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Why video game doors are so hard to get right

Doors are so common in the real world that you probably don’t stop to think about how to operate them.
But for video game designers, that’s not the case. For a video game door to feel real, it takes a ton of challenging work. Video game doors have to interact seamlessly with their surroundings, make logical sense, and look good too. They have to strike a delicate balance between real-world accuracy and playability. All these factors mean designing a door usually requires work from every department at a game company.
And different types of doors require different amounts of work.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1631074329_3781_165005" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22832118,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/101khPXfgwkpNGILNlw9rs1cClg=/0x0:3826x2160/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Yhs_Q_w7QUFysv3v-xdJXFcmd6A=/0x0:3826x2160/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Yh3ATGfv72KvhU63WvoEDoVLplA=/0x0:3826x2160/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fENEI8bNx7T0XtfOM0SFoBvkeyo=/0x0:3826x2160/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FhFP6Z-uxCQudG872LD2KBeDRE0=/0x0:3826x2160/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dFIfdPIu9ltckqI7xVjRxsCQwYU=/0x0:3826x2160/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fVkAVi2WBzwRxn-Cz_UeP9FkZ0k=/0x0:3826x2160/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bVso0FcaxcRLODs5MZreeI8wBQQ=/0x0:3826x2160/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4j3pyrnLWnJBOsekQcs9kAGFjeQ=/0x0:3826x2160/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="Two columns of text. On the left is tiers zero to 3, on the right, door difficulty is explained. Tier zero is no doors. Tier 1 has sliding proximity doors. Tier 2 looks like real-world doors. Tier 3 looks like real-world doors and characters physically interact with them." data-upload-width="3826" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/h6mAmS2W90PyecEFLNi4AFdKqCU=/0x0:3826x2160/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/07I9Clr1L-Dw6rGNdn8WbF1zK70=/0x0:3826x2160/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FURI_bdW_oG3YZ3pnybqakMG_pI=/0x0:3826x2160/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3g_XTLNjCJjaU1MsM2_vB0fGA4c=/0x0:3826x2160/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9jOsRmrTNOC2UkEUny_ZHSD2EpE=/0x0:3826x2160/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iR3PIPAT9tCLwwa1tRt3htuZNEs=/0x0:3826x2160/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eX5jL_U4uTGmCCN8K_Y-Yx0Gxh0=/0x0:3826x2160/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VXUh8L8xqYKnSUBfupko6gyHLtQ=/0x0:3826x2160/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2cQaeQRJMJQaOODmziaJQ_EGpQQ=/0x0:3826x2160/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0hClyRYuwoDGmkmh9CUCMlNKHCM=/0x0:3826x2160/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:3826x2160):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832118/image.png 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Unofficial tiers of door difficulty.</figcaption>
<cite>Edward Vega</cite></figure>
Tier zero: No doors. This is the easiest way to go, and many games take this route. Even games that have doors often have many areas that eliminate doors entirely because they want to avoid the headache.
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<figcaption>Why put in doors when you can keep your sanity instead?</figcaption>
<cite>World of Warcraft/Blizzard Entertainment (played by Edward Vega)</cite></figure>
Tier one: Proximity doors. These are the types of doors you’ll find in a sci-fi game like Halo. They usually slide in on themselves, so they don’t interact with any other objects in the scene. These doors are basically doorways, but with the impediment that you can’t see what’s on the other side until you are nearby.
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<figcaption>These doors often appear in sci-fi games because they seem futuristic, but it’s their ease of implementation that makes them a staple.</figcaption>
<cite>Halo Reach/Microsoft Game Studios (played by Edward Vega)</cite></figure>
Tier two: Doors that look like real-world doors. The door has to swing forward and backward. How does the door react if there’s an object in its way? Can the door lock? Do enemy characters and companion characters know how to strategize around the door?
