vox--2020-08-28--Elon Musk is one step closer to connecting a computer to your brain

At a Friday event , Elon Musk revealed more details about his mysterious neuroscience company Neuralink and its plans to connect computers to human brains .
While the development of this futuristic-sounding tech is still in its early stages , the presentation was expected to demonstrate the second version of a small , robotic device that inserts tiny electrode threads through the skull and into the brain .
Musk said ahead of the event he would “ show neurons firing in real-time .
The matrix in the matrix.
” And he did just that .
At the event , Musk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the neural links implanted in their head , and machinery that was tracking those pigs ’ brain activity in real time .
The billionaire also announced that the Food and Drug Administration had awarded the company a breakthrough device authorization , which can help expedite research on a medical device .
Like building underground car tunnels and sending private rockets to Mars , this Musk-backed endeavor is incredibly ambitious , but Neuralink builds on years of research into brain-machine interfaces .
A brain-machine interface is technology that allows for a device , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communicate with a brain .
Neuralink , in particular , aims to build an incredibly powerful brain-machine interface , a device with the power to handle lots of data that can be inserted in a relatively simple surgery .
Its short-term goal is to build a device that can help people with specific health conditions .
The actual status of Neuralink ’ s research has been somewhat murky , and Friday ’ s big announcement happened as ex-employees complain of internal chaos at the company .
Musk has already said the project allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with its mind , and as the New York Times reported in 2019 , Neuralink had demonstrated a system with 1,500 electrodes connected to a lab rat .
Since then , Musk has hinted at the company ’ s progress ( at times on Twitter ) , though those involved have generally been close-lipped about the status of the research .
Musk opened Friday ’ s event by emphasizing the wide variety of spinal and neurological conditions — including seizures , paralysis , brain damage , and depression — that Neuralink technology could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be solved with an implantable neural link , ” said Musk .
“ The neurons are like wiring , and you kind of need an electronic thing to solve an electronic problem.
” But it ’ s worth highlighting that Musk wants Neuralink to do far more than treat specific health conditions .
He sees the technology as an opportunity to build a widely available brain-computer interface for consumers , which he thinks could help humans keep pace with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence .
So while modest , Neuralink ’ s research already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change life as we know it .
At the same time , it ’ s a reminder that the potential , eventual merging of humans with computers is destined to introduce a wide range of ethical and social questions that we should probably start thinking about now .
Neuralink wants to link your brain with computers , but that will take a while Founded in 2016 , Neuralink is a neuroscience technology company focused on building systems with super-thin threads that carry electrodes .
When implanted into a brain , these threads would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to communicate with the brain , a system supposed to be much more powerful than the existing brain-machine interfaces being researched .
One major barrier to inserting these incredibly tiny wires , which are thinner than a strand of human hair , is actually getting them past the skull and into the brain .
That ’ s why Neuralink is also developing an incredibly small robot that connects the electrode to humans through surgery that ’ s about as intensive as a Lasik eye procedure .
On Friday , Musk outlined how the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general anesthesia in a single-day hospital stay .
That ’ s the goal at least , and it would represent a huge leap forward from previous brain-machine interfaces , which have required more invasive surgeries .
“ We ’ ve been connecting forms of computers to brains for 20 or 30 years already , ” Nolan Williams , the director of Stanford ’ s Brain Stimulation Lab , told Recode , referencing deep stimulation used for patients with Parkinson ’ s as one example of connecting a brain and a computer .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain kinds of electrical thresholding to communicate with itself , ” Williams explained .
“ Your brain is a series of circuits that kind of intercommunicate and communicate between themselves.
” Essentially , a brain-machine interface can use the electricity the brain already uses to function along with a series of electrodes to connect the brain with a machine .
Neuralink cites previous examples in which humans have used electrodes to control cursors and robotic limbs with their minds as the basis for its system .
But what ’ s novel about Neuralink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of connecting a device with the brain minimal , while also massively increasing the number of electrodes engaged .
The company wants to make brain-machine interfaces not only easier to install but also more powerful .
As the focus of Friday ’ s event , Musk showed what the second generation of what that robot will look like : a large white structure with five degrees of freedom .
“ The robot is a super complicated , highly-precise machine which is able to both capture your brain and then with almost a sewing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the neural threads in the exact right location based on the surgeon decisions around what the safe locations are for the threads to be inserted , ” Afshin Mehin , a designer and founder of the firm Woke , which worked on its outer device that holds the needle , told Recode .
Musk further explained that , in the past year , Neuralink simplified its plans for wearable device that connects to the threads implanted in the user ’ s brain .
While the first generation of this device would have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the newest version is a small , coin-size device that would sit under the top of their skull .
“ It ’ s kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires , ” explained Musk , who compared the device to a smart watch .
The research is still in early stages and , as it advances , will likely require focusing on how the technology can help people with specific , severe health conditions first , according to Stanford neurosurgery professor Maheen Adamson .
While the medical applications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moving it from its current , nascent state will require the close oversight of the Food and Drug Administration , which would not comment specifically on Neuralink .
Again , Neuralink ’ s ultimate plans will go beyond treating specific conditions .
The company has said it hopes to allow people to “ preserve and enhance ” their brains and to “ create a well-aligned future.
” While that might not sound like a particularly pressing need to the average person , the project fits into Musk ’ s long-standing concerns about artificial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology could be more dangerous than nuclear weapons , and warned that AI could become too powerful , too quickly , preventing humans from keeping it in check .
The ultimate goal for Neuralink , Musk explained at a 2019 launch event , is a “ full brain-machine interface ” that will achieve a “ symbiosis with artificial intelligence.
” But again , that is still far off .
Brain-machine interfaces are nothing new , but they raise ethical concerns Neuralink and Musk are not the only ones interested in brain-machine interfaces .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at work on its own brain-machine interface research with the University of California San Francisco .
The company has its eye on creating a “ hands-free ” way of communicating with computers and has shared some very preliminary results .
Last year , Facebook purchased CTRL-Labs , a startup that developed technology that measures neuron activity through a wearable worn on the arm , in order to control digital activity .
Then there ’ s ongoing medical research , which is more common than you might think .
“ This is something that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , of Carnegie Mellon ’ s Neuroscience Institute , told Recode .
“ There are clinical trials ongoing right now where quadriplegic patients have electrodes implanted in their brains , and they use those electrodes and the neural activity recorded on those electrodes to control external devices , such as cursors on computer screens or robotic arms.
” In fact , some of the first medical research into such technology came in the second half of the 20th century , and to some extent , brain-machine interfaces currently exist with limited capabilities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ deep brain stimulation and what ’ s called transcranial magnetic stimulation , which , according to the Mayo Clinic , uses “ magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain , ” which can be used to treat patients with depression .
In the early 2000s came BrainGate , an experimental device that uses an array of electrodes to essentially translate the desire to move limbs from the brain to a device , which is still being researched .
The FDA in 2013 approved a system called the RNS Simulator that fires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop seizures in some patients with epilepsy .
Already , there are some rudimentary commercial devices that do things one could loosely compare to what a brain-machine interface does .
There are headbands that claim to use EEGs to measure your brain activity and then use that data to do anything from enhancing meditation to piloting a drone .
These applications are far from the technology Neuralink aims to provide , but they may hint at what our future could look like : Two years ago , DARPA used an experimental brain-computer interface @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a paralyzed person to navigate simulated aircraft .
“ The idea of sort of sending complex thoughts wirelessly around the world is far , far , far away beyond our lifetime , ” said Tim Marler , a senior research engineer at RAND .
“ This is definitely not science fiction .
It will be mature and practical and commercial eventually , but there ’ s a lot of work to be done still.
” There is a huge technical divide between what ’ s currently possible in today ’ s research laboratories @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requires devices that can handle a significant amount of information going in and out of the brain .
One broader hope for brain-machine-interface technology is that it could ultimately help people with paralysis to complete daily tasks on their own .
As Chase , from Carnegie Mellon , explained , “ The biggest thing these patients want is independence ; this technology has the potential to offer them that.
” “ As we go deeper into this project , we ’ re asking ourselves : what is it going to be like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gon na have to think in a different way to send and receive ideas ?
” remarked Mehin , the designer .
“ Are you gon na have to train your brain to think a certain way ?
What ’ s it gon na be like to receive information ?
” But in addition to the technological challenges , the development of brain-machine interfaces also ventures into uncharted ethical and legal territory .
On Thursday , the government-funded think tank RAND issued a report on the need for policies around the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where the technology could introduce new concerns like widespread hacking .
Of course , with devices that can essentially strip data out of your own mind — including about peoples ’ psychological and emotional states — the privacy implications of brain-machine interfaces are also enormous .
“ If brain-reading devices have the ability to read the content of thoughts , in the years to come governments will be interested in using this tech for interrogations and investigations , ” neuroscience-focused researcher Marcello Ienca told Vox last year .
The list of challenges goes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : a world in which this technology is only available to the wealthy , creating an extreme technological divide .
And then there are the unanticipated health risks of , you know , surgically inserting computer hardware into human brains .
While there ’ s no reason to worry too much about that right now , Neuralink ’ s next big announcement is a sign that the idea of connecting human brains to computers on a more regular basis is quickly becoming a reality .
Update 7:00pm ET : This piece has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s demo .
Open Sourced is made possible by Omidyar Network .
All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

