vox--2020-08-06--Facebook took down a Trump post for the first time

Facebook has taken down a post by President Trump containing false statements about children ’ s susceptibility to Covid-19 .
It ’ s the first time the company has enforced its rules that ban harmful speech on one of Trump ’ s posts .
The post that Facebook removed is a Fox video clip in which Trump makes an incorrect statement , saying that children are “ almost immune ” to Covid-19 .
That isn ’ t true ; children are not immune to the novel coronavirus .
Trump posted the clip on his personal Facebook account .
Facebook said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because it violates its policy against spreading harmful misinformation about Covid-19 .
It ’ s the latest development in the ongoing debate about whether Facebook should more strictly police false statements made by politicians like Trump on its platform .
Until now , the company has largely held off on moderating political speech because Facebook says it aims to be an open platform for communication rather than an “ arbiter of truth.
” But Facebook has taken a hard line on Covid-19 misinformation since the beginning of the pandemic — and Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation , ” a spokesperson for Facebook said in a statement to Recode .
While researchers think the harmful effects of Covid-19 are less severe for children than for adults , kids can still get the disease ( hundreds of children at a summer camp in the state of Georgia recently became infected with Covid-19 ) , and some children have died from it .
Scientists are also still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease , even in patients with milder cases .
In the president ’ s statements on Fox , he falsely claimed , “ If you look at children , children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease.
” He added , “ I don ’ t know how you feel about it , but they [ children ] have much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this .
They do it .
They don ’ t have a problem.
” On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News clip , which was originally posted by the @ TeamTrump campaign account .
But by Wednesday evening , a spokesperson for Twitter told Recode that the video violated its rules on Covid-19 misinformation and that the account owner ( in this case , @ TeamTrump ) will be required to remove the tweet before they can post again .
The spokesperson said this was not a suspension .
Twitter has blocked the post from view in the meantime .
On Thursday , a YouTube spokesperson confirmed that it had also taken down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s personal YouTube account .
In response to Facebook , Twitter , and YouTube enforcing their misinformation rules on Trump ’ s posts , Trump campaign deputy national press secretary Courtney Parella sent the following statement to Recode on Thursday , in part : For years , Trump has made false claims on Facebook ; in recent months , he has made incorrect statements about topics such as mail-in voting and former Vice President Joe Biden ’ s platform on policing .
Independent fact-checkers that are part of Facebook ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incorrect on their own sites , but Facebook has not labeled them as such on its platform because its rules exempt politicians from being fact-checked .
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that he does not want his company to be an “ arbiter of truth ” and that the company does not fact-check political speech .
By contrast , in May , Twitter started fact-checking some of Trump ’ s posts , such as when it labeled posts in which he made false claims about mail-in voting in California as “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accurate information about vote-by-mail .
Facebook has faced increasing criticism from leading Democratic politicians , disinformation experts , civil rights organizations , and even some of its own employees for not enforcing its policies when Trump uses its platform to spread misinformation , or when it didn ’ t moderate a “ when the looting starts , the shooting starts ” post he shared in response to Black Lives Matter protests in late May .
When it comes to political ads on its platform , which are distinct from ads , Facebook has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In June , Facebook took down a Trump campaign ad that displayed Nazi insignia .
And in March , Facebook took down another Trump ad that contained a link to a Trump campaign survey that was marketed as a link to the US Census .
The company has labeled ( but not fact-checked ) some of Trump ’ s posts on his personal page containing false statements about voting by adding links to these posts that share voter information .
The company , as a policy , adds these labels to all posts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , regardless of their veracity or who posts them .
But this is the first time Facebook has actually taken down one of Trump ’ s posts — which is likely to anger Republicans , some of whom have long complained of alleged ( and unproven ) anti-conservative bias on social media platforms , despite the success of many leading conservatives on the platform to date .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution @ @ @ @

Facebook has taken down a post by President Trump containing false statements about children’s susceptibility to Covid-19. It’s the first time the company has enforced its rules that ban harmful speech on one of Trump’s posts.
The post that Facebook removed is a Fox video clip in which Trump makes an incorrect statement, saying that children are “almost immune” to Covid-19. That isn’t true; children are not immune to the novel coronavirus. Trump posted the clip on his personal Facebook account.
Facebook said it’s taking down the video because it violates its policy against spreading harmful misinformation about Covid-19. It’s the latest development in the ongoing debate about whether Facebook should more strictly police false statements made by politicians like Trump on its platform. Until now, the company has largely held off on moderating political speech because Facebook says it aims to be an open platform for communication rather than an “arbiter of truth.” But Facebook has taken a hard line on Covid-19 misinformation since the beginning of the pandemic — and Trump’s post crossed that line.
“This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation,” a spokesperson for Facebook said in a statement to Recode.
While researchers think the harmful effects of Covid-19 are less severe for children than for adults, kids can still get the disease (hundreds of children at a summer camp in the state of Georgia recently became infected with Covid-19), and some children have died from it. Scientists are also still trying to understand the long-term effects of the disease, even in patients with milder cases.
In the president’s statements on Fox, he falsely claimed, “If you look at children, children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease.” He added, “I don’t know how you feel about it, but they [children] have much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this. They do it. They don’t have a problem.”
On Twitter, Trump posted the same Fox News clip, which was originally posted by the @TeamTrump campaign account. But by Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Twitter told Recode that the video violated its rules on Covid-19 misinformation and that the account owner (in this case, @TeamTrump) will be required to remove the tweet before they can post again. The spokesperson said this was not a suspension. Twitter has blocked the post from view in the meantime.
On Thursday, a YouTube spokesperson confirmed that it had also taken down a post that shared the clip from Trump’s personal YouTube account.
In response to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube enforcing their misinformation rules on Trump’s posts, Trump campaign deputy national press secretary Courtney Parella sent the following statement to Recode on Thursday, in part:
Another day, another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this President, where the rules are only enforced in one direction. Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth. The President was stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus.
For years, Trump has made false claims on Facebook; in recent months, he has made incorrect statements about topics such as mail-in voting and former Vice President Joe Biden’s platform on policing. Independent fact-checkers that are part of Facebook’s fact-checking network have flagged these posts as incorrect on their own sites, but Facebook has not labeled them as such on its platform because its rules exempt politicians from being fact-checked. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly said that he does not want his company to be an “arbiter of truth” and that the company does not fact-check political speech.
By contrast, in May, Twitter started fact-checking some of Trump’s posts, such as when it labeled posts in which he made false claims about mail-in voting in California as “misleading.” Twitter directed users instead to accurate information about vote-by-mail.
Facebook has faced increasing criticism from leading Democratic politicians, disinformation experts, civil rights organizations, and even some of its own employees for not enforcing its policies when Trump uses its platform to spread misinformation, or when it didn’t moderate a “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” post he shared in response to Black Lives Matter protests in late May.
When it comes to political ads on its platform, which are distinct from ads, Facebook has moderated Trump on a few occasions. In June, Facebook took down a Trump campaign ad that displayed Nazi insignia. And in March, Facebook took down another Trump ad that contained a link to a Trump campaign survey that was marketed as a link to the US Census. The company has labeled (but not fact-checked) some of Trump’s posts on his personal page containing false statements about voting by adding links to these posts that share voter information. The company, as a policy, adds these labels to all posts about voting in the 2020 US presidential election, regardless of their veracity or who posts them.
But this is the first time Facebook has actually taken down one of Trump’s posts — which is likely to anger Republicans, some of whom have long complained of alleged (and unproven) anti-conservative bias on social media platforms, despite the success of many leading conservatives on the platform to date.


vox--2020-08-06--The Tennessee GOP primaries will be determined by one question: Who loves Trump the most?

In Tennessee on Thursday , the Republican primaries for both the Senate and the state ’ s First Congressional District are likely to be determined by one critical factor : adherence to the doctrine of Donald Trump .
The Senate GOP primary , a race to replace the retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander , is a battle among 15 candidates with two frontrunners : Bill Hagerty , a businessman and formerly Trump ’ s appointment to be ambassador to Japan ; and Dr. Manny Sethi , who has decried Hagerty for being inadequately supportive of the president and too close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has leaned hard on his endorsement from Donald Trump and the strength of his relationship with the president .
He served as chair of Trump ’ s 2016 campaign in Tennessee , and in an interview with RealClearPolitics in January , he noted that he was the only member of the Trump administration to receive an endorsement from the president .
But that endorsement hasn ’ t gone quite as far as Hagerty may have hoped , in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
I spoke with Erik Schelzig , editor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focused on state politics .
“ The Trump endorsement was expected to be a major boon for Hagerty , but the lack of personal appearances by the president in Tennessee has robbed the former ambassador of the excitement that such rallies have generated for other candidates .
Writing the Trump endorsement on a campaign sign just isn ’ t the same thing as appearing onstage with him.
” And those signs haven ’ t stemmed the tide of ads calling him a “ liberal ” just like Lamar Alexander , the man he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Republican who voted with Trump 90 percent of the time ) .
The campaign has attracted national attention from Republicans using the contest as a preview of future fights over what conservatism will look like in the Senate .