Game characters usually don’t physically touch the door, but they might perform an arm gesture that suggests they’re opening or closing it.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1631074329_7942_165008" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22832124,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/d-lH0LDBsimhFKgGHBE96ynPMYI=/0x0:4294x2414/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-7-nDaQO5a3Mv_h5uhd0_YMA8FY=/0x0:4294x2414/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tRg2PW0Wn9-WSQnrrUe5eYuQBtA=/0x0:4294x2414/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ewFe0nHeAJ_OcdnvP8Wqilkfy5c=/0x0:4294x2414/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cAKCYclg5zLY4AgFrIV4zFkenIs=/0x0:4294x2414/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YsWfX3xNKo5qYAqeuOAfUmASJM0=/0x0:4294x2414/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s8IbbcW6gYosZO30uRx0KjiBpME=/0x0:4294x2414/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JWxQ7bzJCeExJkO7BLGVZ2hODKA=/0x0:4294x2414/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IjAL1Zj5QnjJGMl84I_jVz6WyLA=/0x0:4294x2414/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="Playable character dressed in a high-visibility safety vest faces away from a door that is slightly ajar." data-upload-width="4294" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D9uai7HJ-CxmRuzJTRhq1qZDF5c=/0x0:4294x2414/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rfdb31Ek_ndEXsN-GdpYvdKsPYw=/0x0:4294x2414/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yM8GaHH263Bc-6_aMVMTvWpq0DY=/0x0:4294x2414/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LBORb7DJ6GisTm7g2oHWvK_ayc8=/0x0:4294x2414/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2eoL32gr0UHmpegdhbcfxw7IAzc=/0x0:4294x2414/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gRd9wyAyFkfKudY58cyLUDMkHM8=/0x0:4294x2414/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QLeZ_2OE_UJrC31QFiXRtWNVNfw=/0x0:4294x2414/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vdo6_LCUssIBfL1Zj4-pyuT5W18=/0x0:4294x2414/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BVc2QHtba0ONi1gvVpnZek7QwrY=/0x0:4294x2414/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eUQ5UJKshk5XZEqwFqsDU702MCA=/0x0:4294x2414/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4294x2414):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832124/image__3_.png 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>The camera can also drive intentionality in gameplay. While the character isn’t facing the door, the camera is, so it doesn’t feel weird that we can still open it.</figcaption>
<cite>Hitman/IO Interactive (played by Edward Vega)</cite></figure>
Tier three: Doors that look like real-world doors and characters interact with them. These doors have all the difficulties of tier-two doors plus the added challenge of perceived interactions.
To make interactions look realistic, animators have to painstakingly animate characters’ hands appearing as though they’re grasping and letting go of objects, like doorknobs. Once animated, developers have to figure out the best way to seamlessly transition between the preset animations and the human player’s control.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1631074329_386_165009" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22832127,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZDTUW3Hy1H-Ovu_t1x6OMF0VGF4=/0x0:4284x2406/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gnLnRBUOyVsrkgFgSsEZKy1TZD0=/0x0:4284x2406/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/48ewVbg168jjD7kBgBsY_0th_6g=/0x0:4284x2406/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cgoduQUHJKZxGVcuakqWt-H1Eso=/0x0:4284x2406/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4tIq6KQRT1y7eU7-2qvp-09CHDQ=/0x0:4284x2406/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zFNSQ1q2kJLBfyxLJWVcqnYNFEw=/0x0:4284x2406/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uethNfaVUkxrILSp1ZrRN4MtlAE=/0x0:4284x2406/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SP2KJri0sP5r5Teb7--nwDrzvec=/0x0:4284x2406/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qdUFgsEsVyVqemKBpA4GllY9FU8=/0x0:4284x2406/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="Playable character is shown interacting with a door, gripping the handle, and pushing the door open." data-upload-width="4284" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zX9fix5Y9D9aarQsdd8Ual3Nh5o=/0x0:4284x2406/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b9K0ZAvr30N16IcTnopdfETVAD8=/0x0:4284x2406/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/69yMvtGLBgfJbzPmIVdsL0dhaH4=/0x0:4284x2406/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8DtTmJ4OQk1ZH9IydQZlw2Wgm8k=/0x0:4284x2406/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lJt10WYem5eDfetD0mzBjWpokZU=/0x0:4284x2406/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FQuX1WR4gDTeZVPDeFJSLmjFGHM=/0x0:4284x2406/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RnbDt2TW6aS03g7LSQJd26x6Rps=/0x0:4284x2406/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mQF5I2IVPc8rSgQMLI7bZh4Sj9I=/0x0:4284x2406/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OTAP2baVZESpTzaL4BZEgvrq26Q=/0x0:4284x2406/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HaGKsL6uRvnGuUvFlPnzm4iQFOA=/0x0:4284x2406/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4284x2406):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22832127/image__4_.png 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>These doors are maximum effort.</figcaption>
<cite>The Last of Us Part II/Sony Interactive Entertainment (played by Edward Vega)</cite></figure>
These same challenges crop up as you try to add almost any element to a game. Doors are hard because all of game development is hard.