At a Friday event, Elon Musk revealed more details about his mysterious neuroscience company Neuralink and its plans to connect computers to human brains. While the development of this futuristic-sounding tech is still in its early stages, the presentation was expected to demonstrate the second version of a small, robotic device that inserts tiny electrode threads through the skull and into the brain. Musk said ahead of the event he would “show neurons firing in real-time. The matrix in the matrix.”
And he did just that. At the event, Musk showed off several pigs that had prototypes of the neural links implanted in their head, and machinery that was tracking those pigs’ brain activity in real time. The billionaire also announced the Food and Drug Administration had awarded the company a breakthrough device authorization, which can help expedite research on a medical device.
Like building underground car tunnels and sending private rockets to Mars, this Musk-backed endeavor is incredibly ambitious, but Neuralink builds on years of research into brain-machine interfaces. A brain-machine interface is technology that allows for a device, like a computer, to interact and communicate with a brain. Neuralink, in particular, aims to build an incredibly powerful brain-machine interface, a device with the power to handle lots of data, that can be inserted in a relatively simple surgery. Its short-term goal is to build a device that can help people with specific health conditions.
The actual status of Neuralink’s research has been somewhat murky, and Friday’s big announcement happened as ex-employees complain of internal chaos at the company. Musk has already said the project allowed a monkey to control a computer device with its mind, and as the New York Times reported in 2019, Neuralink had demonstrated a system with 1,500 electrodes connected to a lab rat. Since then, Musk has hinted at the company’s progress (at times on Twitter), though those involved have generally been close-lipped about the status of the research.
Musk opened Friday’s event by emphasizing the wide variety of spinal and neurological conditions — including seizures, paralysis, brain damage, and depression — that Neuralink technology could help treat.
“These can all be solved with an implantable neural link,” said Musk. “The neurons are like wiring, and you kind of need an electronic thing to solve an electronic problem.”
But it’s worth highlighting that Musk wants Neuralink to do far more than treat specific health conditions. He sees the technology as an opportunity to build a widely available brain-computer interface for consumers, which he thinks could help humans keep pace with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence.
So while modest, Neuralink’s research already foreshadows how this technology could one day change life as we know it. At the same time, it’s a reminder that the potential, eventual merging of humans with computers is destined to introduce a wide range of ethical and social questions that we should probably start thinking about now.
Neuralink wants to link your brain with computers, but that will take a while
Founded in 2016, Neuralink is a neuroscience technology company focused on building systems with super-thin threads that carry electrodes. When implanted into a brain, these threads would form a high-capacity channel for a computer to communicate with the brain, a system supposed to be much more powerful than the existing brain-machine interfaces being researched.
One major barrier to inserting these incredibly tiny wires, which are thinner than a strand of human hair, is actually getting them past the skull and into the brain. That’s why Neuralink is also developing an incredibly small robot that connects the electrode to humans through surgery that’s about as intensive as a Lasik eye procedure. On Friday, Musk outlined how the company hopes to do the procedure without general anesthesia in a single-day hospital stay. That’s the goal at least, and would represent a huge leap forward from previous brain-machine interfaces, which have required more invasive surgeries.
“We’ve been connecting forms of computers to brains for 20 or 30 years already,” Nolan Williams, the director of Stanford’s Brain Stimulation Lab, told Recode, referencing deep stimulation used for patients with Parkinson’s as one example of connecting a brain and a computer.
“The brain itself uses certain frequencies and certain kinds of electrical thresholding to communicate with itself,” Williams explained. “Your brain is a series of circuits that kind of intercommunicate and communicate between themselves.”
Essentially, a brain-machine interface can use the electricity the brain already uses to function along with a series of electrodes to connect the brain with a machine. Neuralink cites previous examples in which humans have used electrodes to control cursors and robotic limbs with their minds as the basis for its system. But what’s novel about Neuralink’s plan is making the process of connecting a device with the brain minimal, while also massively increasing the number of electrodes engaged. The company wants to make brain-machine interfaces not only easier to install but also more powerful.
As the focus of Friday’s event, Musk showed what the second generation of that robot will look like: a large white structure with five degrees of freedom.
“The robot is a super complicated, highly-precise machine which is able to both capture your brain and then with almost a sewing machine-like, micro-precise needle and thread, place the neural threads in the exact right location based on the surgeon decisions around what the safe locations are for the threads to be inserted,” Afshin Mehin, a designer and founder of the firm Woke, which worked on the robot’s outer device that holds the needle, told Recode.
The machine operates at a very small scale, and Neuralink hopes to expand its capabilities. For instance, the current robot has a 150 micrometer gripper, and an even tinier needle — less than 40 micrometers — which can “grasp the implant’s threads then precisely insert each into the cortex while avoiding visible vasculature,” according to Neuralink robotics director Ian O’Hara. He added in an emailed statement that, while the robot currently handles only the insertion of the threads, Neuralink is working to expand the robot’s role in surgery to increase the number of patients it can help and make the procedure shorter.
Musk said that, in the past year, Neuralink simplified its plans for a wearable device that connects to the threads implanted in the user’s brain. While the first generation of this device would have been installed behind a person’s ear, the newest version is a small, coin-size device that would sit under the top of their skull.
“It’s kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires,” explained Musk, who compared the device to a smart watch.
The research is still in early stages and, as it advances, will likely require focusing on how the technology can help people with specific, severe health conditions first, according to Stanford neurosurgery professor Maheen Adamson. While the medical applications of such technology could be wide-ranging, moving it from its current, nascent state will require the close oversight of the Food and Drug Administration, which would not comment specifically on Neuralink.
Related Why Elon Musk fears artificial intelligence
Again, Neuralink’s ultimate plans will go beyond treating specific conditions. The company has said it hopes to allow people to “preserve and enhance” their brains and to “create a well-aligned future.” While that might not sound like a particularly pressing need to the average person, the project fits into Musk’s long-standing concerns about artificial intelligence. Musk has previously said the technology could be more dangerous than nuclear weapons, and warned that AI could become too powerful, too quickly, preventing humans from keeping it in check.
The ultimate goal for Neuralink, Musk explained at a 2019 launch event, is a “full brain-machine interface” that will achieve a “symbiosis with artificial intelligence.” But again, that is still far off.
Brain-machine interfaces are nothing new, but they raise ethical concerns
Neuralink and Musk are not the only ones interested in brain-machine interfaces. Facebook, for instance, is hard at work on its own brain-machine interface research with the University of California San Francisco. The company has its eye on creating a “hands-free” way of communicating with computers and has shared some very preliminary results. Last year, Facebook purchased CTRL-Labs, a startup that developed technology that measures neuron activity through a wearable worn on the arm, in order to control digital activity.
Then there’s ongoing medical research, which is more common than you might think.
“This is something that is done today,” Steven Chase, of Carnegie Mellon’s Neuroscience Institute, told Recode. “There are clinical trials ongoing right now where quadriplegic patients have electrodes implanted in their brains, and they use those electrodes and the neural activity recorded on those electrodes to control external devices, such as cursors on computer screens or robotic arms.”
In fact, some of the first medical research into such technology came in the second half of the 20th century, and to some extent, brain-machine interfaces currently exist with limited capabilities. The 1980s saw the invention of both deep brain stimulation and what’s called transcranial magnetic stimulation, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, uses “magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain,” and can be used to treat patients with depression.
In the early 2000s came BrainGate, an experimental device that uses an array of electrodes to essentially translate the desire to move limbs from the brain to a device, which is still being researched. The FDA in 2013 approved a system called the RNS Simulator that fires small electrical signals into the brain to stop seizures in some patients with epilepsy.
Already, there are some rudimentary commercial devices that do things one could loosely compare to what a brain-machine interface does. There are headbands that claim to use EEGs to measure your brain activity and then use that data to do anything from enhancing meditation to piloting a drone. These applications are far from the technology Neuralink aims to provide, but they may hint at what our future could look like: Two years ago, DARPA used an experimental brain-computer interface, a surgical microchip, that allowed a paralyzed person to navigate simulated aircraft.
“The idea of sort of sending complex thoughts wirelessly around the world is far, far, far away beyond our lifetime,” said Tim Marler, a senior research engineer at RAND. “This is definitely not science fiction. It will be mature and practical and commercial eventually, but there’s a lot of work to be done still.”
There is a huge technical divide between what’s currently possible in today’s research laboratories and the concept Musk envisions, which requires devices that can handle a significant amount of information going in and out of the brain. One broader hope for brain-machine-interface technology is that it could ultimately help people with paralysis to complete daily tasks on their own. As Chase, from Carnegie Mellon, explained, “The biggest thing these patients want is independence; this technology has the potential to offer them that.”
“As we go deeper into this project, we’re asking ourselves: what is it going to be like to have a thought-based interface? Are you gonna have to think in a different way to send and receive ideas?” remarked Mehin, the designer. “Are you gonna have to train your brain to think a certain way? What’s it gonna be like to receive information?”
But in addition to the technological challenges, the development of brain-machine interfaces also ventures into uncharted ethical and legal territory. On Thursday, the government-funded think tank RAND issued a report on the need for policies around the use of brain-machine interfaces within the military context, where the technology could introduce new concerns like widespread hacking. Of course, with devices that could essentially strip data out of your own mind — including about peoples’ psychological and emotional states — the privacy implications of brain-machine interfaces are also enormous.
“If brain-reading devices have the ability to read the content of thoughts, in the years to come governments will be interested in using this tech for interrogations and investigations,” neuroscience-focused researcher Marcello Ienca told Vox last year.
The list of challenges goes on. Chase raises another concerning scenario: a world in which this technology is only available to the wealthy, creating an extreme technological divide. And then there are the unanticipated health risks of, you know, surgically inserting computer hardware into human brains.
While there’s no reason to worry too much about that right now, Neuralink’s next big announcement is a sign that the idea of connecting human brains to computers on a more regular basis is quickly becoming a reality.
Update Tuesday, September 1, 6:15 ET: This piece has been updated with additional details from Neuralink.
Open Sourced is made possible by Omidyar Network. All Open Sourced content is editorially independent and produced by our journalists.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-28--One Good Thing: After the NBA walkout, the movie of the week is Netflix’s High Flying Bird