Sens .
Marsha Blackburn ( R-TN ) and Tom Cotton ( R-AR ) have endorsed Hagerty , with Cotton describing him on Twitter as “ a strong conservative who will take on China , support law enforcement & stand up for our military.
” But Sethi has received endorsements from Sens .
Rand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( R-TX ) .
Schelzig told me that in his view , the opposing endorsements “ feel like a bit of a proxy war with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
” The battle for the state ’ s First Congressional District has similar themes , as 15 Republicans , including several with political experience on the state and local level , battle it out with ads focused on combating Chinese influence and purported “ Antifa chaos ” taking place in cities far from the district ’ s borders .
Because the state of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will close in the First Congressional District at 8 pm ET while polls for the center and west of the state will close at 7 pm CT .
The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can not vote by mail simply because of concerns over Covid-19 , but absentee ballots already filed will be counted , and voters with underlying conditions and their caretakers can vote by mail .
Vox will have live results for the Senate and House primaries , thanks to our partners at Decision Desk HQ .
The GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very similar options In a race led by two very Trumpian men , Sethi is attempting to make his comparative lack of political experience into a positive .
Hagerty ’ s ties to Romney — he chaired the finance committee of Romney ’ s 2008 campaign and was a national strategist for his 2012 effort — have been a particular target for Sethi .
“ Sethi ’ s underdog campaign hasn ’ t been shy about prodding Hagerty as an ‘ establishment ’ figure from the get-go , ” Schelzig said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hagerty spokesman told the New York Times that the campaign returned a donation from Romney ’ s Believe in America PAC because “ we do not share Senator Romney ’ s liberal , anti-Trump political positions.
” But while the two candidates have been spending on negative ads aimed at one another ( which Schelzig told me had voters “ expressing bewilderment about what exactly is going on ” given how much the primary was on the back burner due to the pandemic ) , the two have very few policy differences .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rape or incest , while Hagerty has said that there should be “ very infrequent ” exceptions for those instances .
Sethi attracted some attention for promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 despite a lack of evidence and demanding that Trump fire Dr. Anthony Fauci , arguing that he “ failed ” and damaged the American economy .
And while Hagerty supports the use of active-duty military to quell protests ( asking Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to do so ) , Sethi campaign manager Chris Devaney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : The race for the Republican nomination in Tennessee ’ s First Congressional District — a heavily Republican area encompassing roughly 710,000 people — has attracted little national attention but is no less contentious .
Fifteen Republicans are running to replace Rep. Phil Roe ( R-TN ) , who is retiring this year .
They include Diana Harshbarger and state Rep. Timothy Hill , the choice of the DC-based conservative super PAC Club for Growth .
As Schelzig told me , Hill aligned with groups like Americans for Prosperity while a state lawmaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race for the First District , “ he pumped most of his money into advertising to boost his poll numbers and demonstrate his viability to the Club for Growth.
” And while Hill ’ s ads have attacked Harshbarger — one arguing that she has sketchy ties to Chinese pharmaceutical interests — Schelzig told me , “ The attacks have more to do with dragging her down from her early lead to give Hill a better chance at winning , rather than any deep-felt antipathy toward Harshbarger.
” For her part , Harshbarger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ establishment political interests ( a familiar tactic in Republican primaries ) , blasting her opposition for allegedly supporting tax increases and for putting outside interests ahead of Tennesseans .
Her ads also follow a general GOP theme this cycle : Voting for Harshbarger and other Republicans can stem the “ chaos ” taking place across the country ( though , notably , not in her district ) .
Other Republican candidates for the First Congressional District include State Sen. Rusty Crowe , former Kingsport Mayor John Clark , and former Johnson City Mayor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well known to voters in the area .
But Crowe also has some baggage that might turn off Republican voters — he was a Democrat who switched parties in 1995 , and he voted to support a failed effort to expand Medicaid coverage back in 2015 .
And as former mayors of cities , Clark and Darden both have valuable managerial experience , but Schelzig told me that “ there is traditionally some suspicion among Republicans from the more rural parts of the district of those from the cities , whom they perceive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was unable to comment on either of these races , both of which seem to indicate that the Tennessee Republican Party , like the national party , has turned to Trump as the ultimate arbiter of conservative bona fides .
It remains to be seen how voters will respond .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

In Tennessee on Thursday, the Republican primaries for both the Senate and the state’s First Congressional District are likely to be determined by one critical factor: adherence to the doctrine of Donald Trump.
The Senate GOP primary, a race to replace the retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander, is a battle among 15 candidates with two frontrunners: Bill Hagerty, a businessman and formerly Trump’s appointment to be ambassador to Japan; and Dr. Manny Sethi, who has decried Hagerty for being inadequately supportive of the president and too close to moderates like Sen. Mitt Romney.
Hagerty has leaned hard on his endorsement from Donald Trump and the strength of his relationship with the president. He served as chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign in Tennessee, and in an interview with RealClearPolitics in January, he noted that he was the only member of the Trump administration to receive an endorsement from the president.
But that endorsement hasn’t gone quite as far as Hagerty may have hoped, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I spoke with Erik Schelzig, editor of the Tennessee Journal, a political paper focused on state politics. “The Trump endorsement was expected to be a major boon for Hagerty, but the lack of personal appearances by the president in Tennessee has robbed the former ambassador of the excitement that such rallies have generated for other candidates. Writing the Trump endorsement on a campaign sign just isn’t the same thing as appearing onstage with him.”
And those signs haven’t stemmed the tide of ads calling him a “liberal” just like Lamar Alexander, the man he’d be replacing (who is a Republican who voted with Trump 90 percent of the time).
The campaign has attracted national attention from Republicans using the contest as a preview of future fights over what conservatism will look like in the Senate.
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) have endorsed Hagerty, with Cotton describing him on Twitter as “a strong conservative who will take on China, support law enforcement & stand up for our military.” But Sethi has received endorsements from Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). Schelzig told me that in his view, the opposing endorsements “feel like a bit of a proxy war with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”
The battle for the state’s First Congressional District has similar themes, as 15 Republicans, including several with political experience on the state and local level, battle it out with ads focused on combating Chinese influence and purported “Antifa chaos” taking place in cities far from the district’s borders.
Because the state of Tennessee encompasses two time zones, polls will close in the First Congressional District at 8 pm ET while polls for the center and west of the state will close at 7 pm CT. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters cannot vote by mail simply because of concerns over Covid-19, but absentee ballots already filed will be counted, and voters with underlying conditions and their caretakers can vote by mail.
Vox will have live results for the Senate and House primaries, thanks to our partners at Decision Desk HQ.
The GOP Senate primary: A nasty fight between very similar options
In a race led by two very Trumpian men, Sethi is attempting to make his comparative lack of political experience into a positive.
Hagerty’s ties to Romney — he chaired the finance committee of Romney’s 2008 campaign and was a national strategist for his 2012 effort — have been a particular target for Sethi.
“Sethi’s underdog campaign hasn’t been shy about prodding Hagerty as an ‘establishment’ figure from the get-go,” Schelzig said.
The hits have been effective enough that a Hagerty spokesman told the New York Times that the campaign returned a donation from Romney’s Believe in America PAC because “we do not share Senator Romney’s liberal, anti-Trump political positions.”
But while the two candidates have been spending on negative ads aimed at one another (which Schelzig told me had voters “expressing bewilderment about what exactly is going on” given how much the primary was on the back burner due to the pandemic), the two have very few policy differences.
Sethi opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest, while Hagerty has said that there should be “very infrequent” exceptions for those instances. Sethi attracted some attention for promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19 despite a lack of evidence and demanding that Trump fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, arguing that he “failed” and damaged the American economy.
And while Hagerty supports the use of active-duty military to quell protests (asking Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act to do so), Sethi campaign manager Chris Devaney said in a statement back in June:
Manny appreciates President Trump’s leadership, which is why he doesn’t think we need the 101st Airborne in this. Our U.S. military exists to kill bad guys, not to do police work. Our National Guard is more than capable of dealing with these rioters and looters, upholding the rule of law, and busting some heads if need be, to protect our country.
The Fight for 15 (Republicans)
The race for the Republican nomination in Tennessee’s First Congressional District — a heavily Republican area encompassing roughly 710,000 people — has attracted little national attention but is no less contentious. Fifteen Republicans are running to replace Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), who is retiring this year. They include Diana Harshbarger and state Rep. Timothy Hill, the choice of the DC-based conservative super PAC Club for Growth.
As Schelzig told me, Hill aligned with groups like Americans for Prosperity while a state lawmaker, and when he got into the race for the First District, “he pumped most of his money into advertising to boost his poll numbers and demonstrate his viability to the Club for Growth.” And while Hill’s ads have attacked Harshbarger — one arguing that she has sketchy ties to Chinese pharmaceutical interests — Schelzig told me, “The attacks have more to do with dragging her down from her early lead to give Hill a better chance at winning, rather than any deep-felt antipathy toward Harshbarger.”