Like any great piece of art, the blood, sweat, and tears that go into doors are often invisible. The best doors are the ones that work seamlessly and go unnoticed.
You can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on YouTube</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/22661048/video-game-development-door-difficulty-design">https://www.vox.com/videos/22661048/video-game-development-door-difficulty-design</a>

vox Why video game doors are so hard to get right

Doors are so common in the real world that you probably don’t stop to think about how to operate them. But for video game designers, that’s...

Why some people think this photo of JFK’s killer is fake

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CpP2rsOex8mfZFMHD2ewPp23du0=/0x38:1920x1043/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831662/DRK_Oswald_Thumb_Clean.jpg" /></div>
Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered two days after he was arrested for assassinating US President John F. Kennedy. But before Oswald died, he claimed that a damning piece of evidence against him — a photo showing Oswald holding the rifle that killed the president — was fake. In fact, he said his face was superimposed onto another person’s body to set him up.
The photo’s authenticity has been in question ever since, and it plays a key role in conspiracy theories surrounding JFK’s death. The shadows in the photo seem inconsistent, and Oswald’s crooked stance under the weight of the rifle looks like he is about to tip over. Plus, his face doesn’t look the same as it does in his mug shot.
For decades, conspiracy theorists have used this image as key evidence to suggest that Oswald was framed. But decades of analysis — including recent 3D forensic analysis — have shown over and over that the photo is likely authentic.
Darkroom is a history and photography series that anchors each episode around a single image. Analyzing what the photo shows (or doesn’t show) provides context that helps unravel a wider story. Watch previous episodes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5ce8J4P5j5qOEtYR94Z3DQs">here</a>.
You can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on YouTube</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/22660913/jfk-assassination-superimposed-lee-harvey-oswald-darkroom">https://www.vox.com/videos/22660913/jfk-assassination-superimposed-lee-harvey-oswald-darkroom</a>

vox Why some people think this photo of JFK’s killer is fake

Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered two days after he was arrested for assassinating US President John F. Kennedy. But before Oswald died, he cl...

Michael K. Williams was more than just Omar from The Wire. He elevated Black identity onscreen.

Before 2008, if you’d asked a US president to name their favorite television character, you’d hardly expect the answer to be a gay, Black, shotgun-wielding vigilante who made the streets of Baltimore his domain. But that was before Michael K. Williams, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/06/arts/michael-k-williams-dead.html">who died Monday at age 54</a>, was cast in the role of Omar Little on The Wire.
Arguably the most memorable character on a show full of them, Omar became, in Williams’s hands, a transcendent portrait of complicated Black male identity. He was a beloved breakout character, a victory for both Black and queer representation in an era when the complexities of queer identity, and Black identity, let alone queer Black identity, were rarely shown on TV.
In 2002, when The Wire began airing on HBO, roles for Black actors were largely limited to typecasting. By the time the show wrapped in 2008, five seasons later, Omar had all but become a mononym — and Williams himself had become an actor renowned for his ability to portray toughness and sensitivity, callousness and empathy, all in the same deep role.
A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZOiiL64Cko">self-described</a> “corny kid [from] the projects,” Williams spent over a decade in the music industry working as a backup dancer and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQX2q6WCrbE">choreographer</a> for artists like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaeCnGOaE98">George Michael</a>, Missy Elliott, and Madonna. After aging out of dancing, he became a renowned ensemble actor thanks to his work on The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and numerous other TV shows and films. He was <a href="https://www.emmys.com/bios/michael-k-williams">nominated</a> for four Supporting Actor Emmys, with the most recent nod landing in July for his work as a tortured father on HBO’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/21367860/lovecraft-country-hbo-review-no-spoilers">Lovecraft Country</a>.