One Good Thing is Vox ’ s recommendations feature .
In each edition , find one more thing from the world of culture that we highly recommend .
At the end of High Flying Bird , a rookie NBA player receives a gift bestowed to him by his former agent : 1969 ’ s seminal The Revolt of the Black Athlete , by sociologist and civil rights activist Harry Edwards .
It is then that the full meaning of Steven Soderbergh ’ s unconventional sports drama , released on Netflix in February 2019 , becomes clear .
In a crisp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues of labor and class , of dreams lost and found , of the pressure to deliver when millions of dollars , livelihoods and legacies , are on the line .
But it is also a film about Black athlete empowerment .
That makes it unusual for a Soderbergh picture ; it ’ s one of the director ’ s few films with a non-white protagonist .
High Flying Bird was written by Tarell Alvin McCraney , who helped adapt his own stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue into the Best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Flying Bird possesses that film ’ s same clarity about the predicament of Black people in America and likewise conveys its weighty themes with uncanny subtlety .
And so on top of being a slyly funny and consistently engaging sports spin on more traditional legal dramas , High Flying Bird also feels especially resonant in the days after NBA players stopped playoff games in an unprecedented protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha , Wisconsin .
The circumstances of the plot could not be more different than the situation the NBA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is currently completing its season in a Disney World bubble during a pandemic .
This week , after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin , players decided not to play their scheduled games to send a message to the league , especially its largely white owners , about the need to be politically engaged .
In the film , the inciting incident is more mundane : The NBA has come to a standstill because of a contract dispute between the players union and the owners .
Sports agent Ray Burke , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , must figure out how to tide over his new client , a promising rookie named Erick Scott , and end the lockout .
Yet the same power dynamic that led to this week ’ s extraordinary events , in which boycotting players persuaded their owners to turn basketball arenas into voting centers , is essential to the film ’ s narrative .
Burke explains in the opening scene the leverage that his client , as a star player-in-waiting , enjoys over his much more monied employers : “ In order to move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need your services .
Too much money at stake.
” The story that follows is told with the kind of cinematic authenticity that typifies most of Soderbergh ’ s later work .
The fictional narrative is intercut by interviews of real NBA players explaining the difficult transition to professional sports , when teenagers a year out of high school and too young to drink receive contracts worth tens of millions of dollars .
The film was shot on iPhones ( with an anamorphic lens attached ) to bring you to the table at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where a critical meeting takes place .
It possesses a propulsive energy thanks to the dialogue of McCraney ’ s script and Soderbergh ’ s editing .
On one level , watching Burke , Sonja Sohn ’ s players union president , and Zazie Beetz ’ s hypercompetent assistant try to outmaneuver one another and the NBA , personified by a smarmy attorney played by Kyle McLaughlin , is a breeze .
They are smart people , who care about their jobs and do them well , with a knack for the withering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Snowfall , who plays Burke ’ s rookie client , convincingly conveys both the reckless ego and the insecurity of an 18-year-old about to become unthinkably rich and famous .
But the racial politics are never far from the surface .
In an early scene , Bill Duke ’ s wizened coach reminds Burke of why the NBA integrated Black players in the first place : The Harlem Globetrotters had become so popular that NBA owners worried they would be supplanted by a form of basketball played , and controlled , by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a game we play better , ” Duke ’ s character says .
“ They invented a game on top of a game.
” But the players still hold powerful cards .
Indirectly , Duke ’ s history lesson gives Burke the inspiration he ’ ll need to help the NBA players use their leverage against the league , get the contract dispute settled , and start the games back up again .
It ’ s in the film ’ s opening scene that Burke hands Scott a wrapped copy of The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it as “ a Bible ” of sorts .
But it ’ s not until the end that Beetz ’ s character opens it for him , starts reading it herself , and tells Scott : “ You need to read this.
” These are some of the words the rookie would have read in Edwards ’ s book , from a 2016 Vice profile of the author : “ We had learned the use of power–the power to be gained from exploiting the white man ’ s economic and almost religious involvement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Revolt of the Black Athlete .
“ The revolt of the black athlete in America as a phase of the overall black liberation movement is as legitimate as the sit-ins , the freedom rides , or any other manifestation of Afro-American efforts to gain freedom.
” “ The goals of the revolt likewise are the same as those of any other legitimate phase of the movement–equality , justice , the regaining of black dignity lost during three hundred years of abject slavery , and the attainment of the basic human and civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the concept of American democracy.
” It was those precepts that the NBA players of our world put to use this week .
Edwards spoke highly of their unprecedented protest and urged them to work toward concrete ends .
On Friday , after being advised by Edwards among others , the NBA players union announced the deal it had reached with the league ’ s owners to end the boycott and resume play .
The agreement included a commitment to convert arenas into voting centers and a pledge to spend money on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 2020 election .
“ The athletes who are boycotting today with the NBA are sending a message : We are serious about this , ” Edwards told Yahoo !
Sports .
“ Stop killing us !
It ’ s more important that we deal with that than we play a basketball game and entertain you out here .
Stop killing us.
” Pro basketball affords Black Americans , disadvantaged and discounted in so many other parts of American political life , an unparalleled platform .
That is something the characters in High @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBA today understand well .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