For her part, Harshbarger is campaigning as an outsider taking on establishment political interests (a familiar tactic in Republican primaries), blasting her opposition for allegedly supporting tax increases and for putting outside interests ahead of Tennesseans.
Her ads also follow a general GOP theme this cycle: Voting for Harshbarger and other Republicans can stem the “chaos” taking place across the country (though, notably, not in her district).
Other Republican candidates for the First Congressional District include State Sen. Rusty Crowe, former Kingsport Mayor John Clark, and former Johnson City Mayor Steve Darden, all of whom are well known to voters in the area. But Crowe also has some baggage that might turn off Republican voters — he was a Democrat who switched parties in 1995, and he voted to support a failed effort to expand Medicaid coverage back in 2015. And as former mayors of cities, Clark and Darden both have valuable managerial experience, but Schelzig told me that “there is traditionally some suspicion among Republicans from the more rural parts of the district of those from the cities, whom they perceive as more moderate.”
The Tennessee GOP was unable to comment on either of these races, both of which seem to indicate that the Tennessee Republican Party, like the national party, has turned to Trump as the ultimate arbiter of conservative bona fides. It remains to be seen how voters will respond.


vox--2020-08-06--We need to talk about what school closures mean for kids with disabilities

Share All sharing options for : We need to talk about what school closures mean for kids with disabilities When Simon ’ s school in Maryland closed this spring due to the pandemic , his family didn ’ t know what to expect .
“ Like every family who has a kid in school , there was a lot of uncertainty , ” Simon ’ s mom , Laura LeBrun Hatcher , told Vox .
“ Everybody was in a ‘ what ’ s going to happen ’ moment.
” But for Simon , that uncertainty also included what would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to learn effectively , as well as the occupational and physical therapy he gets at school .
Simon , who just turned 14 , has complex medical needs and disabilities , including hydrocephalus , epilepsy , and autism .
As the director of design and communications for the group Little Lobbyists , which works on behalf of kids with disabilities , Hatcher has been involved in advocacy for a long time .
But , she said , “ I ’ m not a trained therapist ” — and providing everything at home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been very challenging .
While Simon ’ s school has “ been great in trying to walk us through stuff and do things remotely , the quality of the therapy is just not there , ” Hatcher said .
And “ Simon ’ s attention just isn ’ t there for it , ” she added .
“ He ’ s not in the environment that he is used to , where he has the structure that he ’ s used to.
” And compared with other kids with disabilities around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lucky ones , ” Hatcher said .
When schools closed their physical buildings due to the pandemic , some made an effort to continue the services and therapies that help students with disabilities access their education — even if those services had to be remote .
But other schools did little or nothing to continue such services .
In a survey released in May by the organization ParentsTogether , just one in said families of children in special education said they were receiving all the support services their kids were entitled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were getting no support at all .
For a lot of families of kids with disabilities , virtual learning this spring “ meant nothing , ” Maria Hernandez , executive director of the nonprofit VELA , which helps parents in the Austin , Texas , area navigate special education for their kids , told Vox .
“ It meant one phone call ; it meant one packet.
” And now , parents worry about a fall with more of the same uncertainty over whether schools will be able to provide from a distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same time , some students with disabilities also have underlying conditions and complex medical needs that make the physical reopening of schools a frightening prospect .
“ No one has the answer , ” Rebecca Cokley , director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress and a parent of children with disabilities , told Vox .
But one thing many advocates agree on is the need for more funding so that schools have the resources to teach all students during the pandemic and beyond .
“ We really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to help shore up what education looks like for our kids , ” Cokley said .
Education is a civil right for all students .
But many kids with disabilities weren ’ t receiving it this spring .
Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as well as the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act ( IDEA ) , all students are legally entitled to what ’ s called a free appropriate public education ( FAPE for short ) .
For kids with disabilities , that can include services like speech or behavioral therapy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them in the classroom .
“ Those are not optional things , ” Cokley said .
“ They ’ re not nice things to do .
They ’ re fundamental civil rights.
” But this year , as schools closed their physical buildings due to the pandemic , they ’ ve had to figure out what a free appropriate public education looks like in a time of Covid-19 , she said .
Their responses have varied widely .
For the families VELA serves , the majority of whom are low-income , “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services , ” Hernandez said .
Many families can ’ t afford private therapy , and the services their kids get through school are often the only ones they receive .
But when schools closed , a lot of those services stopped — some kids who were getting therapy once or twice a week received it just a few times over the entire spring , Hernandez said .
And receiving therapy remotely presented a lot of challenges .
In some cases , parents were given a video to watch , instructing them on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this required a lot from parents in terms of replicating the instructions on their own .
In other cases , students did get some real-time remote therapy , but it required parents to get together a wide array of materials , find a quiet spot in their home , and then guide the child through every step of the therapy .
“ It was either , ‘ Watch this video on your own time , ’ which probably didn ’ t give any benefit to the child , or , ‘ You need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30-minute therapy session , ’ ” Hernandez said .
“ Neither one worked.
” Meanwhile , when it came to academics , the strategies that might have been workable for some students in general education classrooms simply weren ’ t possible for many families with children in special education .
A packet of exercises or a pre-recorded video lesson can be an effective teaching tool “ when you ’ re a student that has the ability to just self-pace and learn on your own , ” Hernandez said .
“ When you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be successful , and your parents are stressed and moving through life in Covid , the reality of that packet being completed or even looked at is really small.
” And parents of students with disabilities have been asked to take on the roles not just of teachers but of the aides and other support professionals who ordinarily help their children learn — and who , unlike parents , have the training to do so .
For Sammy , who goes to school with Simon in Maryland , the shift to remote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and counseling was relatively seamless , his mom Daya Chaney Webb told Vox .
But managing the academic coursework was a different story .
At school , teachers and staff are constantly pivoting to meet the individual needs of students , Webb said .
Online , that ’ s much harder .
And Sammy has a one-to-one support professional at school .
At home , that ’ s Webb .
“ It ’ s very much hand over hand , ” with Webb helping Sammy do things like open tabs on his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is me working next to him for every moment of instruction.
” For Sammy , who is going into 11th grade in the fall , the shift online has been a mixed bag .
It ’ s “ easier to pay attention from home , so I don ’ t need so many breaks , ” he told Vox .
But , he said , he misses seeing his friends in person .
“ I hope I can go back to school-school , he said .
“ I feel like I try @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a challenge for Simon , too , Hatcher said .
Like Sammy , he usually has a one-to-one aide at school , and while he ’ s been able to connect with her remotely , she ’ s no longer by his side helping him stay on task .
Instead , “ we ’ ll have an online video of a book , and then a Google sheet where it ’ s reading comprehension questions , ” Hatcher said .
“ That is not the same as being in a classroom with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education teacher who ’ s able to really make sure that those kids are getting the information they need.
” The result : “ For kids like Simon who really do need that level of support , we ’ re not just worried about him not moving forward , we ’ re worried about his regression , ” Hatcher said .
It ’ s a common concern among parents of kids with disabilities , who are disproportionately likely to say that their kids ’ schooling has stalled during the pandemic .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of students in special education said their kids were doing little to no remote learning , compared to 17 percent of families with kids in general education classes .
Overall , when it comes to providing the services students with disabilities need to access a fair education , “ we ’ ve really seen it fall flat , ” Cokley said .
“ I have yet to hear any parents with kids with disabilities say , ‘ My kid got as close as possible to regular services and support in this time.
’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the federal government at the beginning of the pandemic .
On March 12 , as schools around the country were considering or announcing closures , the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos released guidance stating that if a district “ closes its schools to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 , and does not provide any educational services to the general student population , ” then the district “ would not be required to provide services to students with disabilities during that same period of time.
” Some districts responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education for all students in both general and special education classes , taking the attitude that “ if we have to provide services equitably we just won ’ t provide anything , ” Denise Marshall , CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates , a group that advocates for the civil rights of students with disabilities , told Vox .
In some cases , districts refused to retrieve equipment students with disabilities needed from school buildings , like an eye-gaze machine some students use for communication , arguing that “ we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person , and that constitutes in-person , ” Marshall explained .
Advocates were highly concerned , arguing that the pandemic did nothing to release schools from their legal responsibility to educate kids with disabilities .
“ There ’ s nothing in the law that provides any kind of waiver for the obligation to provide FAPE in this kind of circumstance , or really in any circumstance , ” Marshall said .
On March 21 , the Education Department issued a clarification telling districts that “ they should not opt to close or decline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expense of students , to address matters pertaining to services for students with disabilities.
” The clarification also stated that “ school districts must provide a free and appropriate public education ( FAPE ) consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilities.
” Still , the initial guidance “ caused delay , it caused confusion , and it contributed to the inequities , and the wild variations in terms of provision of services , ” Marshall said .
Families and advocates are worried about what the fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only widen this fall , as schools around the country cope with a still-raging — and , in some places , worsening — pandemic .
With little federal leadership on the issue — or on battling the pandemic more generally — state and local officials have largely been left to face the challenges of education during Covid-19 on their own .