However, it was really The Wire and Omar, his breakout role and the one Williams has called life-changing, that allowed the actor to make his cultural mark.
President Obama, <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/03/omar-gets-props-from-president-obama-116102">naming Omar</a> as his fave first in 2008 and then again in 2012, called Omar “unbelievable.” Indeed, on paper at least, the character should have been impossible to believe: Written by The Wire creator David Simon as a modern-day Robin Hood, Omar was a larger-than-life figure who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMm1Wih0kug">whistled</a> “The Farmer in the Dell” to warn people of his coming like something out of a horror film. He built up the myth of himself to more effectively terrorize drug-ridden neighborhoods by robbing dealers.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1631072072_6805_176226" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22831365,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fpuCRpvL_oyn5fFavp9Ie4rFQEo=/0x0:406x610/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/K5vvPfTzvKlNmNk5XZA3eBeh3Os=/0x0:406x610/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2wdrwg-lkV0Q8ukE-vtn_wpOKcs=/0x0:406x610/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-x6J1c9A6okWvAmcaYu_9xoOdHo=/0x0:406x610/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rXRGw5wyQaaVZNHrJfA2RgaL_wE=/0x0:406x610/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pqtWYi7Z5zVwqb3s5iZu8HQTfhg=/0x0:406x610/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jIz_oDsSpFNxJOmMz4sdwnFjjow=/0x0:406x610/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FcfCxLT-Pj46a5eMmeZRBx1h4EU=/0x0:406x610/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/oqaqW7JPXRiYEflOx9Jf0Zy6D0w=/0x0:406x610/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="" data-upload-width="406" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Mob7m34NCtjnaiAzwLHry-u9llE=/0x0:406x610/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/80-XaQBU8Zoh3s_XXF_kclRQ2Uc=/0x0:406x610/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qx0jSnHypud7vobLU_28MZtAVVw=/0x0:406x610/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FiTmi1wTXardx7d5hgkDm7k-Als=/0x0:406x610/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Wxg7K9hpVQvf6oIWA8PVZb5qt14=/0x0:406x610/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xdulwn-S5hpixENI1_XL55Xvr_c=/0x0:406x610/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_SNAKZiQ7wQcpBiwl2rCvn8HHmg=/0x0:406x610/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xlwBmSbv7R_xi6bLgro_3o8cgBI=/0x0:406x610/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2WzPZNWQ6_wgNBcFJl9SoP1oi1o=/0x0:406x610/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uTgbBvY_IhT2ZgZHh_Ug2sADSS8=/0x0:406x610/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:406x610):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22831365/1642.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>“Omar comin’,” from a viral 2011 essay, <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Down-in-the-Hole/Joy-DeLyria/9781576876022" target="_blank">now a book</a>, treating <a class="ql-link" href="https://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/03/when-its-not-your-turn-the-quintessentially-victorian-vision-of-ogdens-the-wire/" target="_blank">The Wire as a Victorian novel</a>.</figcaption>
<cite><a class="ql-link" href="http://livingtheline.com/" target="_blank">Sean Michael Robinson</a></cite></figure>
Unlike Robin Hood, though, Omar’s lawlessness lacked any veneer of virtue; his stealth mainly benefited himself and his henchmen. He famously lived by his own somewhat cherry-picked moral code (“A man’s got to have a code”) and refused to choose any particular side in the game of cops versus dealers.
Williams played Omar as a classic self-aware trickster, operating both within the circus and outside of it, as both participant and spectator. This ambivalence gave him a kind of straightforward clarity that frequently made for electrifying drama. Recall the moment in season two when he silenced a corrupt defense attorney’s attempts to discredit him by correctly assessing that they were both side players who profited off the ongoing war on drugs, uttering the famous line “I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase”:
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Omar, like many of The Wire’s characters, was based on a composite of the real people whom Wire creator Simon met during his years covering crime as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Omar was originally intended to appear in just a few episodes — until, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/jul/19/television.wire">as Williams told the Guardian in 2008</a>, Simon and co-creator Ed Burns saw how much Williams was bringing to the role. They wrote Omar into all five seasons, and he became one of the show’s most pivotal characters.