One Good Thing is Vox’s recommendations feature. In each edition, find one more thing from the world of culture that we highly recommend.
At the end of High Flying Bird, a rookie NBA player receives a gift bestowed to him by his former agent: 1969’s seminal The Revolt of the Black Athlete, by sociologist and civil rights activist Harry Edwards.
It is then that the full meaning of Steven Soderbergh’s unconventional sports drama, released on Netflix in February 2019, becomes clear. In a crisp 90 minutes, the film covers thorny issues of labor and class, of dreams lost and found, of the pressure to deliver when millions of dollars, livelihoods and legacies, are on the line.
But it is also a film about Black athlete empowerment. That makes it unusual for a Soderbergh picture; it’s one of the director’s few films with a non-white protagonist. High Flying Bird was written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, who helped adapt his own stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue into the Best Picture winner Moonlight in 2016. High Flying Bird possesses that film’s same clarity about the predicament of Black people in America and likewise conveys its weighty themes with uncanny subtlety.
And so on top of being a slyly funny and consistently engaging sports spin on more traditional legal dramas, High Flying Bird also feels especially resonant in the days after NBA players stopped playoff games in an unprecedented protest following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The circumstances of the plot could not be more different than the situation the NBA finds itself in today. The NBA is currently completing its season in a Disney World bubble during a pandemic. This week, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, players decided not to play their scheduled games to send a message to the league, especially its largely white owners, about the need to be politically engaged.
In the film, the inciting incident is more mundane: The NBA has come to a standstill because of a contract dispute between the players union and the owners. Sports agent Ray Burke, played by Moonlight’s Andre Holland, must figure out how to tide over his new client, a promising rookie named Erick Scott, and end the lockout.
Yet the same power dynamic that led to this week’s extraordinary events, in which boycotting players persuaded their owners to turn basketball arenas into voting centers, is essential to the film’s narrative.
Burke explains in the opening scene the leverage that his client, as a star player-in-waiting, enjoys over his much more monied employers: “In order to move merch and inspire rap lyrics, they need your services. Too much money at stake.”
The story that follows is told with the kind of cinematic authenticity that typifies most of Soderbergh’s later work. The fictional narrative is intercut by interviews of real NBA players explaining the difficult transition to professional sports, when teenagers a year out of high school and too young to drink receive contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. The film was shot on iPhones (with an anamorphic lens attached) to bring you to the table at a high-end restaurant and inside the cab where a critical meeting takes place. It possesses a propulsive energy thanks to the dialogue of McCraney’s script and Soderbergh’s editing.
On one level, watching Burke, Sonja Sohn’s players union president, and Zazie Beetz’s hypercompetent assistant try to outmaneuver one another and the NBA, personified by a smarmy attorney played by Kyle McLaughlin, is a breeze. They are smart people, who care about their jobs and do them well, with a knack for the withering one-liner. Melvin Gregg of American Vandal and Snowfall, who plays Burke’s rookie client, convincingly conveys both the reckless ego and the insecurity of an 18-year-old about to become unthinkably rich and famous.
But the racial politics are never far from the surface. In an early scene, Bill Duke’s wizened coach reminds Burke of why the NBA integrated Black players in the first place: The Harlem Globetrotters had become so popular that NBA owners worried they would be supplanted by a form of basketball played, and controlled, by Black athletes.
“They wanted control of a game we play better,” Duke’s character says. “They invented a game on top of a game.”
But the players still hold powerful cards. Indirectly, Duke’s history lesson gives Burke the inspiration he’ll need to help the NBA players use their leverage against the league, get the contract dispute settled, and start the games back up again.
It’s in the film’s opening scene that Burke hands Scott a wrapped copy of The Revolt of the Black Athlete, describing it as “a Bible” of sorts. But it’s not until the end that Beetz’s character opens it for him, starts reading it herself, and tells Scott: “You need to read this.”
These are some of the words the rookie would have read in Edwards’s book, from a 2016 Vice profile of the author:
“We had learned the use of power–the power to be gained from exploiting the white man’s economic and almost religious involvement in athletics,” Edwards wrote in The Revolt of the Black Athlete. “The revolt of the black athlete in America as a phase of the overall black liberation movement is as legitimate as the sit-ins, the freedom rides, or any other manifestation of Afro-American efforts to gain freedom.” “The goals of the revolt likewise are the same as those of any other legitimate phase of the movement–equality, justice, the regaining of black dignity lost during three hundred years of abject slavery, and the attainment of the basic human and civil rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the concept of American democracy.”
It was those precepts that the NBA players of our world put to use this week.
Edwards spoke highly of their unprecedented protest and urged them to work toward concrete ends. On Friday, after being advised by Edwards among others, the NBA players union announced the deal it had reached with the league’s owners to end the boycott and resume play. The agreement included a commitment to convert arenas into voting centers and a pledge to spend money on advertising to encourage civic engagement ahead of the 2020 election.
“The athletes who are boycotting today with the NBA are sending a message: We are serious about this,” Edwards told Yahoo! Sports. “Stop killing us! It’s more important that we deal with that than we play a basketball game and entertain you out here. Stop killing us.”
Pro basketball affords Black Americans, disadvantaged and discounted in so many other parts of American political life, an unparalleled platform. That is something the characters in High Flying Bird and the players in the NBA today understand well.
High Flying Bird is streaming on Netflix.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-28--The RNC weaponized exhaustion

The RNC weaponized exhaustion

The most consistent theme of Donald Trump ’ s Republican National Convention wasn ’ t that Joe Biden was a puppet for radicals .
It wasn ’ t even that rioters and looters are coming to your home and only Trump can protect you from the radical left .
The clear theme of the RNC was a flagrant and brutal disregard for the truth .
The first night of the RNC featured more false and misleading claims than all four nights of the DNC put together , according to a CNN fact-check .
The second night starred an anti-abortion activist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parenthood had been exposed as a fraud more than 10 years ago .
On the third night , Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the murder of a police officer by a far-right extremist was a crime committed by left-wing rioters .
It was all capped off by President Trump ’ s Thursday night speech , a farrago of falsehoods that even veteran Trump fact-checkers found stunning .
“ Basically everything Trump says about Biden ’ s proposals is false , ” the Washington Post ’ s Philip Bump writes .
In a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dale spent three minutes debunking the speech at a rapid clip — and still didn ’ t cover all the lies : Writing honestly about the RNC requires centering the dishonesty .
But adequately describing the sheer breadth and brazenness of the lying that was on display these past four days would take volumes .
And after a certain point , the whole thing reaches diminishing returns : Some depressing political science research suggests that pointing out when Trump is lying doesn ’ t actually change the way voters feel about him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the RNC , and maybe the entire Trump presidency .
If you just lie and break legal rules frequently enough and brazenly enough , the sheer volume of misconduct will overwhelm the systems that are designed to check them .
You may have noticed that the White House was a main character at this week ’ s RNC .
It was the backdrop to President Trump ’ s address and the site where he filmed a naturalization ceremony for five immigrants without all of the new Americans ’ consent .
No modern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this during a convention before , for the simple reason that it is illegal .
The Hatch Act of 1939 puts strict limits on federal employees ’ ability to participate in electioneering , including a ban on using their “ official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.
” While the president and the vice president are exempt from the Hatch Act , the huge numbers of White House staff necessary to plan and execute a mass political rally at the White House are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dead letter : This year , federal employees have lost their jobs and been banned from public service for offenses far less severe than turning the White House into the site of a political pageant .
But there ’ s no sign that anyone in the Trump administration will suffer any consequences for their behavior — and worse , they know it .
“ Some of Mr. Trump ’ s aides privately scoff at the Hatch Act and say they take pride in violating its regulations , ” the New York Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Karni report .
Trump gets away with this not despite the severity of the abuses but because of them .
When the wrongdoing is so flagrant and so widespread , so routinized in the functioning of government , it becomes impossible to separate the misconduct from the Trump administration itself .
What is the Office of the Special Counsel , the federal agency that handles Hatch Act violations , supposed to do — kick out the entire White House staff ?
This same tactic also works to keep the Republican Party in line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a president ’ s party might be willing to criticize isolated instances of misconduct by the president or his staff .
But with Trump , the dishonesty and criminality are so baked in that the GOP can ’ t realistically go after it without discrediting the entirety of his presidency .
So they ’ re faced with a choice : undermine their own hold on power or go along with the degradation .
It ’ s very clear they ’ ve chosen the second .
“ One notable thing about Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was in his prepared text , ” writes Dale , the CNN fact-checker .
“ In general , the vast majority of his lying as president has been ad-libbed .
In campaign season , they start putting the lies in the scripts.
” Sen. Tom Cotton , widely seen as both Trump ’ s pick for second-term secretary of defense and a leading 2024 Republican presidential hopeful , gave a speech on the fourth night defending Trump ’ s foreign policy record and attacking Biden ’ s .
The speech was full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s veteran foreign policy columnist , writes that Cotton “ rat-a-tat-tatted a dozen points of contrast between Trump and Joe Biden — all of them baseless.
” Immediately after the speech , Cotton received predictably negative reviews from fact-checkers .
This was his response : Of course , politicians have always lied and misled the public .
But in the past , they generally would try to avoid the Trumpian volume of blatant and overt falsehood , favoring clever spin and shading over outright lies whenever possible .
Fact-checking worked because , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by being called out as liars .
But the Trump-Cotton Republican Party doesn ’ t care about being shamed .
They have become so disdainful of the essentials of political practice in a democratic society — a baseline attachment to the rule of law and honesty in political discourse — that they mock the very idea of accountability on these questions .
They count on the sheer volume of misinformation — “ flooding the zone with shit , ” in Steve Bannon ’ s memorable phrase — to overwhelm our political institutions ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short , they count on making us all exhausted — beating us over the head so heavily and consistently with lies that we feel abused into treating them like a normal party , debating normal things like whether their “ law and order ” message will resonate with median white voters in Wisconsin .
But this convention was rotten , from top to bottom .
Engaging with it as a serious political event , rather than an extended exercise in dishonesty and lawbreaking , is to grant it legitimacy that it does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