And , as with general education , schools and districts in high-income areas have often been able to provide better services to students with disabilities than those in lower-income places .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already taxed financially don ’ t have as high level of technology to be able to give to their students to bring home , ” Cokley said .
And for schools already struggling to provide therapy and other supports to students remotely , a lack of adequate technology only compounds the problem .
Moreover , getting adequate services for children with disabilities can require significant parent advocacy — something that ’ s difficult for low-income working parents even in the best of times , especially if they speak English as a second language @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids at home and school meetings taking place over giant Zoom calls , it ’ s become even harder , Hernandez said .
“ We know how intimidating those settings can be , but now we ’ ll have this other lens of a parent sitting on their phone in the closet.
” As a result , special education services , at least in Austin , tend to vary from school to school , depending on where parents have the time and resources to push for them , Hernandez said .
“ What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advocacy and the resources stay attached to a campus , versus a district-wide initiative.
” And while there ’ s been a lot of coverage of middle- and upper-class families exploring learning “ pods ” for the fall — small groups of students that meet in person while schools are closed — many fear that those won ’ t be accessible to students with disabilities either .
For students who are able to join pods , “ they ’ ll be with other kids , it ’ s awesome , ” Hernandez said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t able to be part of a pod — because of their disability status , because they don ’ t speak English fluently , because their parents can ’ t afford the cost , or all of the above — “ we think of the further isolation that ’ s going to be happening.
” Making education accessible to students with disabilities will take money — and representation As with general education , solutions to provide special education during a pandemic are complex , to say the least .
While some pediatricians and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in school as soon as possible in order to mitigate the academic and social losses associated with online learning , some students with disabilities have underlying conditions that make going to school during a pandemic especially risky for them .
Simon , for example , has neurological issues , asthma , and cerebral palsy , which could potentially put him at higher risk .
“ We have families who are just very , very afraid of their children becoming sick and dying , ” Hatcher said .
“ I ’ ll take @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same time , some kids have behavioral and other needs that are met much better in the structured environment of school .
Being home with swaths of unscheduled time , away from their routines and the supports they are used to , “ is incredibly stressful for the children and their parents , ” Hatcher said .
“ I see a lot of parents who are really stuck between that rock and a hard place of wanting to protect their children ’ s health but also knowing how bad this is and how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s emotional health.
” There are no easy answers to any of this , but there are changes that could help .
For example , districts could examine whether it ’ s safe for therapists and one-to-one support professionals to make home visits to students while school buildings are closed .
“ If we had the resources to make that happen and do that safely , I think a lot of kids would benefit , ” Hatcher said .
Some areas of the country are also considering allowing students with disabilities to come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school year starts remotely for others .
Officials in Washington State , for example , recommended this week that schools in high-risk counties remain closed except for students with disabilities and others with the highest need .
As always , though , resources are key .
To ensure equitable education for kids with disabilities during the pandemic and beyond , Congress needs to provide more funding for programs and services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( IDEA ) , Cokley said .
Better funding would help ensure that schools and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids to continue their classes and therapies remotely , as well as training more teachers in special education .
Districts also need an adequate staff of therapists and aides to provide services in person if and when it ’ s possible — and that staff needs access to personal protective equipment and paid family and sick leave , Cokley said .
Additional funding is especially crucial now , as more children will likely need special education services due to the physical and emotional effects of Covid-19 , Cokley added .
But so far @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for IDEA in its relief packages .
“ More kids are becoming disabled and no one is providing funding for it , ” she said .
Beyond money , schools and districts also need clear leadership from the top , many say .
COPAA has asked the Education Department to provide guidance on schools ’ responsibilities if their buildings are open but families choose to keep kids with disabilities home out of concern over the virus , Marshall said .
The group is very worried that if schools do reopen physically , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kids who still need to be home .
So far , DeVos — who has spent much of the summer pressing schools to reopen even as coronavirus cases rise — has not offered such guidance .
And in all conversations about education during the pandemic , representation for students with disabilities is critical , Hernandez said .
The voices of students with disabilities and their families — especially if those families are also low-income , people of color , or speak English as a second language — have often been overlooked in meetings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meetings themselves take place remotely .
On a local level , “ we ’ re missing somebody that in every single meeting is saying , ‘ Right , and what would that look like for special education ?
’ ” Hernandez said .
“ Just that would be incredibly meaningful.
” But so far , “ special ed has been kind of a last thought in all this reentry stuff , ” Webb said .
“ It reinforces the way that a lot of families that support disabilities within feel kind of like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ people should be treated equally , ” Sammy said , “ never judging by the color of their skin or their ability level.
” Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts at the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Share All sharing options for: We need to talk about what school closures mean for kids with disabilities
When Simon’s school in Maryland closed this spring due to the pandemic, his family didn’t know what to expect.
“Like every family who has a kid in school, there was a lot of uncertainty,” Simon’s mom, Laura LeBrun Hatcher, told Vox. “Everybody was in a ‘what’s going to happen’ moment.”
But for Simon, that uncertainty also included what would happen to the one-on-one support that he needs to learn effectively, as well as the occupational and physical therapy he gets at school. Simon, who just turned 14, has complex medical needs and disabilities, including hydrocephalus, epilepsy, and autism. As the director of design and communications for the group Little Lobbyists, which works on behalf of kids with disabilities, Hatcher has been involved in advocacy for a long time. But, she said, “I’m not a trained therapist” — and providing everything at home that Simon used to get at school has been very challenging.
While Simon’s school has “been great in trying to walk us through stuff and do things remotely, the quality of the therapy is just not there,” Hatcher said. And “Simon’s attention just isn’t there for it,” she added. “He’s not in the environment that he is used to, where he has the structure that he’s used to.”
And compared with other kids with disabilities around the country, “Simon was one of the lucky ones,” Hatcher said.
When schools closed their physical buildings due to the pandemic, some made an effort to continue the services and therapies that help students with disabilities access their education — even if those services had to be remote. But other schools did little or nothing to continue such services. In a survey released in May by the organization ParentsTogether, just one in five families of children in special education said they were receiving all the support services their kids were entitled to. Four in 10 said their kids were getting no support at all.
For a lot of families of kids with disabilities, virtual learning this spring “meant nothing,” Maria Hernandez, executive director of the nonprofit VELA, which helps parents in the Austin, Texas, area navigate special education for their kids, told Vox. “It meant one phone call; it meant one packet.”
And now, parents worry about a fall with more of the same uncertainty over whether schools will be able to provide from a distance the resources their kids need. At the same time, some students with disabilities also have underlying conditions and complex medical needs that make the physical reopening of schools a frightening prospect.
“No one has the answer,” Rebecca Cokley, director of the Disability Justice Initiative at the Center for American Progress and a parent of children with disabilities, told Vox. But one thing many advocates agree on is the need for more funding so that schools have the resources to teach all students during the pandemic and beyond. “We really need to see Congress invest additional funds to help shore up what education looks like for our kids,” Cokley said.
Education is a civil right for all students. But many kids with disabilities weren’t receiving it this spring.
Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as well as the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), all students are legally entitled to what’s called a free appropriate public education (FAPE for short). For kids with disabilities, that can include services like speech or behavioral therapy, or a one-to-one aide to support them in the classroom.
“Those are not optional things,” Cokley said. “They’re not nice things to do. They’re fundamental civil rights.”
But this year, as schools closed their physical buildings due to the pandemic, they’ve had to figure out what a free appropriate public education looks like in a time of Covid-19, she said.
Their responses have varied widely. For the families VELA serves, the majority of whom are low-income, “the greatest challenge that we saw was therapy services,” Hernandez said.
Many families can’t afford private therapy, and the services their kids get through school are often the only ones they receive. But when schools closed, a lot of those services stopped — some kids who were getting therapy once or twice a week received it just a few times over the entire spring, Hernandez said.
And receiving therapy remotely presented a lot of challenges. In some cases, parents were given a video to watch, instructing them on how to provide therapies themselves — but this required a lot from parents in terms of replicating the instructions on their own. In other cases, students did get some real-time remote therapy, but it required parents to get together a wide array of materials, find a quiet spot in their home, and then guide the child through every step of the therapy. “It was either, ‘Watch this video on your own time,’ which probably didn’t give any benefit to the child, or, ‘You need three hours to get ready for a 30-minute therapy session,’” Hernandez said. “Neither one worked.”
Meanwhile, when it came to academics, the strategies that might have been workable for some students in general education classrooms simply weren’t possible for many families with children in special education. A packet of exercises or a pre-recorded video lesson can be an effective teaching tool “when you’re a student that has the ability to just self-pace and learn on your own,” Hernandez said. “When you’re a student that requires specific accommodations to be successful, and your parents are stressed and moving through life in Covid, the reality of that packet being completed or even looked at is really small.”
And parents of students with disabilities have been asked to take on the roles not just of teachers but of the aides and other support professionals who ordinarily help their children learn — and who, unlike parents, have the training to do so.
For Sammy, who goes to school with Simon in Maryland, the shift to remote speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling was relatively seamless, his mom Daya Chaney Webb told Vox. But managing the academic coursework was a different story. At school, teachers and staff are constantly pivoting to meet the individual needs of students, Webb said. Online, that’s much harder. And Sammy has a one-to-one support professional at school. At home, that’s Webb.