Perhaps because he never sought to be likable or relatable, Omar arguably became The Wire’s most beloved character — a glorified everyman who functioned as a relatable point of contact in the middle of a world with which very few HBO viewers had direct experience.
Crucially, while Omar’s sexual orientation was a huge part of his character, it was never a central focus of the show: He was the rare queer character onscreen who was allowed to be three-dimensional, to fall in love, to grieve, to have a range of positive and negative qualities, without being limited to plots that revolved around his gay identity.
Williams would go on to play other queer characters, most notably Montrose Freeman on Lovecraft Country, but he strove to showcase his characters as full, complete people despite the panoply of social issues they faced. Another notable example was Williams’s five-season run as Chalky White on HBO’s Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), in which his character — a racketeer in Jazz Age Atlantic City — frequently faced not only racial prejudice but colorism and classism. In response, he became a ruthless, fearless gangster who exacted vengeance against, for example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zweq4ZabNd8">white supremacists</a>, while still evincing deep loyalty to his friends and his community.
Then there was Williams’s powerful turn in Netflix’s 2019 miniseries <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/6/2/18646523/when-they-see-us-donald-trump-central-park-five-netflix-ava-duvernay">When They See Us</a> as Bobby McCray, the heartbroken father of one of the wrongfully incarcerated Black teens who became known as the Central Park Five. Tasked with portraying a man who lived through an extraordinary human tragedy, Williams wore weariness and grief in every moment he was onscreen. For that performance, he received the third of his four Emmy nods for acting.
Williams was also open about his own issues with many of the issues his characters faced, particularly his “<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/michael-k-williams-2011-interview-on-struggles-and-salvation-1235009102/">turbulent</a>” childhood and brushes with drug addiction, legal troubles, and poverty, both before and after finding success in the world of entertainment. “I will not allow Hollywood to stereotype or to desensitize my experience growing up in the hood,” he <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CFH036tB28s/">wrote</a> in a September 2020 Instagram post. “This is my job as an actor, to show the integrity, to show the class, to show the swagger, to show the danger, to show the pain, to show the bad choices.”
While Williams’s post-Wire career was long and varied, and encompasses far more than “just” his role as Omar, the importance of Omar as a cornerstone character can’t be overstated. Speaking to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/michael-k-williams-2011-interview-on-struggles-and-salvation-1235009102/">the Hollywood Reporter</a> in 2011, Williams reflected on Omar’s fundamental appeal: “He’s a Robin Hood. He’s an underdog.”
Then, perhaps harking back to President Obama’s previous recognition of the character, he homed in on what might be the key to Omar’s continued cultural legacy: “He is someone in society that, if given the chance, could have been President Barack Obama, had he been given the opportunities — great mind, great heart, a lot of courage.”
Above all else, Williams will be remembered for his humanity and courage, as well as for the authenticity he brought to all his roles. After Williams’s death, fellow Wire veteran Wendell Pierce wrote in a moving <a href="https://twitter.com/WendellPierce/status/1434986053539176456">Twitter thread</a> that Williams was an “immensely talented man with the ability to give voice to the human condition[,] portraying the lives of those whose humanity is seldom elevated until he sings their truth.” For many of his fans, Williams was more than an actor: He was a gateway to empathy with a host of characters who might, had they not been played by Michael K. Williams, been easy to write off, stereotype, or forget.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22660679/michael-k-williams-death-the-wire-omar-little-boardwalk-empire-lovecraft-country">https://www.vox.com/22660679/michael-k-williams-death-the-wire-omar-little-boardwalk-empire-lovecraft-country</a>

vox Michael K. Williams was more than just Omar from The Wire. He elevated Black identity onscreen.

Before 2008, if you’d asked a US president to name their favorite television character, you’d hardly expect the answer to be a gay, Black, s...

Corporate America still isn’t sure what to say about abortion

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Texas is betting that its push to the right on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/31/22650303/supreme-court-abortion-texas-sb8-jackson-roe-wade-greg-abbott">abortion</a> won’t produce a tangible backlash from corporate America. So far, that bet is looking like it could be correct.
