands at 338,263.


alternet--2020-12-26--Forget 'The Stand' – 'Alice in Borderland' is the wild dystopian ride we've been waiting for

Dystopia became our reality in 2020 , and it feels nothing like so many movies and TV shows predicted .
Zombies have n't overrun our cities .
Roving marauders have been in short supply , relatively speaking .
An airborne plague is the source of our woes , but the atmosphere is otherwise breathable .
Mostly .
Those fortunate enough to ride this out at home watch the nation come apart on TV screens , marveling at how slowly time moves when everything cracks .
This is part of the reason depictions of the COVID age left us wanting .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ existence – `` Connecting , '' `` Love in the Time of Corona , '' `` Social Distance '' – arrived , and nobody cared .
Movies like `` Outbreak '' and `` World War Z '' surged in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic , but more than half a year later and with no end in sight to quarantine living , Amazon failed to successful tap into our anxiety with `` Utopia , `` a show set in the midst of pandemic .
AMC 's long-running post-apocalypse soap `` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its season and netted its lowest ratings ever .
And a week ago , CBS All Access debuted its highly anticipated , star-studded updated version of `` The Stand '' to a resounding `` meh . ''
Evidently we 'd rather tune out reminders of the ways the world as we know it is falling down .
Then again , maybe the issue is with how these stories are filtering our current reality .
The `` distanced '' series failed to consider the audience 's Zoom fatigue into the equation .
`` Utopia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Whether `` The Stand '' is a hit or miss depends heavily on the depth of a viewer 's love for all or most things Stephen King , but its central conflict between light and darkness plays out onscreen as banal .
Thus I was utterly surprised to be drawn in by `` Alice in Borderland , '' Netflix 's recently released eight-episode suspense thriller directed by Shinsuke Sato and based on a manga series .
This description automatically eliminates a vast swath of America from its potential viewership .
For some reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unless it 's attached to a show featuring Klingons , Jawas , dragons , barbarians or Danish detectives .
To make direct comparison with `` The Stand , '' `` Alice in Borderland '' handles the mechanics of introducing its characters more effectively and it does n't throw off the audience by leaning heavily on flashbacks .
What glimpses it shows of its characters ' pasts are solely presented to contextualize their action in the present .
Knowing the type of people they were before they tumbled into its dystopia is important , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the `` before '' profiles are n't extensive to the point of dragging on the story 's progress .
On the other hand , `` The Stand '' is a gentler story , which says plenty about the vicious nature of `` Alice in Borderland '' and may further narrow its appeal .
Unless , I should say , you 're a fan of the 2000 cinematic cult classic `` Battle Royale , '' the story of a busload of schoolkids who are knocked out and wake up on an island , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law they must now hunt and kill each other until only one of them remains .
This Netflix show hints at what a series adaptation of that film could look like , albeit one influenced by `` Ready Player One '' and sprinkles of `` Lost '' thrown in for good measure .
`` Alice in Borderland '' does n't flow like some simple pop culture mash-up or behave expressly as an eight-hour , end of days action blast .
The slaughter is over the top , yes .
Lots of rooms and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freely .
By no means is it a culture-shifting epic , either ; the script makes the same dumb missteps other shows like it trip over .
( I was especially irritated by a scene threatening sexual violence against a main female character in order to highlight Arisu 's impotence .
Surely Sato watched `` Game of Thrones , '' right ? )
`` Alice in Borderland '' also endeavors to say something about the conditions that lead to a society losing its humanity , eventually asking its protagonists , and the audience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ live once they 've made it through whatever nightmares they have to survive .
That 's the question posted to Arisu , this story 's Alice ( Kento Yamazaki ) and an avid gamer who refuses to get a job or contribute to society in any meaningful way .
`` If only we could reset reality , '' Arisu sighs after his father kicks him out , which happens at the same time his friends Karube ( Keita Machida ) and Chota ( Yuki Morinaga ) suffer misfortunes of their own making .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ by goofing off and eventually dash into a train station toilet .
When they emerge , the city streets are inexplicably empty and without power .
Not even their phones work .
Then a digital sign suddenly appears on the side of a nearby skyscraper that directs them to their first game where they quickly learn by doing and barely surviving .
That Arisu does n't believe in his own cleverness and worth is central to the first couple of episodes until circumstances force him to find some purpose in this violent world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world alive , he has to use his wits .