“It’s very much hand over hand,” with Webb helping Sammy do things like open tabs on his laptop browser, she said. “This is me working next to him for every moment of instruction.”
For Sammy, who is going into 11th grade in the fall, the shift online has been a mixed bag. It’s “easier to pay attention from home, so I don’t need so many breaks,” he told Vox. But, he said, he misses seeing his friends in person.
“I hope I can go back to school-school, he said. “I feel like I try harder in school.”
Academics have been a challenge for Simon, too, Hatcher said. Like Sammy, he usually has a one-to-one aide at school, and while he’s been able to connect with her remotely, she’s no longer by his side helping him stay on task. Instead, “we’ll have an online video of a book, and then a Google sheet where it’s reading comprehension questions,” Hatcher said. “That is not the same as being in a classroom with a special education teacher or even a general education teacher who’s able to really make sure that those kids are getting the information they need.”
The result: “For kids like Simon who really do need that level of support, we’re not just worried about him not moving forward, we’re worried about his regression,” Hatcher said.
It’s a common concern among parents of kids with disabilities, who are disproportionately likely to say that their kids’ schooling has stalled during the pandemic. In the ParentsTogether survey, 35 percent of parents of students in special education said their kids were doing little to no remote learning, compared to 17 percent of families with kids in general education classes.
Overall, when it comes to providing the services students with disabilities need to access a fair education, “we’ve really seen it fall flat,” Cokley said. “I have yet to hear any parents with kids with disabilities say, ‘My kid got as close as possible to regular services and support in this time.’”
The Trump administration made the situation worse
Making matters worse were confusing messages from the federal government at the beginning of the pandemic.
On March 12, as schools around the country were considering or announcing closures, the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos released guidance stating that if a district “closes its schools to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19, and does not provide any educational services to the general student population,” then the district “would not be required to provide services to students with disabilities during that same period of time.”
Some districts responded by doing just that — shutting down education for all students in both general and special education classes, taking the attitude that “if we have to provide services equitably we just won’t provide anything,” Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, a group that advocates for the civil rights of students with disabilities, told Vox. In some cases, districts refused to retrieve equipment students with disabilities needed from school buildings, like an eye-gaze machine some students use for communication, arguing that “we are not providing services to anyone in person, and that constitutes in-person,” Marshall explained.
Advocates were highly concerned, arguing that the pandemic did nothing to release schools from their legal responsibility to educate kids with disabilities. “There’s nothing in the law that provides any kind of waiver for the obligation to provide FAPE in this kind of circumstance, or really in any circumstance,” Marshall said.
On March 21, the Education Department issued a clarification telling districts that “they should not opt to close or decline to provide distance instruction, at the expense of students, to address matters pertaining to services for students with disabilities.” The clarification also stated that “school districts must provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) consistent with the need to protect the health and safety of students with disabilities.”
Still, the initial guidance “caused delay, it caused confusion, and it contributed to the inequities, and the wild variations in terms of provision of services,” Marshall said.
Families and advocates are worried about what the fall will bring
Many fear those inequities will only widen this fall, as schools around the country cope with a still-raging — and, in some places, worsening — pandemic.
With little federal leadership on the issue — or on battling the pandemic more generally — state and local officials have largely been left to face the challenges of education during Covid-19 on their own. And, as with general education, schools and districts in high-income areas have often been able to provide better services to students with disabilities than those in lower-income places. For one thing, “schools that are already taxed financially don’t have as high level of technology to be able to give to their students to bring home,” Cokley said. And for schools already struggling to provide therapy and other supports to students remotely, a lack of adequate technology only compounds the problem.
Moreover, getting adequate services for children with disabilities can require significant parent advocacy — something that’s difficult for low-income working parents even in the best of times, especially if they speak English as a second language. But during the pandemic, with kids at home and school meetings taking place over giant Zoom calls, it’s become even harder, Hernandez said. “We know how intimidating those settings can be, but now we’ll have this other lens of a parent sitting on their phone in the closet.”
As a result, special education services, at least in Austin, tend to vary from school to school, depending on where parents have the time and resources to push for them, Hernandez said. “What tends to happen very often is the advocacy and the resources stay attached to a campus, versus a district-wide initiative.”
And while there’s been a lot of coverage of middle- and upper-class families exploring learning “pods” for the fall — small groups of students that meet in person while schools are closed — many fear that those won’t be accessible to students with disabilities either.
For students who are able to join pods, “they’ll be with other kids, it’s awesome,” Hernandez said. But for kids who aren’t able to be part of a pod — because of their disability status, because they don’t speak English fluently, because their parents can’t afford the cost, or all of the above — “we think of the further isolation that’s going to be happening.”
Making education accessible to students with disabilities will take money — and representation
As with general education, solutions to provide special education during a pandemic are complex, to say the least.
While some pediatricians and other experts have pushed to get kids back in school as soon as possible in order to mitigate the academic and social losses associated with online learning, some students with disabilities have underlying conditions that make going to school during a pandemic especially risky for them. Simon, for example, has neurological issues, asthma, and cerebral palsy, which could potentially put him at higher risk. “We have families who are just very, very afraid of their children becoming sick and dying,” Hatcher said. “I’ll take regression over losing Simon.”
At the same time, some kids have behavioral and other needs that are met much better in the structured environment of school. Being home with swaths of unscheduled time, away from their routines and the supports they are used to, “is incredibly stressful for the children and their parents,” Hatcher said. “I see a lot of parents who are really stuck between that rock and a hard place of wanting to protect their children’s health but also knowing how bad this is and how destructive this is for their children’s emotional health.”
There are no easy answers to any of this, but there are changes that could help. For example, districts could examine whether it’s safe for therapists and one-to-one support professionals to make home visits to students while school buildings are closed. “If we had the resources to make that happen and do that safely, I think a lot of kids would benefit,” Hatcher said. Some areas of the country are also considering allowing students with disabilities to come to school in person even if the school year starts remotely for others. Officials in Washington State, for example, recommended this week that schools in high-risk counties remain closed except for students with disabilities and others with the highest need.
As always, though, resources are key. To ensure equitable education for kids with disabilities during the pandemic and beyond, Congress needs to provide more funding for programs and services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Cokley said. Better funding would help ensure that schools and the families they serve have adequate technology for kids to continue their classes and therapies remotely, as well as training more teachers in special education. Districts also need an adequate staff of therapists and aides to provide services in person if and when it’s possible — and that staff needs access to personal protective equipment and paid family and sick leave, Cokley said.
Additional funding is especially crucial now, as more children will likely need special education services due to the physical and emotional effects of Covid-19, Cokley added. But so far, Congress has included no additional funding for IDEA in its relief packages. “More kids are becoming disabled and no one is providing funding for it,” she said.
Beyond money, schools and districts also need clear leadership from the top, many say. COPAA has asked the Education Department to provide guidance on schools’ responsibilities if their buildings are open but families choose to keep kids with disabilities home out of concern over the virus, Marshall said. The group is very worried that if schools do reopen physically, they may not provide the necessary services to kids who still need to be home. So far, DeVos — who has spent much of the summer pressing schools to reopen even as coronavirus cases rise — has not offered such guidance.
And in all conversations about education during the pandemic, representation for students with disabilities is critical, Hernandez said. The voices of students with disabilities and their families — especially if those families are also low-income, people of color, or speak English as a second language — have often been overlooked in meetings about school plans, especially when those meetings themselves take place remotely. On a local level, “we’re missing somebody that in every single meeting is saying, ‘Right, and what would that look like for special education?’” Hernandez said. “Just that would be incredibly meaningful.”
But so far, “special ed has been kind of a last thought in all this reentry stuff,” Webb said. “It reinforces the way that a lot of families that support disabilities within feel kind of like society’s disposables.”
Instead, “people should be treated equally,” Sammy said, “never judging by the color of their skin or their ability level.”


vox--2020-08-06--In trying times, Americans look to our true leaders — chain restaurants — for guidance

In hard times , it ’ s nice to recognize and rally around our true leaders : Big Macs , burrito bowls , and Frappuccinos .
On July 15 , Starbucks was among the first large restaurant chains in the U.S. to require customers to wear face coverings in stores .
Customer mask mandates from other fast food and fast casual chain restaurants soon followed .
Panera Bread , Noodles & Company , Chipotle , and McDonald ’ s announced similar policies .
Most went into effect immediately ; McDonald ’ s began on August 1 .
In the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ become a political debate , even though we are clearly a country in the midst of an intense health crisis .
Coronavirus deaths have surpassed 150,000 and some states are reporting larger outbreaks than many countries around the world .
While much about the virus is still unknown , mounting evidence supports that it spreads easiest through indoor airborne transmission .
We do know that masks can significantly reduce the likelihood of an infected person spreading the virus to others .
Yet President Donald Trump and the federal government have refused to institute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even recommend we wear masks , instead pushing the decision off on state and local leaders .