Last week, a law took effect in Texas that essentially bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court <a href="https://www.vox.com/22653779/supreme-court-abortion-texas-sb8-whole-womans-health-jackson-roe-wade">declined to block the law</a> or rule on its constitutionality by a 5–4 vote. The law, known as SB 8, provides no exception for rape or incest and allows private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone who performs an abortion or “knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets” an abortion after six weeks, which is <a href="https://www.vox.com/22444100/texas-bans-abortion-6-weeks-supreme-court">often before people even know they are pregnant</a>. It effectively turns anti-abortion activists into vigilantes and offers them $10,000 per abortion if their lawsuits are successful.
Pushed by their customers and employees, big businesses and brands have become more willing to weigh in on big social and political issues in recent years, including <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/4/5/22368566/corporate-response-georgia-sb202">voting rights</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22463723/blackout-tuesday-blm-sephora-starbucks-nike-glossier">racial justice</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/16/21069827/twitter-microsoft-linkedin-public-charge-trump-immigration-tech-companies">immigration</a>. But thus far, they are largely staying quiet on Texas’s anti-abortion law. Dating companies Bumble, based in Austin, and Match Group, based in Dallas, are some of the few major brands to speak out against the law and take action this month. Lyft followed, then Uber, in part because its drivers are among those who can be sued for driving people to get an abortion.
Shar Dubey, the CEO of Match Group, which owns platforms such as Tinder and Hinge, said in a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-02/match-group-starts-fund-for-staff-affected-by-texas-abortion-law">memo</a> to employees that the company was starting a fund to support employees in need of abortion care. “The company generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business,” Dubey said in the memo. “But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent.”
In a pair of tweets, Bumble said it would create a relief fund for people seeking abortions in Texas and pledged to “keep fighting against regressive laws” like SB 8.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bumble is women-founded and women-led, and from day one we’ve stood up for the most vulnerable. We'll keep fighting against regressive laws like <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SB8?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SB8</a>.
— Bumble (@bumble) <a href="https://twitter.com/bumble/status/1433195884435681287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Lyft CEO Logan Green said on Twitter that the company would create a driver defense fund to cover legal fees for drivers and that the company would donate $1 million to Planned Parenthood. He called SB 8 “an attack on women’s access to healthcare and on their right to choose.” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi <a href="https://twitter.com/dkhos/status/1433894081487273987?s=20">also said</a> his company would cover drivers’ legal fees.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This is an attack on women’s access to healthcare and on their right to choose. <a href="https://twitter.com/lyft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lyft</a> is donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood to ensure that transportation is never a barrier to healthcare access. We encourage other companies to join us.
— Logan Green (@logangreen) <a href="https://twitter.com/logangreen/status/1433872535288827911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Even so, none of the companies responding to the Texas abortion law are leaving the state.
Other big companies appear to be sitting the issue out, including American Airlines, AT&T, Exxon, 7-Eleven, Valero, Dell Technologies, and Oracle, all of which are headquartered in Texas. The same goes for Apple and Tesla, both of which have expanded operations in the state.
Companies have been more willing to weigh in on Texas Republicans’ <a href="https://www.vox.com/22652172/texas-voting-bill-sb1-republican-elections-restrictions-early-absentee-purge-greg-abbott">efforts to restrict voting</a> with new legislation. In April, Dell Technologies and American Airlines <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/business/american-airlines-dell-texas-voting-bills.html">made clear</a> their opposition to legislation limiting access to voting in Texas.
“As a Texas-based business, we must stand up for the rights of our team members and customers who call Texas home, and honor the sacrifices made by generations of Americans to protect and expand the right to vote,” American Airlines <a href="https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2021/American-Airlines-Statement-on-Texas-Voting-Legislation-CORP-OTH-04/default.aspx">said</a> at the time. Companies including Microsoft, Salesforce, HP, and Patagonia signed onto a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/us/politics/microsoft-hp-patagonia-texas-voting-rights.html">letter</a> in May saying they oppose voting restrictions. “Freedom is preserved in our democracy when we hold free and fair elections that protect the fundamental rights of all Texans,” the letter read.