Game types correspond to playing card suits : Spades are physical competitions .
Clubs require teamwork .
Diamonds favor intelligent , logical players .
Hearts are downright evil because they force players to toy with and betray each another .
None of the rules in this upside-down hellscape are negotiable .
Giving up is not an option , because refusal to participate means game over by way of laser execution .
Why would anyone living amid an era defined by a senseless death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same reasons we flock to Suzanne Collins ' `` Hunger Games '' series , `` Logan 's Run , '' `` The Running Man '' or any grim vision of humankind 's tendency to be inhumane to other people .
Watching under-resourced and outgunned heroes overcome the odds is eternally satisfying – and as Arisu insists , every game has a solution .
In the same way `` Battle Royale '' was not expressly about cruel violence for diversion 's sake , `` Alice in Borderland '' runs on a mystery hiding a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and expanded as a result of other systemic failings .
Before `` Borderland '' Arisu spent most of his time in online battle royale games , the kind that foster thriving virtual economies and attract millions of player who use the space to socialize .
( Think `` Fortnite . ''
) You can spend the majority of your waking life in these virtual spaces without physically engaging with real people and the world around you .
Most gamers do n't do that , but enough do to make it a culturewide problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent years and not for nothing .
On Dec. 10 , the same day `` Alice in Borderland '' debuted on Netflix , the Los Angeles Review of Books published an essay by writer Brendan Mackie that spells out why such games appeal to hundreds of millions of players , the majority of whom are under 25 years old .
In his estimation , they are the result of the broken promise of supposed neoliberal meritocracy .
A good education no longer guarantees that a person will secure an income that helps build @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hard work does not necessarily equal economic advancement either , not in a society whose decks are stacked to favor the one percent .
Hence Mackie 's thesis : The writer goes on to explain that even this is an illusion .
Games and rules are constantly expanding shifting , and there are always bigger and more powerful weapons to find and buy .
The `` Alice in Borderland '' plot draws upon this concept , in that there is no obvious pathway to the ultimate goal when Arisu , Karube and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Eventually we discover that players do n't necessarily share a common goal .
Most of whom they encounter are only focused on survival , and more than a few are dressed like salarymen , corporate drones slogging through dead-end careers .
Several also wonder aloud what 's the point of surviving if there is n't anything else to live for beside earning free time in an empty , lawless city .
This is where this show endeavors to do something beyond plying the audience with spectacles of violence .
A strain of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hums throughout the first eight episodes that clicks with conversations lots of people are having right now : Who do we want to be when this is all over ?
How will society change ?
`` Survive '' and `` survival '' are said so frequently throughout `` Alice in Borderland '' that when someone mentions `` living , '' it stands out , and that 's probably intentional .
Arisu 's chance meeting and eventual alliance with an athlete named Usagi ( Tao Tsuchiya ) firms up this notion ; one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , `` Do you want to live ? ''
They 're not inside of a life-or-death contest when she asks it ; he 's collapsed on the ground and professes he wants to die , and she has just picked up a copy of Henry David Thoreau 's `` Life in the Woods . ''
In a former life Usagi climbed mountains with her father , a famous pro who vanished after a scandal and is presumed dead .
Through Usagi refusal to let Arisu give up , she shows a determination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ survives each trial .
This may also increase her odds of `` winning , '' whatever that means .
Watch closely and you may notice that she and other players who clear impossible games and navigate dangerous alliances share a drive to move forward as opposed to being motivated by the chance to return to their old lives .
Nearly every poor soul drawn into this terrible place is motivated to return to the original world , but only the ones who think like a game master as opposed to a powerless gamer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they focus , determinedly , on the value of existing as opposed to surrendering to paralysis by fear which , in this scenario , is death .
And the way this plays out forher is dark , and wild , but also bizarrely thrilling .
`` How will you live in this world that 's full of despair ? ''
asks someone who happens to be one of the smarter and more skilled players in the game .
We could , and should , be asking that of ourselves in this reality and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solve that puzzle .
`` Alice in Borderland '' is currently streaming on Netflix .

Dystopia became our reality in 2020, and it feels nothing like so many movies and TV shows predicted. Zombies haven't overrun our cities.Roving marauders have been in short supply, relatively speaking. An airborne plague is the source of our woes, but the atmosphere is otherwise breathable. Mostly.