The most consistent theme of Donald Trump’s Republican National Convention wasn’t that Joe Biden was a puppet for radicals. It wasn’t even that rioters and looters are coming to your home and only Trump can protect you from the radical left.
The clear theme of the RNC was a flagrant and brutal disregard for the truth.
The first night of the RNC featured more false and misleading claims than all four nights of the DNC put together, according to a CNN fact-check. The second night starred an anti-abortion activist whose tale about the horrors of Planned Parenthood had been exposed as a fraud more than 10 years ago. On the third night, Vice President Mike Pence suggested that the murder of a police officer by a far-right extremist was a crime committed by left-wing rioters. It was all capped off by President Trump’s Thursday night speech, a farrago of falsehoods that even veteran Trump fact-checkers found stunning.
“Basically everything Trump says about Biden’s proposals is false,” the Washington Post’s Philip Bump writes. In a tour-de-force segment, CNN’s Daniel Dale spent three minutes debunking the speech at a rapid clip — and still didn’t cover all the lies:
Hell of a thing to watch CNN's @ddale8 fact-check the cascade of lies from Trump's speech. pic.twitter.com/aRQuHf0qE5 — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 28, 2020
Writing honestly about the RNC requires centering the dishonesty. But adequately describing the sheer breadth and brazenness of the lying that was on display these past four days would take volumes. And after a certain point, the whole thing reaches diminishing returns: Some depressing political science research suggests that pointing out when Trump is lying doesn’t actually change the way voters feel about him.
And that’s the dark brilliance of the RNC, and maybe the entire Trump presidency. If you just lie and break legal rules frequently enough and brazenly enough, the sheer volume of misconduct will overwhelm the systems that are designed to check them.
The exhauster-in-chief
You may have noticed that the White House was a main character at this week’s RNC. It was the backdrop to President Trump’s address and the site where he filmed a naturalization ceremony for five immigrants without all of the new Americans’ consent.
No modern president has used the White House like this during a convention before, for the simple reason that it is illegal. The Hatch Act of 1939 puts strict limits on federal employees’ ability to participate in electioneering, including a ban on using their “official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.” While the president and the vice president are exempt from the Hatch Act, the huge numbers of White House staff necessary to plan and execute a mass political rally at the White House are not.
The Hatch Act is not a dead letter: This year, federal employees have lost their jobs and been banned from public service for offenses far less severe than turning the White House into the site of a political pageant. But there’s no sign that anyone in the Trump administration will suffer any consequences for their behavior — and worse, they know it. “Some of Mr. Trump’s aides privately scoff at the Hatch Act and say they take pride in violating its regulations,” the New York Times’s Michael M. Grynbaum and Annie Karni report.
Trump gets away with this not despite the severity of the abuses but because of them. When the wrongdoing is so flagrant and so widespread, so routinized in the functioning of government, it becomes impossible to separate the misconduct from the Trump administration itself. What is the Office of the Special Counsel, the federal agency that handles Hatch Act violations, supposed to do — kick out the entire White House staff?
This same tactic also works to keep the Republican Party in line. In the past, members of a president’s party might be willing to criticize isolated instances of misconduct by the president or his staff. But with Trump, the dishonesty and criminality are so baked in that the GOP can’t realistically go after it without discrediting the entirety of his presidency. So they’re faced with a choice: undermine their own hold on power or go along with the degradation.
It’s very clear they’ve chosen the second.
“One notable thing about Trump’s dishonesty last night: almost all of it was in his prepared text,” writes Dale, the CNN fact-checker. “In general, the vast majority of his lying as president has been ad-libbed. In campaign season, they start putting the lies in the scripts.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, widely seen as both Trump’s pick for second-term secretary of defense and a leading 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, gave a speech on the fourth night defending Trump’s foreign policy record and attacking Biden’s. The speech was full of lies; Fred Kaplan, Slate’s veteran foreign policy columnist, writes that Cotton “rat-a-tat-tatted a dozen points of contrast between Trump and Joe Biden — all of them baseless.”
Immediately after the speech, Cotton received predictably negative reviews from fact-checkers. This was his response:
I see your fact checks. I am not impressed. — Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) August 28, 2020
Of course, politicians have always lied and misled the public. But in the past, they generally would try to avoid the Trumpian volume of blatant and overt falsehood, favoring clever spin and shading over outright lies whenever possible. Fact-checking worked because, in theory, politicians could be shamed by being called out as liars.
But the Trump-Cotton Republican Party doesn’t care about being shamed. They have become so disdainful of the essentials of political practice in a democratic society — a baseline attachment to the rule of law and honesty in political discourse — that they mock the very idea of accountability on these questions. They count on the sheer volume of misinformation — “flooding the zone with shit,” in Steve Bannon’s memorable phrase — to overwhelm our political institutions’ ability to check their misbehavior.
In short, they count on making us all exhausted — beating us over the head so heavily and consistently with lies that we feel abused into treating them like a normal party, debating normal things like whether their “law and order” message will resonate with median white voters in Wisconsin.
But this convention was rotten, from top to bottom. Engaging with it as a serious political event, rather than an extended exercise in dishonesty and lawbreaking, is to grant it legitimacy that it does not deserve.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-28--The Short, Troubling Life of the Intentional Food Waste Meme

In a video that was posted on TikTok earlier this summer , a man is shown placing a watermelon on a chopping board .
As soon as it ’ s in position , he begins to hack at the fruit , segmenting the entire melon before throwing the pieces into a nearby waste bin .
He saves a single slice , removes a small chunk from it , then takes a bite before discarding the rest .
Like the other food waste videos posted by the same TikTok user , this one was uploaded without much context , leaving the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Despite its opacity , it was viewed over 13.5 million times ; when it made its way to Twitter a couple of weeks later , it became a meme that was used as a metaphor for situations like having your heart figuratively chopped into pieces during a breakup .
The memes got almost as much engagement as the original TikTok , but each time the video was tweeted with a funny caption to accompany it , it was met with the same negative reactions in the comments section : “ Wasting food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” was a representative response .
The video was just one example of a burgeoning social media genre : the intentional food waste meme .
Under captions like “ proper way to eat coleslaw , ” “ how to eat plantains 101 , ” or “ the best way to eat avocado ” are brief videos of people throwing those foods — which are almost always in perfect condition — in the trash .
They are a close cousin to the tweets that show photos of food used as a substitute for everyday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a painter ’ s palette , or the TikToks in which food is discarded in order to prank unsuspecting fast-food workers .
The origin of the intentional food waste meme is difficult to pin down , but it began to garner some attention and outrage in September 2019 , when a Twitter user posted a video of someone dumping an In-N-Out burger and fries in a waste bin .
The trend gained some steam earlier this year and eventually became a regular occurrence , especially during the first few weeks of COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fads seemed to spring up on a daily basis .
The memes recall the brand of absurdist humor popularized in the days of Vine , combining it with the strong opinions about food that people like to share on social media .
They also bring to mind the broader online trend of throwing ostensibly fine stuff in the trash to emphasize a person ’ s dislike for it .
Last year , people posted videos of themselves trashing their Juuls ; this year , people are throwing away food they can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thrown away for health reasons , food is being thrown away for seemingly no reason , something that ’ s made these videos more susceptible to criticism ; as one Twitter user wrote , “ Y ’ all late 90s and 2000s kids love wasting food for social media likes/clout .
Sad.
” That kind of feedback raises the following question : Why do trends like this gain any form of traction ?
Jamie Cohen , a meme enthusiast and digital culture expert , suggests that since memes and trends are designed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to extreme or absurd levels .
“ In the economy of attention , nearly anything that causes a reaction holds some sort of value to the creator — if one post results in engagement , they know how to use those techniques in further posts , ” he says via email .
“ Memes are referential , so their metaphors are supposed to be nuanced , but sometimes , memes like these [ the food waste memes ] are very specifically made to be a type of engagement bait — some people laugh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ either way , it worked.
” That said , he adds , “ the food waste trend is unfortunate because it ’ s waste for waste ’ s sake.
” Even though these videos mostly seem to be made by teenagers who have no particular agenda beyond doing dumb things on the internet , it ’ s difficult not to look at them and wince at the sight of fresh food being thrown away .
In the U.S. , $ 161 billion worth of food is wasted every year , while over 37 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ food .
The pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity , with many people losing their jobs and consequently turning to food banks to survive .
As a result , overwhelmed food banks are contending with families waiting in long lines and insufficient donations .
Against this backdrop , “ throwing away perfectly good food to make a point on social media contributes to the normalization of this waste culture , ” says Erin Hendrickson , a registered dietician and anti-food-waste advocate at No Waste Nutrition , “ even though these videos may appear to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course , it would be unreasonable to blame the global issue of food waste and the rapid rise in food insecurity on a video of a single avocado being thrown into the trash or a plate of crab legs dumped over a balcony to the ground .
But these posts portray an exploitation of a certain privilege : that of reliable access to good , healthy food — and the freedom to waste it in order to get attention on social media .
Are food waste videos worse than any other dumb thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That depends on who you ask and how you feel about the sight of someone unnecessarily throwing away food .
But whether you view it as a categorically Bad Thing or something more neutral , the intentional food waste trend , like most social media trends , will likely ( and hopefully ) be short-lived .
And in the meantime , here ’ s a helpful tip : Maybe don ’ t buy food you dislike .