After the Texas legislature passed a sweeping voting bill last week, American Airlines <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/business/dealbook/texas-voting-law-companies.html">told the New York Times’s DealBook</a> the company had “hoped for a different outcome” and wanted legislation “making it easier to vote, not harder.” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/business/texas-voting-rights-law-business.html">Dell said</a> it would urge workers to vote and push political leaders to “focus on staying committed to a healthy and welcoming business climate for all Texans,” according to the Times, and other companies expressed dissatisfaction.
Corporations <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/4/5/22368566/corporate-response-georgia-sb202">similarly criticized</a> a law restricting voting in Georgia that passed earlier this year; Major League Baseball went as far as to <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/3/22365408/mlb-all-star-game-atlanta-explained-voter-suppression-bills">move its All-Star Game</a> out of Atlanta.
It’s unlikely that AT&T or Elon Musk or Tim Cook putting out a statement about Texas’s abortion law would have an immediate impact on the law itself or convince the lawmakers who put it in place to change course in the near term.
But the silence from corporate America on the issue is telling. Companies have become more comfortable with talking about controversial issues over the years. On abortion, however, many of them still aren’t there. They profess to care about gender equity, and this is a gender equity issue. But they’re not treating the Texas law that way.
For years, companies tended to steer clear of hot-button political and social questions out of fear they would alienate consumers. But over the past decade or so, that’s changed: Many Americans <a href="https://www.vox.com/business-and-finance/2018/3/20/17107626/corporate-america-nra-guns-daca-trump">have come to expect companies</a> to take a position on a range of issues, including guns, voting, racial bias, and LGBTQ rights.
“It’s not abnormal for companies to take positions on issues that have a direct correlation with their bottom line,” said Brayden King, a professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “What seems pretty new in the last five or six years is what we’re calling progressive corporate activism.”
The pressure is external, from consumers, but it’s internal from workers, too. “Many companies have stated values and try to create cultures that emphasize diversity, inclusion, openness towards a general kind of diversity of all types, and I think that when a state or even a country does something that goes against those values, those employees want a company to say something,” King said.
But companies appear to be unsure of how to approach Texas’s abortion law, given their silence.
In an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/02/cnbc-exclusive-cnbc-transcript-texas-governor-greg-abbott-speaks-with-cnbcs-squawk-on-the-street-today.html">interview with CNBC</a> last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said there are “a lot of businesses” that “like the social positions that the state of Texas is taking.” He specifically cited Texas CEO Elon Musk. “Elon had to get out of California because in part of the social policies in California and Elon consistently tells me that he likes the social policies in the state of Texas,” he said.
Musk responded somewhat cryptically on Twitter, saying that he believes the government should “rarely impose its will upon the people” but that he would “prefer to stay out of politics.” Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from Vox.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In general, I believe government should rarely impose its will upon the people, and, when doing so, should aspire to maximize their cumulative happiness. That said, I would prefer to stay out of politics.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1433474893316722691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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As <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/texas-ceos-stay-silent-abortion-142606084.html">Dan Primack at Axios pointed out</a>, it could be the case that many business leaders and CEOs agree with Texas’s abortion law, but it’s perhaps likelier that there are other factors in play. Companies might just be afraid to take a stance, or, as Primack writes, male leaders just aren’t as concerned with the issue as women leaders are, and there are more male leaders than there are women. The people at the helm of both Bumble and Match Group are women. At the base of Bumble’s business is that it’s a women-friendly platform. In the case of Lyft and Uber, the law directly impacts their business.
The website host GoDaddy <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/3/22656196/godaddy-texas-right-for-life-abortion-whistleblowing-site">said it would stop hosting</a> a whistleblower website run by an anti-abortion group in Texas after coming under public pressure.
In 2019, almost 200 CEOs signed onto a <a href="https://dontbanequality.com/">letter</a> opposing laws restricting women’s access to reproductive care, including abortion, after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/187-companies-criticize-state-abortion-limits-new-york-times-ad-2019-6">Alabama and other states</a> attempted to put in place restrictive abortion laws. Jen Stark, senior director of corporate strategy for the Tara Health Foundation, who helped get companies to sign the letter, told <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/09/02/texas-abortion-law-business-backlash-match-group-bumble-sb8/">Fortune</a> that it hasn’t been easy to get businesses to speak up since. “If they don’t feel the squeeze, they try to run out the clock as long as they can,” she said.