Those fortunate enough to ride this out at home watch the nation come apart on TV screens, marveling at how slowly time moves when everything cracks. This is part of the reason depictions of the COVID age left us wanting. Shows designed to reflect our new Zoom existence – "Connecting," "Love in the Time of Corona," "Social Distance" – arrived, and nobody cared.
Movies like "Outbreak" and "World War Z" surged in popularity at the beginning of the pandemic, but more than half a year later and with no end in sight to quarantine living, Amazon failed to successful tap into our anxiety with "Utopia, " a show set in the midst of pandemic. AMC's long-running post-apocalypse soap "The Walking Dead" returned to close out its season and netted its lowest ratings ever.
And a week ago, CBS All Access debuted its highly anticipated, star-studded updated version of "The Stand" to a resounding "meh."
Evidently we'd rather tune out reminders of the ways the world as we know it is falling down. Then again, maybe the issue is with how these stories are filtering our current reality. The "distanced" series failed to consider the audience's Zoom fatigue into the equation. "Utopia" is too messy and convoluted. Whether "The Stand" is a hit or miss depends heavily on the depth of a viewer's love for all or most things Stephen King, but its central conflict between light and darkness plays out onscreen as banal.
Thus I was utterly surprised to be drawn in by "Alice in Borderland," Netflix's recently released eight-episode suspense thriller directed by Shinsuke Sato and based on a manga series. This description automatically eliminates a vast swath of America from its potential viewership. For some reason we'd rather not deal with subtitles unless it's attached to a show featuring Klingons, Jawas, dragons, barbarians or Danish detectives.
To make direct comparison with "The Stand," "Alice in Borderland" handles the mechanics of introducing its characters more effectively and it doesn't throw off the audience by leaning heavily on flashbacks. What glimpses it shows of its characters' pasts are solely presented to contextualize their action in the present. Knowing the type of people they were before they tumbled into its dystopia is important, but unlike "The Stand," the "before" profiles aren't extensive to the point of dragging on the story's progress.
On the other hand, "The Stand" is a gentler story, which says plenty about the vicious nature of "Alice in Borderland" and may further narrow its appeal.
Unless, I should say, you're a fan of the 2000 cinematic cult classic "Battle Royale," the story of a busload of schoolkids who are knocked out and wake up on an island, at which point they are informed that by law they must now hunt and kill each other until only one of them remains. This Netflix show hints at what a series adaptation of that film could look like, albeit one influenced by "Ready Player One" and sprinkles of "Lost" thrown in for good measure.
"Alice in Borderland" doesn't flow like some simple pop culture mash-up or behave expressly as an eight-hour, end of days action blast. The slaughter is over the top, yes. Lots of rooms and buildings explode, and the bullets fly freely. By no means is it a culture-shifting epic, either; the script makes the same dumb missteps other shows like it trip over. (I was especially irritated by a scene threatening sexual violence against a main female character in order to highlight Arisu's impotence. Surely Sato watched "Game of Thrones," right?)
"Alice in Borderland" also endeavors to say something about the conditions that lead to a society losing its humanity, eventually asking its protagonists, and the audience by proxy, how they want to live once they've made it through whatever nightmares they have to survive.
That's the question posted to Arisu, this story's Alice (Kento Yamazaki) and an avid gamer who refuses to get a job or contribute to society in any meaningful way. "If only we could reset reality," Arisu sighs after his father kicks him out, which happens at the same time his friends Karube (Keita Machida) and Chota (Yuki Morinaga) suffer misfortunes of their own making. They meet up, blow off steam by goofing off and eventually dash into a train station toilet.
When they emerge, the city streets are inexplicably empty and without power. Not even their phones work. Then a digital sign suddenly appears on the side of a nearby skyscraper that directs them to their first game where they quickly learn by doing and barely surviving.
That Arisu doesn't believe in his own cleverness and worth is central to the first couple of episodes until circumstances force him to find some purpose in this violent world. To make it out of this world alive, he has to use his wits.
Game types correspond to playing card suits: Spades are physical competitions. Clubs require teamwork. Diamonds favor intelligent, logical players. Hearts are downright evil because they force players to toy with and betray each another.