In a video that was posted on TikTok earlier this summer, a man is shown placing a watermelon on a chopping board. As soon as it’s in position, he begins to hack at the fruit, segmenting the entire melon before throwing the pieces into a nearby waste bin. He saves a single slice, removes a small chunk from it, then takes a bite before discarding the rest.
Like the other food waste videos posted by the same TikTok user, this one was uploaded without much context, leaving the intent behind the video open to interpretation. Despite its opacity, it was viewed over 13.5 million times; when it made its way to Twitter a couple of weeks later, it became a meme that was used as a metaphor for situations like having your heart figuratively chopped into pieces during a breakup. The memes got almost as much engagement as the original TikTok, but each time the video was tweeted with a funny caption to accompany it, it was met with the same negative reactions in the comments section: “Wasting food for clout will never not be disgusting” was a representative response.
The video was just one example of a burgeoning social media genre: the intentional food waste meme. Under captions like “proper way to eat coleslaw,” “how to eat plantains 101,” or “the best way to eat avocado” are brief videos of people throwing those foods — which are almost always in perfect condition — in the trash. They are a close cousin to the tweets that show photos of food used as a substitute for everyday objects, such as a tortilla masquerading as a painter’s palette, or the TikToks in which food is discarded in order to prank unsuspecting fast-food workers.
The origin of the intentional food waste meme is difficult to pin down, but it began to garner some attention and outrage in September 2019, when a Twitter user posted a video of someone dumping an In-N-Out burger and fries in a waste bin. The trend gained some steam earlier this year and eventually became a regular occurrence, especially during the first few weeks of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when new social media fads seemed to spring up on a daily basis.
The memes recall the brand of absurdist humor popularized in the days of Vine, combining it with the strong opinions about food that people like to share on social media. They also bring to mind the broader online trend of throwing ostensibly fine stuff in the trash to emphasize a person’s dislike for it. Last year, people posted videos of themselves trashing their Juuls; this year, people are throwing away food they can’t stand. But if Juuls were being thrown away for health reasons, food is being thrown away for seemingly no reason, something that’s made these videos more susceptible to criticism; as one Twitter user wrote, “Y’all late 90s and 2000s kids love wasting food for social media likes/clout. Sad.”
That kind of feedback raises the following question: Why do trends like this gain any form of traction?
Jamie Cohen, a meme enthusiast and digital culture expert, suggests that since memes and trends are designed to create engagement, they often accelerate exponentially to extreme or absurd levels. “In the economy of attention, nearly anything that causes a reaction holds some sort of value to the creator — if one post results in engagement, they know how to use those techniques in further posts,” he says via email. “Memes are referential, so their metaphors are supposed to be nuanced, but sometimes, memes like these [the food waste memes] are very specifically made to be a type of engagement bait — some people laugh and some are super upset — but either way, it worked.” That said, he adds, “the food waste trend is unfortunate because it’s waste for waste’s sake.”
Even though these videos mostly seem to be made by teenagers who have no particular agenda beyond doing dumb things on the internet, it’s difficult not to look at them and wince at the sight of fresh food being thrown away. In the U.S., $161 billion worth of food is wasted every year, while over 37 million Americans struggle daily to get enough food. The pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity, with many people losing their jobs and consequently turning to food banks to survive. As a result, overwhelmed food banks are contending with families waiting in long lines and insufficient donations.
Against this backdrop, “throwing away perfectly good food to make a point on social media contributes to the normalization of this waste culture,” says Erin Hendrickson, a registered dietician and anti-food-waste advocate at No Waste Nutrition, “even though these videos may appear to be harmless at first glance.”
Of course, it would be unreasonable to blame the global issue of food waste and the rapid rise in food insecurity on a video of a single avocado being thrown into the trash or a plate of crab legs dumped over a balcony to the ground. But these posts portray an exploitation of a certain privilege: that of reliable access to good, healthy food — and the freedom to waste it in order to get attention on social media.
Are food waste videos worse than any other dumb thing that people do on the internet? That depends on who you ask and how you feel about the sight of someone unnecessarily throwing away food. But whether you view it as a categorically Bad Thing or something more neutral, the intentional food waste trend, like most social media trends, will likely (and hopefully) be short-lived. And in the meantime, here’s a helpful tip: Maybe don’t buy food you dislike.


vox--2020-08-28--The essential kindness of Bill and Ted

The essential kindness of Bill and Ted

For a long time , I had Bill and Ted mixed up in my head with the guys from Dumb and Dumber , who never really appealed to me .
That may explain why I had not participated in the former duo ’ s excellent adventure nor their bogus journey until earlier this summer .
But in June , faced with the impending release date of the third installment in the trilogy , Bill & Ted Face the Music — three decades after the originals — I queued up the 1989 film that started it all .
And to my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s so charmingly weird , emitting hormonal teenage boy stoner flick vibes while somehow remaining as pure as the driven snow .
It is about two best friends ( played by baby Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter , who remain BFFs to this day ) , joined at the hip and devoted to their terrible band Wyld Stallyns .
Inside of an hour and a half , they discover they are key to the fate of humanity , embark on a wild time-traveling ride facilitated by George Carlin and a beat-up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high school history presentation by collecting historical figures from the past ( in the aforementioned telephone booth , of course ) and bringing them to the present , and find out that they are destined to someday write the song that will unite the world and bring peace to the universe .
Bill and Ted play air guitar to celebrate their tiny victories .
They giggle over the number 69 .
They have oddly expansive vocabularies and eminently quotable catchphrases , one of which — “ Be Excellent to Each Other ” — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local movie theater when the pandemic shut it down in March .
I see it each time I go out for a run .
In the second movie , which came out in 1991 , Bill and Ted end up on a “ bogus journey ” that takes them , for whatever reason , to the afterlife — both hell and heaven .
It ’ s not particularly Dickensian or Miltonian , though it does feature a wholly unexpected extended riff on Ingmar Bergman ’ s The Seventh Seal .
The plot is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the smartest person in the universe to help them build good robot replicas of themselves to get rid of the bad robot replicas of themselves , which were sent from the future by a villain to ensure they don ’ t win the battle of the bands .
Along the way , they defeat Death , a.k.a .
the Grim Reaper , in a tournament of classic board games ( Battleship , Clue , a bonus round of Twister ) , and he becomes their reluctant companion and eventual bandmate .
You know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movies , which came out when I was in kindergarten and second grade , I marveled — as I often do when watching movies of the ’ 80s and early ’ 90s , like my recent Gremlins experience , which is another story for another day — at how splendidly nuts they are .
I don ’ t talk during movies , even at home , but I believe I repeated “ How did they pitch this movie ?
?
?
” several times during both Bill and Ted encounters .
Because how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ couple of good-natured teenaged doofuses who travel through time and alternate dimensions and play in a band , and both have a crush on the one kid ’ s stepmother , who by the second movie has left that kid ’ s father and married the other kid ’ s father , and also there are slightly incompetent killer robots ?
How do you get George Carlin into this movie ?
What exactly are you on when you invent the whole scenario ?
And how do you convince famously risk-averse Hollywood execs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not based on an existing intellectual property they ’ re sure has a built-in audience ?
I ’ m aware that my perspective is deeply colored by my age ; I ’ m almost 37 , so for a sizable chunk of my adult moviegoing experience , franchises and sequels and reboots have been how Hollywood makes its big bucks .
And those movies have been safe , in two senses : They rarely take the risk of doing something unexpected , something that could turn off the audience or confuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the production company knows the audience is already there .
Bill & Ted Face the Music is as wonderfully weird as its predecessors , though it ’ s set 25 years later , when the dudes have daughters ( Thea and Billie , played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine ) and an old plot point returns .
Now is the time foretold in the first movie : They must write the song that will unite the world and save the future of humanity .
And in so doing , they set off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ space and alternate dimensions — revisiting many old jokes and haunts and pals — to make it all work before time runs out and reality collapses in on itself .
Bill & Ted Face the Music is just as sweet and funny as the originals , but it did strike me while I watched that there ’ s a good reason this movie got made : For all its originality , it , too , is another sequel , an intellectual property with a built-in fan base of those who made the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ago and those who ’ ve come to love them in the meantime .
( Also its stars , particularly Reeves , are a lot more well-known now . )
It ’ s very difficult to imagine the first installment in a studio comedy based on an original concept , especially a comedy that has the tone of this one , coming out today , at least in theaters .
But while that makes me sad , Bill and Ted make me happy .
A good reason to love these movies is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ characters ( admittedly with the exception of the aforementioned stepmother , who also is barely a character ) .
The dynamic duo , their formerly-medieval-princess wives , their daughters who are carbon copies of themselves , the humans of the future , the humans of the past — everyone is delightful .
Is it accurate ?
No , it ’ s a goofy , silly time-travel story .
But in contrast to other comedies where the leads are a bit dimwitted , the Bill and Ted movies are free of malice .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack guile ; when they are wronged , they quickly forgive ; they have no ulterior motives or devious plans .
All they want to do is play guitar , pass a history test , write a song , win a board game , make sure everyone is okay , and still be friends at the end of their lives .
I guess it makes sense that they save the world .
You can rent Bill & Ted Face the Music from FandangoNow , buy it from several different services , or see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wish .
Bill and Ted ’ s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted ’ s Bogus Journey are both available to digitally rent or purchase on services including iTunes and Amazon .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