When Starbucks rolled out its mask rule , coffee news site Sprudge called the policy “ the closest thing we have to a national mandate ” during an escalating crisis .
Chain restaurants have stepped up to do what the federal government won ’ t : issue sweeping directives aimed to protect the safety of guests and employees .
From the beginning of the pandemic , large restaurant companies have been vocal about the steps they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ employee safety .
Most require employees to wear masks at work .
Many have added protective barriers between employee and guest .
Some have even designated a staff member to spend a shift sanitizing shared surfaces ( though the effectiveness of constant cleaning is dubious ) , or one to greet guests and explain new changes and requirements .
Standard operating procedures are a hallmark of the American chain .
Procedures and rules , and handbooks full of decisions handed down from corporate HQ are largely already in place .
Once a rule @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made in the corner office , disseminating it to stores should be easy , according to Jonathan Maze , editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business , an industry trade publication .
“ Honestly large chains should be pretty good at that by this particular point because they do it all the time , ” he says .
Chipotle instituted its in-store mask policy on July 24 .
An internal document reviewed by Eater encourages staff to “ approach the guest with an attitude of gratitude ” and ask them to put on a mask .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff should offer to help them place an order from outside the building using an order sheet or the Chipotle app .
“ Don ’ t touch the guest or their phone when providing ordering options , ” it cautions .
But , Maze says , “ The bigger question with it is what kind of policy do you have when people refuse masks ?
It ’ s a small number that do so but they can be extremely loud and cause some real problems .
Restaurants are usually pretty reluctant to piss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s guidance stops short of asking employees to turn guests away for failure to comply with the new rule .
If other guests ask why unmasked guests are being served , employees are instructed to tell them that they haven ’ t been directed not to serve people without face coverings .
Instead : “ Don ’ t refuse service if the guest doesn ’ t mention a medical reason , doesn ’ t have a mask , or refuses to wear a mask .
Find another way to help them.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a guest is wearing their mask , either .
“ If they ’ re attempting to wear a mask or other face covering , please welcome them into the restaurant.
” In July , McDonald ’ s paused the reopening of its dining rooms across the country , and last week , it extended the closures for another 30 days .
But for customers who do want to order from a cashier — and for the relatively small percentage of McDonald ’ s restaurants with open , socially-distanced dining rooms — masks are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ In those situations where a customer declines to wear a face covering , we ’ ll put in place additional procedures to take care of them in a friendly , expedited way.
” The release also notes that 82 percent of its restaurants are located in jurisdictions with indoor mask requirements already in place .
According to CNBC , McDonald ’ s workers will first ask customers to wear a mask .
If they refuse , they ’ ll be taken “ to a designated pickup spot at a safe distance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be expedited.
” That ’ s one way to get fast food .
Restaurants aren ’ t the only businesses grappling with how to enforce policies intended to protect workers and guests .
On Wednesday , the New York Times reported retailers from Lowes to Walmart are stopping short of preventing maskless customers from entering stores , citing concerns for employee safety , and with good cause .
In mid-July , seven employees and three managers were assaulted at a Manhattan Trader Joe ’ s for asking two customers to don masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ items about hospitality employees facing harassment and outright violence have become an almost daily occurrence .
Still , a chain ’ s publicized policy may be better than no policy at all , especially during a time when Americans are looking to literally anyone for standards and leadership .
And for the unmasked and/or tech savvy , digital ordering , pickup , and delivery options have never been more popular or easy to use .
In April , May , and June , almost 90 percent of Starbucks order volume came through the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ transactions tripled from earlier this year .
At McDonald ’ s , 90 percent of sales during the same time period came from the drive-thru .
Sales from digital orders tripled at Chipotle .
The good ( ish ) news is that surveys show that a vast majority of Americans do support mask usage , with a vocal few opposed .
The bad news is that even though national mask policies exist , they still contain carve-outs for America ’ s exceptionalist attitude .
One Chipotle worker from the southeastern U.S. , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chain ’ s official policy “ a joke , ” saying that mask rules were enforced only against employees .
“ The general consensus is to make the customer feel like nothing is different in spite of local statutes , ” they said , adding that their restaurant is often short-staffed due to illness or employee turnover .
“ It ’ s hard to tell the pro-MAGA open-carry guy that wants to engage over the mask policy to wear one .
”

In hard times, it’s nice to recognize and rally around our true leaders: Big Macs, burrito bowls, and Frappuccinos.
On July 15, Starbucks was among the first large restaurant chains in the U.S. to require customers to wear face coverings in stores. Customer mask mandates from other fast food and fast casual chain restaurants soon followed. Panera Bread, Noodles & Company, Chipotle, and McDonald’s announced similar policies. Most went into effect immediately; McDonald’s began on August 1.
In the U.S., wearing a mask in public has become a political debate, even though we are clearly a country in the midst of an intense health crisis. Coronavirus deaths have surpassed 150,000 and some states are reporting larger outbreaks than many countries around the world. While much about the virus is still unknown, mounting evidence supports that it spreads easiest through indoor airborne transmission. We do know that masks can significantly reduce the likelihood of an infected person spreading the virus to others. Yet President Donald Trump and the federal government have refused to institute a law, issue guidance, or even recommend we wear masks, instead pushing the decision off on state and local leaders. When Starbucks rolled out its mask rule, coffee news site Sprudge called the policy “the closest thing we have to a national mandate” during an escalating crisis.
Chain restaurants have stepped up to do what the federal government won’t: issue sweeping directives aimed to protect the safety of guests and employees.
From the beginning of the pandemic, large restaurant companies have been vocal about the steps they’re taking to ensure diner and employee safety. Most require employees to wear masks at work. Many have added protective barriers between employee and guest. Some have even designated a staff member to spend a shift sanitizing shared surfaces (though the effectiveness of constant cleaning is dubious), or one to greet guests and explain new changes and requirements.
Standard operating procedures are a hallmark of the American chain. Procedures and rules, and handbooks full of decisions handed down from corporate HQ are largely already in place. Once a rule — like a mask requirement — is made in the corner office, disseminating it to stores should be easy, according to Jonathan Maze, editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business, an industry trade publication. “Honestly large chains should be pretty good at that by this particular point because they do it all the time,” he says.
Chipotle instituted its in-store mask policy on July 24. An internal document reviewed by Eater encourages staff to “approach the guest with an attitude of gratitude” and ask them to put on a mask. If they don’t, Chipotle staff should offer to help them place an order from outside the building using an order sheet or the Chipotle app. “Don’t touch the guest or their phone when providing ordering options,” it cautions.
But, Maze says, “The bigger question with it is what kind of policy do you have when people refuse masks? It’s a small number that do so but they can be extremely loud and cause some real problems. Restaurants are usually pretty reluctant to piss off any particular customer group.”
Chipotle’s guidance stops short of asking employees to turn guests away for failure to comply with the new rule. If other guests ask why unmasked guests are being served, employees are instructed to tell them that they haven’t been directed not to serve people without face coverings. Instead: “Don’t refuse service if the guest doesn’t mention a medical reason, doesn’t have a mask, or refuses to wear a mask. Find another way to help them.” Employees can’t comment on how a guest is wearing their mask, either. “If they’re attempting to wear a mask or other face covering, please welcome them into the restaurant.”
In July, McDonald’s paused the reopening of its dining rooms across the country, and last week, it extended the closures for another 30 days. But for customers who do want to order from a cashier — and for the relatively small percentage of McDonald’s restaurants with open, socially-distanced dining rooms — masks are mandatory. A company news release states, “In those situations where a customer declines to wear a face covering, we’ll put in place additional procedures to take care of them in a friendly, expedited way.” The release also notes that 82 percent of its restaurants are located in jurisdictions with indoor mask requirements already in place.
According to CNBC, McDonald’s workers will first ask customers to wear a mask. If they refuse, they’ll be taken “to a designated pickup spot at a safe distance from other customers, and the order will be expedited.” That’s one way to get fast food.
Restaurants aren’t the only businesses grappling with how to enforce policies intended to protect workers and guests. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported retailers from Lowes to Walmart are stopping short of preventing maskless customers from entering stores, citing concerns for employee safety, and with good cause. In mid-July, seven employees and three managers were assaulted at a Manhattan Trader Joe’s for asking two customers to don masks, per store policy, and news items about hospitality employees facing harassment and outright violence have become an almost daily occurrence.
Still, a chain’s publicized policy may be better than no policy at all, especially during a time when Americans are looking to literally anyone for standards and leadership. And for the unmasked and/or tech savvy, digital ordering, pickup, and delivery options have never been more popular or easy to use. In April, May, and June, almost 90 percent of Starbucks order volume came through the drive-thru or mobile order-and-pay, and delivery transactions tripled from earlier this year. At McDonald’s, 90 percent of sales during the same time period came from the drive-thru. Sales from digital orders tripled at Chipotle.