None of the rules in this upside-down hellscape are negotiable. Giving up is not an option, because refusal to participate means game over by way of laser execution.
Why would anyone living amid an era defined by a senseless death watch something like this? For the same reasons we flock to Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" series, "Logan's Run," "The Running Man" or any grim vision of humankind's tendency to be inhumane to other people. Watching under-resourced and outgunned heroes overcome the odds is eternally satisfying – and as Arisu insists, every game has a solution.
In the same way "Battle Royale" was not expressly about cruel violence for diversion's sake, "Alice in Borderland" runs on a mystery hiding a critique of societal divisions enabled by technology and expanded as a result of other systemic failings.
Before "Borderland" Arisu spent most of his time in online battle royale games, the kind that foster thriving virtual economies and attract millions of player who use the space to socialize. (Think "Fortnite.") You can spend the majority of your waking life in these virtual spaces without physically engaging with real people and the world around you. Most gamers don't do that, but enough do to make it a culturewide problem.
Such games became massively popular in recent years and not for nothing. On Dec. 10, the same day "Alice in Borderland" debuted on Netflix, the Los Angeles Review of Books published an essay by writer Brendan Mackie that spells out why such games appeal to hundreds of millions of players, the majority of whom are under 25 years old.
In his estimation, they are the result of the broken promise of supposed neoliberal meritocracy. A good education no longer guarantees that a person will secure an income that helps build wealth, let alone pay the bills. Hard work does not necessarily equal economic advancement either, not in a society whose decks are stacked to favor the one percent. Hence Mackie's thesis:
"Battle royale games are the stories kids tell themselves about this culture of cutthroat competition. Just like the real world, in battle royale games only the one percent win. But these games are a fantasy in which this unequal outcome is produced transparently and equitably, albeit violently, a fairy tale about how the meritocracy should really work. Though it is tough, brutal, and difficult, it is fair; and though you have only a small chance of winning, the forces that oppress you are not unseen — they are clear and distinct. The decks are not stacked: everyone has the same health, the same armor, the same access to weapons and upgrades. You'll probably die. But you will live and die on your skills alone."
The writer goes on to explain that even this is an illusion. Games and rules are constantly expanding shifting, and there are always bigger and more powerful weapons to find and buy.
The "Alice in Borderland" plot draws upon this concept, in that there is no obvious pathway to the ultimate goal when Arisu, Karube and Chota first set out on their journey. Eventually we discover that players don't necessarily share a common goal. Most of whom they encounter are only focused on survival, and more than a few are dressed like salarymen, corporate drones slogging through dead-end careers.
Several also wonder aloud what's the point of surviving if there isn't anything else to live for beside earning free time in an empty, lawless city.
This is where this show endeavors to do something beyond plying the audience with spectacles of violence. A strain of pondering the difference between survival and living hums throughout the first eight episodes that clicks with conversations lots of people are having right now: Who do we want to be when this is all over? How will society change?
"Survive" and "survival" are said so frequently throughout "Alice in Borderland" that when someone mentions "living," it stands out, and that's probably intentional.
Arisu's chance meeting and eventual alliance with an athlete named Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) firms up this notion; one of the first questions she asks of him is, "Do you want to live?" They're not inside of a life-or-death contest when she asks it; he's collapsed on the ground and professes he wants to die, and she has just picked up a copy of Henry David Thoreau's "Life in the Woods."
In a former life Usagi climbed mountains with her father, a famous pro who vanished after a scandal and is presumed dead. Through Usagi refusal to let Arisu give up, she shows a determination to live within this world as she survives each trial. This may also increase her odds of "winning," whatever that means.
Watch closely and you may notice that she and other players who clear impossible games and navigate dangerous alliances share a drive to move forward as opposed to being motivated by the chance to return to their old lives.
Nearly every poor soul drawn into this terrible place is motivated to return to the original world, but only the ones who think like a game master as opposed to a powerless gamer have a chance. They win because they focus, determinedly, on the value of existing as opposed to surrendering to paralysis by fear which, in this scenario, is death. And the way this plays out forher is dark, and wild, but also bizarrely thrilling.
"How will you live in this world that's full of despair?" asks someone who happens to be one of the smarter and more skilled players in the game. We could, and should, be asking that of ourselves in this reality and more to the point, be determined to solve that puzzle.
"Alice in Borderland" is currently streaming on Netflix.