For a long time, I had Bill and Ted mixed up in my head with the guys from Dumb and Dumber, who never really appealed to me. That may explain why I had not participated in the former duo’s excellent adventure nor their bogus journey until earlier this summer.
But in June, faced with the impending release date of the third installment in the trilogy, Bill & Ted Face the Music — three decades after the originals — I queued up the 1989 film that started it all.
And to my great joy, I loved it. It’s so charmingly weird, emitting hormonal teenage boy stoner flick vibes while somehow remaining as pure as the driven snow. It is about two best friends (played by baby Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, who remain BFFs to this day), joined at the hip and devoted to their terrible band Wyld Stallyns. Inside of an hour and a half, they discover they are key to the fate of humanity, embark on a wild time-traveling ride facilitated by George Carlin and a beat-up telephone booth, try to pass a high school history presentation by collecting historical figures from the past (in the aforementioned telephone booth, of course) and bringing them to the present, and find out that they are destined to someday write the song that will unite the world and bring peace to the universe.
Bill and Ted play air guitar to celebrate their tiny victories. They giggle over the number 69. They have oddly expansive vocabularies and eminently quotable catchphrases, one of which — “Be Excellent to Each Other” — was posted on the marquee on my local movie theater when the pandemic shut it down in March. I see it each time I go out for a run.
In the second movie, which came out in 1991, Bill and Ted end up on a “bogus journey” that takes them, for whatever reason, to the afterlife — both hell and heaven. It’s not particularly Dickensian or Miltonian, though it does feature a wholly unexpected extended riff on Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. The plot is simple: They just have to find the smartest person in the universe to help them build good robot replicas of themselves to get rid of the bad robot replicas of themselves, which were sent from the future by a villain to ensure they don’t win the battle of the bands. Along the way, they defeat Death, a.k.a. the Grim Reaper, in a tournament of classic board games (Battleship, Clue, a bonus round of Twister), and he becomes their reluctant companion and eventual bandmate. You know, average adventure stuff.
Watching these movies, which came out when I was in kindergarten and second grade, I marveled — as I often do when watching movies of the ’80s and early ’90s, like my recent Gremlins experience, which is another story for another day — at how splendidly nuts they are. I don’t talk during movies, even at home, but I believe I repeated “How did they pitch this movie???” several times during both Bill and Ted encounters. Because how would you pitch a movie about a couple of good-natured teenaged doofuses who travel through time and alternate dimensions and play in a band, and both have a crush on the one kid’s stepmother, who by the second movie has left that kid’s father and married the other kid’s father, and also there are slightly incompetent killer robots? How do you get George Carlin into this movie? What exactly are you on when you invent the whole scenario? And how do you convince famously risk-averse Hollywood execs to agree to something so wackadoodle when it’s not based on an existing intellectual property they’re sure has a built-in audience?
I’m aware that my perspective is deeply colored by my age; I’m almost 37, so for a sizable chunk of my adult moviegoing experience, franchises and sequels and reboots have been how Hollywood makes its big bucks. And those movies have been safe, in two senses: They rarely take the risk of doing something unexpected, something that could turn off the audience or confuse them. And they are greenlit because the production company knows the audience is already there.
Bill & Ted Face the Music is as wonderfully weird as its predecessors, though it’s set 25 years later, when the dudes have daughters (Thea and Billie, played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine) and an old plot point returns. Now is the time foretold in the first movie: They must write the song that will unite the world and save the future of humanity. And in so doing, they set off on a wild ride through time and space and alternate dimensions — revisiting many old jokes and haunts and pals — to make it all work before time runs out and reality collapses in on itself.
Bill & Ted Face the Music is just as sweet and funny as the originals, but it did strike me while I watched that there’s a good reason this movie got made: For all its originality, it, too, is another sequel, an intellectual property with a built-in fan base of those who made the first two movies a box office hit decades ago and those who’ve come to love them in the meantime. (Also its stars, particularly Reeves, are a lot more well-known now.) It’s very difficult to imagine the first installment in a studio comedy based on an original concept, especially a comedy that has the tone of this one, coming out today, at least in theaters.
But while that makes me sad, Bill and Ted make me happy. A good reason to love these movies is that they’re incredibly kind to their characters (admittedly with the exception of the aforementioned stepmother, who also is barely a character). The dynamic duo, their formerly-medieval-princess wives, their daughters who are carbon copies of themselves, the humans of the future, the humans of the past — everyone is delightful.
Is it accurate? No, it’s a goofy, silly time-travel story. But in contrast to other comedies where the leads are a bit dimwitted, the Bill and Ted movies are free of malice. They never humiliate their characters. Their heroes lack guile; when they are wronged, they quickly forgive; they have no ulterior motives or devious plans. All they want to do is play guitar, pass a history test, write a song, win a board game, make sure everyone is okay, and still be friends at the end of their lives. I guess it makes sense that they save the world.
You can rent Bill & Ted Face the Music from FandangoNow, buy it from several different services, or see in your local theater, if you wish. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey are both available to digitally rent or purchase on services including iTunes and Amazon.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-28--This September, the Vox Book Club is reading Elif Batuman’s The Idiot

This fall ’ s back-to-school season is going to look very strange .
But one of the things books are good at is giving us a semblance of normalcy in strange times , and — if they ’ re really good books — poking a little at what we all thought was normal to begin with .
That ’ s why this September , the Vox Book Club is reading The Idiot by Elif Batuman .
The Idiot was one of my favorite novels of 2017 , a weird and funny and tender book about communication and semiotics and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a campus novel set at Harvard in 1995 , during the cultural moment when email was just becoming a thing .
Freshman student Selin is struggling to figure out how to perform as the kind of person Harvard freshmen are supposed to be : She has to consciously remember to pretend she can ’ t resist chocolate , and when her roommate tells her to buy an Einstein poster , instead of buying the one where Einstein ’ s sticking out his tongue , she buys just a portrait of Einstein , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and keeps explaining his flaws to her the whole year .
One day , Selin strikes up an email correspondence with a boy she ’ s barely spoken to , and their relationship begins to develop in strange and unexpected ways .
This one ’ s a real language nerd book , and it ’ s going to be incredibly fun to talk about .
We can get into semiotics !
We can discuss how incredibly weird a lot of the stuff we are all taught is normal actually is !
Subscribe to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t miss anything , and let ’ s get started .
Friday , September 11 : First discussion post on The Idiot Friday , September 25 : Second discussion post on The Idiot Wednesday , September 30 : Virtual live event , with details to come In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