The good(ish) news is that surveys show that a vast majority of Americans do support mask usage, with a vocal few opposed. The bad news is that even though national mask policies exist, they still contain carve-outs for America’s exceptionalist attitude. One Chipotle worker from the southeastern U.S., who asked to remain anonymous, called the chain’s official policy “a joke,” saying that mask rules were enforced only against employees. “The general consensus is to make the customer feel like nothing is different in spite of local statutes,” they said, adding that their restaurant is often short-staffed due to illness or employee turnover. “It’s hard to tell the pro-MAGA open-carry guy that wants to engage over the mask policy to wear one.”
Kristen Hawley writes about restaurant operations, technology, and the future of the business from San Francisco. She’s the founder of Expedite , a restaurant technology newsletter that’s existed, in some form, for the last seven years.


vox--2020-08-06--Midnight Sun brings back the creepy, sublimated, wildly unhealthy eroticism of Twilight

Into this Year of the Plague , like the half-forgotten relic of a simpler , lower-stakes culture war , has sparkled the most famous Spanish flu survivor in American popular culture : Twilight ’ s Edward Cullen is back .
That ’ s right .
Thirteen years after it was first leaked to the internet , Stephenie Meyer ’ s Midnight Sun , which retells the first volume of the Twilight saga from Edward ’ s point of view , is finally out in print .
It ’ s been lightly revised from that leaked first draft , and when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it feels like 2009 is back all over again .
Is Midnight Sun a good book ?
Of course it ’ s not , it ’ s a Twilight book .
It has all the same clunky , leaden sentences you remember from the first time Twilight came out in 2005 , and the same bizarre pacing , where nothing really happens until maybe 50 pages from the ending .
It has the same insistence that stalking and emotional abuse is romantic , the same casual racism toward Indigenous people , and every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general pop culture punching bag when it was at the height of its cultural saturation 10 years ago .
It also remains the case , as many critics have by now argued , that the backlash against Twilight was much more vitriolic than the backlash against other trashy bestsellers of the era like Ready Player One that were marketed to boys rather than to girls .
It ’ s by now pretty clear that the not-so-secret reason everyone had so much fun mocking Twilight online 10 years ago is that our culture loves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both of those things are true !
But the return of Twilight does give us a chance to dive into all of the things that made the franchise a phenomenon the first time around .
Because even as the Twilight franchise was reviled , it was also massively successful .
A microgeneration of teen girls imprinted on these books .
And then they were taught that they should hate themselves for it , because smart girls weren ’ t supposed to like Twilight .
Twilight is , in many ways , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pain , a late 2000s blip in our collective development away from the purity rings of the Bush era and toward the woke cosmopolitanism of the Obama era — a tiny span when many were obsessed with Mormon vampires who glitter in the sunlight .
It ’ s pop culture at its most effervescent and disposable .
But something in this franchise spoke deeply to the hearts of thousands of girls .
That something is valuable , and worth a closer look .
I can only find traces of it in Midnight Sun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That means every moment can be sexy .
Midnight Sun is longer than its predecessor .
At 658 pages , it is a full 144 pages heavier than the original Twilight was .
The plot moves slowly : The lovers don ’ t kiss until page 378 , and the villain doesn ’ t arrive until page 500 .
And those extra 144 pages don ’ t offer much new material .
While we occasionally see Edward with his family as Bella didn ’ t get a chance to , he barely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s so obsessed with his busy schedule of Bella-stalking .
In fact , Edward stalks Bella so closely that the bulk of Midnight Sun is a scene-for-scene match for Twilight , this time with the bonus of Edward complaining that he doesn ’ t know exactly what ’ s going on in Bella ’ s mind at any given moment .
When he has to rip himself away from her side — in order to hunt down that vampire who finally shows up to menace her on page 500 — Meyer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has absolutely no interest in writing about a vampire-on-vampire game of cat-and-mouse through the wilderness .
No , what Meyer is interested in , and where the bulk of those extra 144 pages seems to come from , is in gazing .
She wants to show us Edward watching Bella in reverent , ecstatic detail , wants to show us how every ordinary thing Bella does overcomes him .
Bella doesn ’ t cover her face when walking in the rain ?
This shows that she does not wear makeup , meaning that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unlike other girls , and besides , she doesn ’ t need makeup because “ the cosmetics industry made billions of dollars a year from women who were trying to attain skin like hers.
” Bella ’ s wearing pajamas and her hair is wet from her shower ?
“ The English language needed a word that meant something halfway between a goddess and a naiad.
” When Bella shows up in a crew-neck top and a long khaki skirt , well , the poor guy nearly has an aneurysm .
But Edward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaste .
It takes until page 230 for him to even consider kissing her , and then until page 378 to do the deed .
Sex is out of the question , both because Edward ’ s superhuman strength could kill Bella and because Edward believes that true love waits , but face-touching features heavily .
When Edward imagines “ a thousand different ways to touch her , ” each image in his mind has the hazy edges of a soft-focus romantic montage : “ The tip of my finger tracing the shape @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her chin.
” Yet there has always been a bizarre , sublimated eroticism in Twilight , a weird and masochistic yearning that is what made these books so compelling to their target audience .
Sex and its accompanying dangers are no true threat with Edward Cullen , and yet with the bare fact of sex removed , the idea of sex is able to permeate everything — and so is the fear that comes with it .
Every moment becomes painfully , dangerously chaste-hot .
Because what makes Bella extraordinary to Edward is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
He knows that if he were to drink her blood and kill her , she ’ d be the best thing he ever tasted .
But he must resist with all his might because of how deeply he loves her .
What unbearable tension .
What a power rush for the girl who can imagine herself in Bella ’ s place .
When Edward at last tastes Bella ’ s blood at the end of Midnight Sun — to save her life , because she has been infected with venom that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Edward sucks it out of her — it has all the release of a consummation .
The thing is , we already saw that scene once before .
We saw it in Twilight , from Bella ’ s point of view .
And it was sexier and more interesting there .
There ’ s a reason that the first time Stephenie Meyer told this story , she chose to tell it through Bella ’ s eyes and not Edward ’ s .
Once you get inside Edward ’ s head , you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diminishing returns .
Midnight Sun is about Edward .
But the actually interesting character in Twilight is Bella Swan .
Part of what makes Edward such a powerful fantasy figure in the original Twilight , a Byron in a sensible mid-range Volvo , is the way he seems to see something in Bella that even she can ’ t , something that allows him to center his whole immortal life on her .
Bella thinks of herself as painfully ordinary , but surely there must be something special about her if Edward thinks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specialness that the reader can borrow for themselves , imagining that through the eyes of a worthy lover , they too might become impossibly special , so special that a vampire might fight against his very nature to keep from drinking their impossibly tempting blood .
That ’ s a powerful fantasy , and there ’ s nothing wrong with it .
There ’ s nothing mysterious about thousands of teen girls wanting to live inside of that fantasy if they could .
But Midnight Sun takes us inside Edward ’ s head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what he thinks is so special about Bella .
And it is … not very convincing .
What Edward likes about Bella , we learn , is that she sacrifices her own well-being for the happiness of other people , including the parents who she looks after as though they were her children .
If Meyer wanted to avoid the “ Twilight romanticizes emotional abuse ” criticism , it probably would have been better for her to avoid giving Edward a motivation that sounded so much as though he targeted Bella because he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be easy to bend to his will .
But it ’ s also a disappointing motivation because Edward is completely wrong about what ’ s special about Bella .
What I ’ m about to say is reading heavily against the grain of Twilight .
I don ’ t think it ’ s what Stephenie Meyer intends anyone to get out of these books , and it ’ s probably not what a lot of fans are interested in when they read them .
But it ’ s there in the text @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and it ’ s the part of these books that I care about .
What is actually interesting about Bella Swan , and what I continue to find compelling about her even when she is filtered through Edward ’ s thoughts , is how ferociously and desperately that girl wants some power for herself .
She sees a hot guy who can offer power to her — who can make her rich and hot and strong and young forever — and she says , Yes , please , and fuck whoever tries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pretend that he hates being a vampire .
But he clearly loves it , and he clearly gets off on his own sense of martyrdom at his dark fate .
Bella sees right through him .
“ I shouldn ’ t exist , ” Edward says in Midnight Sun ( brooding italics original ) , and Bella responds , “ That ’ s like going to someone who ’ s just won the lottery , taking their money , and saying , ‘ Look , let ’ s just go back to how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better that way.
” Bella doesn ’ t care about her friends or family .
She does not like sacrificing her life for them , and she wants to stop doing that .
What Bella cares about is boning her crush and getting superpowers and money and endless hotness .
She wants these things so badly that she manages to get poor slow-on-the-uptake Edward Cullen to deliver them to her , while convincing him it ’ s all his fault and she never had an impure thought in her life .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and that ’ s what makes the series feel like such a power rush for the reader despite Edward ’ s continued abuse of his power over Bella .
Sure , he takes away her ability to consent over and over again — and Midnight Sun confirms that ’ s intentional on his part — and sure , he stalks her and threatens her and brings oil along with him when he breaks into her bedroom at night so he can grease the squeaky window and make sure he doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and heavy-breathes over her .
But Bella ’ s playing the long game here .
She ’ s after power no one can take away from her , not even Edward .