This fall’s back-to-school season is going to look very strange. But one of the things books are good at is giving us a semblance of normalcy in strange times, and — if they’re really good books — poking a little at what we all thought was normal to begin with. That’s why this September, the Vox Book Club is reading The Idiot by Elif Batuman.
The Idiot was one of my favorite novels of 2017, a weird and funny and tender book about communication and semiotics and how absolutely bizarre language is. It’s a campus novel set at Harvard in 1995, during the cultural moment when email was just becoming a thing. Freshman student Selin is struggling to figure out how to perform as the kind of person Harvard freshmen are supposed to be: She has to consciously remember to pretend she can’t resist chocolate, and when her roommate tells her to buy an Einstein poster, instead of buying the one where Einstein’s sticking out his tongue, she buys just a portrait of Einstein, so everyone thinks she stans for him and keeps explaining his flaws to her the whole year. One day, Selin strikes up an email correspondence with a boy she’s barely spoken to, and their relationship begins to develop in strange and unexpected ways.
This one’s a real language nerd book, and it’s going to be incredibly fun to talk about. We can get into semiotics! We can discuss how incredibly weird a lot of the stuff we are all taught is normal actually is! Subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss anything, and let’s get started.
Here’s the full Vox Book Club schedule for September 2020
Friday, September 11: First discussion post on The Idiot
Friday, September 25: Second discussion post on The Idiot
Wednesday, September 30: Virtual live event, with details to come. Sign up for the Vox Book Club newsletter and we’ll send you the RSVP link as soon as it’s up!
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-28--Abe Shinzo, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, steps down over health concerns

Abe Shinzo , Japan ’ s longest-serving and most consequential prime minister in decades , has resigned from his post over health complications .
After weeks of speculation fueled by recent hospital visits , Abe made official what many suspected : Though his chronic ulcerative colitis is not life-threatening , he is just too sick to govern .
“ I don ’ t want to make mistakes in important political decisions ” as he deals with a worsening bout of the bowel disease , he told reporters on Friday .
“ I decided I shouldn ’ t continue sitting in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not respond to the mandate of the people with confidence.
” Abe will stay in the role he assumed for a second time in 2012 ( he resigned after only one year in charge in 2007 , also because of his health ) , but will step aside once his conservative Liberal Democratic Party picks a new leader to helm the party .
That choice will likely occur by the end of September .
He ’ ll remain a member of the parliament ’ s lower house afterward and a key party member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to succeed him , opening up a political scramble to lead the world ’ s third-largest economy — and potentially carry on his legacy .
How Abe changed Japan — and the world The 65-year-old ’ s resignation is a stunning development with profound implications for the country , East Asia , and US foreign policy toward the region .
An avowed nationalist , Abe came into office eight years ago making two big promises .
The first was to jump-start Japan ’ s long sputtering economy — and his record on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t skyrocket under his leadership , but overall it grew modestly after two preceding decades of deflation .
And it recently entered a coronavirus-induced recession .
Still , he made some pretty remarkable reforms , such as allowing foreign workers into the country for five-year periods , championing major stimulus investments and changes to monetary policy , reforming the nation ’ s tourist industry , and making it easier — although still far from easy — for women to work outside the home by expanding kindergarten and home care .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exacerbated by the nation ’ s coronavirus outbreak Abe failed to fully control , plunged his approval ratings into the 30s .
That may have contributed to his decision to cede control now .
His second promise was much more visible to the world and controversial : Japan would pursue a muscular foreign policy with a special focus on countering China — a major break from Tokyo ’ s ways in the post-war era .
“ I ’ ve realized that Japan is expected to exert leadership not just on the economic front @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security in the Asia-Pacific , ” he told the Wall Street Journal in October 2013 , just 10 months after taking office .
“ There are concerns that China is attempting to change the status quo by force , rather than by rule of law , ” he continued , adding that “ it shouldn ’ t take that path , and many nations expect Japan to strongly express that view.
” Many Japanese allies approved of that more aggressive Japanese stance .
“ Abe set Japan on a grand strategy to secure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embraced by the United States , India , and Australia and welcomed by much of South and Southeast Asia and Europe , ” said Mike Green , a Japan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington .
Such a policy required Japan to have a very close relationship with the United States , which Abe pursued and cultivated throughout his time in power .
For example , he was the first foreign leader to visit President-elect Donald Trump in November 2016 , spending about 90 minutes with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t always work , though , as Trump berated Japan over trade issues and for not paying more to host the roughly 50,000 US troops in the country .
He had other global failures , too .
He didn ’ t complete a major effort to revise Japan ’ s US-created pacifist constitution to allow for a more traditional military banned since World War II , didn ’ t reach deals with Russia or China over long-disputed islands , exacerbated tensions with South Korea , and failed to curb North Korea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But for many experts , his overall record more than makes up for such shortcomings .
“ He did not accomplish everything Japan needed , but he accomplished more than any Japanese leader in many decades , ” Green told me .
“ And above all , he demonstrated that Japan can lead.
” That last point is important .
Despite his many mistakes , Abe ’ s legacy likely will be taking Japan from a country timid about acting boldly in the world to one more confident taking on global challenges .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but his impact on Japan — and the world — is primed to be felt for years to come .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Abe Shinzo, Japan’s longest-serving and most consequential prime minister in decades, has resigned from his post over health complications.
After weeks of speculation fueled by recent hospital visits, Abe made official what many suspected: Though his chronic ulcerative colitis is not life-threatening, he is just too sick to govern.
“I don’t want to make mistakes in important political decisions” as he deals with a worsening bout of the bowel disease, he told reporters on Friday. “I decided I shouldn’t continue sitting in this seat as long as I cannot respond to the mandate of the people with confidence.”
Abe will stay in the role he assumed for a second time in 2012 (he resigned after only one year in charge in 2007, also because of his health), but will step aside once his conservative Liberal Democratic Party picks a new leader to helm the party. That choice will likely occur by the end of September. He’ll remain a member of the parliament’s lower house afterward and a key party member.
He did not name a favorite to succeed him, opening up a political scramble to lead the world’s third-largest economy — and potentially carry on his legacy.
How unusual was Abe’s leadership stability? This @Reuters graphic illustrates it well. pic.twitter.com/UaA9vYEHz7 — Alastair Gale (@AlastairGale) August 28, 2020
How Abe changed Japan — and the world
The 65-year-old’s resignation is a stunning development with profound implications for the country, East Asia, and US foreign policy toward the region.
An avowed nationalist, Abe came into office eight years ago making two big promises.
The first was to jump-start Japan’s long sputtering economy — and his record on that was mixed. Japan’s economy didn’t skyrocket under his leadership, but overall it grew modestly after two preceding decades of deflation. And it recently entered a coronavirus-induced recession.
Still, he made some pretty remarkable reforms, such as allowing foreign workers into the country for five-year periods, championing major stimulus investments and changes to monetary policy, reforming the nation’s tourist industry, and making it easier — although still far from easy — for women to work outside the home by expanding kindergarten and home care.
But the recent hit to the economy, exacerbated by the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, plunged his approval ratings into the 30s. That may have contributed to his decision to cede control now.
His second promise was much more visible to the world and controversial: Japan would pursue a muscular foreign policy with a special focus on countering China — a major break from Tokyo’s ways in the post-war era.
“I’ve realized that Japan is expected to exert leadership not just on the economic front, but also in the field of security in the Asia-Pacific,” he told the Wall Street Journal in October 2013, just 10 months after taking office. “There are concerns that China is attempting to change the status quo by force, rather than by rule of law,” he continued, adding that “it shouldn’t take that path, and many nations expect Japan to strongly express that view.”
Many Japanese allies approved of that more aggressive Japanese stance. “Abe set Japan on a grand strategy to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific that was embraced by the United States, India, and Australia and welcomed by much of South and Southeast Asia and Europe,” said Mike Green, a Japan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.
Such a policy required Japan to have a very close relationship with the United States, which Abe pursued and cultivated throughout his time in power. For example, he was the first foreign leader to visit President-elect Donald Trump in November 2016, spending about 90 minutes with him in Trump Tower. Those advances didn’t always work, though, as Trump berated Japan over trade issues and for not paying more to host the roughly 50,000 US troops in the country.
He had other global failures, too. He didn’t complete a major effort to revise Japan’s US-created pacifist constitution to allow for a more traditional military banned since World War II, didn’t reach deals with Russia or China over long-disputed islands, exacerbated tensions with South Korea, and failed to curb North Korea’s nuclear program alongside allies.
But for many experts, his overall record more than makes up for such shortcomings. “He did not accomplish everything Japan needed, but he accomplished more than any Japanese leader in many decades,” Green told me. “And above all, he demonstrated that Japan can lead.”
That last point is important. Despite his many mistakes, Abe’s legacy likely will be taking Japan from a country timid about acting boldly in the world to one more confident taking on global challenges.
Abe may soon be gone, then, but his impact on Japan — and the world — is primed to be felt for years to come.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.