And she gets it in the end , because she ’ s a fucking artist .
That ’ s the Twilight I ’ m interested in .
And it ’ s such a shame that Midnight Sun , in focusing so exclusively on Edward , offers so little of it .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free articles , videos , and podcasts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

Into this Year of the Plague, like the half-forgotten relic of a simpler, lower-stakes culture war, has sparkled the most famous Spanish flu survivor in American popular culture: Twilight’s Edward Cullen is back.
That’s right. Thirteen years after it was first leaked to the internet, Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun, which retells the first volume of the Twilight saga from Edward’s point of view, is finally out in print. It’s been lightly revised from that leaked first draft, and when you hold it in your hands, it feels like 2009 is back all over again.
Is Midnight Sun a good book? Of course it’s not, it’s a Twilight book. It has all the same clunky, leaden sentences you remember from the first time Twilight came out in 2005, and the same bizarre pacing, where nothing really happens until maybe 50 pages from the ending. It has the same insistence that stalking and emotional abuse is romantic, the same casual racism toward Indigenous people, and every other fault that made the franchise a general pop culture punching bag when it was at the height of its cultural saturation 10 years ago.
It also remains the case, as many critics have by now argued, that the backlash against Twilight was much more vitriolic than the backlash against other trashy bestsellers of the era like Ready Player One that were marketed to boys rather than to girls. It’s by now pretty clear that the not-so-secret reason everyone had so much fun mocking Twilight online 10 years ago is that our culture loves to mock stuff made for teenage girls. Both of those things are true!
(I did wonder, as I picked up Midnight Sun, whether it would turn out that all my circa-2009 hatred for Twilight was purely internalized misogyny, and I would end up loving this franchise. But it turns out that no, even though Ready Player One is also terrible, Midnight Sun is really a very bad book.)
But the return of Twilight does give us a chance to dive into all of the things that made the franchise a phenomenon the first time around. Because even as the Twilight franchise was reviled, it was also massively successful. A microgeneration of teen girls imprinted on these books. And then they were taught that they should hate themselves for it, because smart girls weren’t supposed to like Twilight.
Twilight is, in many ways, a cultural relic. It was a growing pain, a late 2000s blip in our collective development away from the purity rings of the Bush era and toward the woke cosmopolitanism of the Obama era — a tiny span when many were obsessed with Mormon vampires who glitter in the sunlight. It’s pop culture at its most effervescent and disposable.
But something in this franchise spoke deeply to the hearts of thousands of girls. That something is valuable, and worth a closer look.
I can only find traces of it in Midnight Sun.
In Twilight, sex is impossible. That means every moment can be sexy.
Midnight Sun is longer than its predecessor. At 658 pages, it is a full 144 pages heavier than the original Twilight was. The plot moves slowly: The lovers don’t kiss until page 378, and the villain doesn’t arrive until page 500. And those extra 144 pages don’t offer much new material. While we occasionally see Edward with his family as Bella didn’t get a chance to, he barely has time to talk with them because he’s so obsessed with his busy schedule of Bella-stalking.
Rating: 1 out of 5 vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark
In fact, Edward stalks Bella so closely that the bulk of Midnight Sun is a scene-for-scene match for Twilight, this time with the bonus of Edward complaining that he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on in Bella’s mind at any given moment. When he has to rip himself away from her side — in order to hunt down that vampire who finally shows up to menace her on page 500 — Meyer’s boredom is palpable. She has absolutely no interest in writing about a vampire-on-vampire game of cat-and-mouse through the wilderness.
No, what Meyer is interested in, and where the bulk of those extra 144 pages seems to come from, is in gazing. She wants to show us Edward watching Bella in reverent, ecstatic detail, wants to show us how every ordinary thing Bella does overcomes him.
Bella doesn’t cover her face when walking in the rain? This shows that she does not wear makeup, meaning that she is admirably modest and un-self-obsessed, unlike other girls, and besides, she doesn’t need makeup because “the cosmetics industry made billions of dollars a year from women who were trying to attain skin like hers.” Bella’s wearing pajamas and her hair is wet from her shower? “The English language needed a word that meant something halfway between a goddess and a naiad.” When Bella shows up in a crew-neck top and a long khaki skirt, well, the poor guy nearly has an aneurysm.
But Edward’s longing for Bella is painfully chaste. It takes until page 230 for him to even consider kissing her, and then until page 378 to do the deed. Sex is out of the question, both because Edward’s superhuman strength could kill Bella and because Edward believes that true love waits, but face-touching features heavily. When Edward imagines “a thousand different ways to touch her,” each image in his mind has the hazy edges of a soft-focus romantic montage: “The tip of my finger tracing the shape of her lips. My palm cupping her chin.”
Yet there has always been a bizarre, sublimated eroticism in Twilight, a weird and masochistic yearning that is what made these books so compelling to their target audience. Sex and its accompanying dangers are no true threat with Edward Cullen, and yet with the bare fact of sex removed, the idea of sex is able to permeate everything — and so is the fear that comes with it. Every moment becomes painfully, dangerously chaste-hot.
Because what makes Bella extraordinary to Edward is that her blood smells so good to him. He knows that if he were to drink her blood and kill her, she’d be the best thing he ever tasted. But he must resist with all his might because of how deeply he loves her. What unbearable tension. What a power rush for the girl who can imagine herself in Bella’s place.
When Edward at last tastes Bella’s blood at the end of Midnight Sun — to save her life, because she has been infected with venom that will transform her into a vampire unless Edward sucks it out of her — it has all the release of a consummation.
The thing is, we already saw that scene once before. We saw it in Twilight, from Bella’s point of view. And it was sexier and more interesting there.
There’s a reason that the first time Stephenie Meyer told this story, she chose to tell it through Bella’s eyes and not Edward’s. Once you get inside Edward’s head, you’re stuck with a serious case of diminishing returns.
Midnight Sun is about Edward. But the actually interesting character in Twilight is Bella Swan.
Part of what makes Edward such a powerful fantasy figure in the original Twilight, a Byron in a sensible mid-range Volvo, is the way he seems to see something in Bella that even she can’t, something that allows him to center his whole immortal life on her. Bella thinks of herself as painfully ordinary, but surely there must be something special about her if Edward thinks so?
And it is this secret specialness that the reader can borrow for themselves, imagining that through the eyes of a worthy lover, they too might become impossibly special, so special that a vampire might fight against his very nature to keep from drinking their impossibly tempting blood. That’s a powerful fantasy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. There’s nothing mysterious about thousands of teen girls wanting to live inside of that fantasy if they could.
But Midnight Sun takes us inside Edward’s head, so that we can see exactly what he thinks is so special about Bella. And it is … not very convincing.
What Edward likes about Bella, we learn, is that she sacrifices her own well-being for the happiness of other people, including the parents who she looks after as though they were her children. If Meyer wanted to avoid the “Twilight romanticizes emotional abuse” criticism, it probably would have been better for her to avoid giving Edward a motivation that sounded so much as though he targeted Bella because he thought she had a codependent personality and would be easy to bend to his will. But it’s also a disappointing motivation because Edward is completely wrong about what’s special about Bella.
What I’m about to say is reading heavily against the grain of Twilight. I don’t think it’s what Stephenie Meyer intends anyone to get out of these books, and it’s probably not what a lot of fans are interested in when they read them. But it’s there in the text if you want to look for it, and it’s the part of these books that I care about.
What is actually interesting about Bella Swan, and what I continue to find compelling about her even when she is filtered through Edward’s thoughts, is how ferociously and desperately that girl wants some power for herself. She sees a hot guy who can offer power to her — who can make her rich and hot and strong and young forever — and she says, Yes, please, and fuck whoever tries to stop me.
Edward likes to pretend that he hates being a vampire. But he clearly loves it, and he clearly gets off on his own sense of martyrdom at his dark fate. Bella sees right through him.
“I shouldn’t exist,” Edward says in Midnight Sun (brooding italics original), and Bella responds, “That’s like going to someone who’s just won the lottery, taking their money, and saying, ‘Look, let’s just go back to how things should be. It’s better that way.”
Bella doesn’t care about her friends or family. She does not like sacrificing her life for them, and she wants to stop doing that. What Bella cares about is boning her crush and getting superpowers and money and endless hotness. She wants these things so badly that she manages to get poor slow-on-the-uptake Edward Cullen to deliver them to her, while convincing him it’s all his fault and she never had an impure thought in her life.
That’s what’s fun about Twilight, and that’s what makes the series feel like such a power rush for the reader despite Edward’s continued abuse of his power over Bella. Sure, he takes away her ability to consent over and over again — and Midnight Sun confirms that’s intentional on his part — and sure, he stalks her and threatens her and brings oil along with him when he breaks into her bedroom at night so he can grease the squeaky window and make sure he doesn’t wake her up as he sits there and heavy-breathes over her.
But Bella’s playing the long game here. She’s after power no one can take away from her, not even Edward. And she gets it in the end, because she’s a fucking artist.
That’s the Twilight I’m interested in. And it’s such a shame that Midnight Sun, in focusing so exclusively on Edward, offers so little of it.