Some companies funded candidates who supported the abortion bill. According to the women’s activist group <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/att-unitedhealth-companies-donated-texas-lawmakers-abortion-law-2021-9">UltraViolet</a>, sponsors of the legislation received donations from AT&T, Chevron, Charter Communications, and Berkshire Hathaway, among others.
Texas has put a lot of effort into attracting businesses and workers in recent years. As <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-02/lurch-to-the-right-may-imperil-texas-s-attraction-for-employers">Bloomberg</a> points out, the state has used low taxes and a scarcity of regulations to draw some 4 million people in over the past 10 years. Charles Schwab, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Oracle, among others, have moved their headquarters from California to Texas recently. Podcaster Joe Rogan and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have also relocated there.
“Texas is doing very well bringing in businesses for a number of reasons, including the available workforce, climate for business, cost structure, and the hard work of economic development professionals across the state,” said Ray Perryman, president and CEO of the Perryman Group, an economic research group based in Waco, in an email to Vox. “For many companies, the very high costs of operations and taxes in states such as California make Texas a very attractive option, and we continue to see many firms relocating here.”
In the CNBC interview, Abbott touted Texas’s ability to attract businesses and workers and expressed confidence that wouldn’t change. “People vote with their feet and this is not slowing down businesses coming to the state of Texas at all,” he said.
But it’s not certain this pattern will hold. A lot of the workers Texas wants to attract are college-educated professionals who tend to have liberal views. They may not want to move to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22618486/texas-abbott-legislature-voting-covid-immigration">a state where Republicans are restricting voting</a> and abortion and endangering public health by <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/11/texas-mask-mandates-covid-19-greg-abbott/">actively fighting</a> against basic safety measures for Covid-19.
“Other states are competing for people,” Tammi Wallace, chief executive officer of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, told Bloomberg. “If you look at what our state is doing, and then you see another state where they’re not doing some of those things, you might say, ‘Well, the money’s good, but where do I want to raise my family?’”
Perryman said there is a point where policy decisions and negative attention could make a difference to Texas’s economy, even if it’s only to slow growth somewhat. “We’ve looked at many of these issues where Texas has implemented controversial policy and have consistently found that there are negative implications,” he said.
In one of his group’s <a href="https://www.perrymangroup.com/publications/brief/2021/04/09/the-potential-economic-impact-of-legislation-restricting-voter-access-on-business-activity-in-texas/">reports</a> on voting restrictions, analysts found restricting voter access can harm the economy because of lost earnings and reduced consumer spending, and that controversial laws can reduce travel and tourism and overall economic development. They estimate voting restrictions could cost Texas nearly $15 billion in annual gross product by 2025. <a href="https://www.perrymangroup.com/media/uploads/brief/perryman-masked-08-20-21.pdf">They also determine</a> that the state ignoring Covid-19 safety measures reduces economic output and costs employers money when people can’t go back to work because of the pandemic.
Even if companies don’t speak out or exit Texas now, if they avoid it later down the line, it could have an economic impact and, perhaps, scare Republican politicians into changing course. “The opinions of corporations and knowledge workers can certainly make a difference, even if it’s indirectly or difficult to see at first glance. Many state legislators are fully aware of corporate opinions, and that awareness will hopefully influence policy over time,” Perryman said.
Whether companies should move out of Texas or cancel events there isn’t a question with easy answers. Amid the uproar over Georgia’s voting laws, some people pushed for businesses to pull out of the state, while others warned that in doing so they would cause economic harm to the very people they wanted to help. “Leaving us behind with boycotts won’t save us,” former gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/03/31/voter-suppression-will-corporations-redeem-themselves-column/4820354001/">wrote</a> in a USA Today op-ed at the time.
When people talk about the effectiveness of corporations taking a stance on a political issue and making an actual difference, the most prominent example they often use is that of <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/23/11100552/charlotte-north-carolina-lgbtq-pat-mccrory">North Carolina’s bathroom bill in 2016</a>. It barred transgender people in the state from using bathrooms according to their gender identity. After the bill was passed, PayPal and Deutsche Bank called off plans to expand in the state, and both the NBA and NCAA canceled events there. The law was repealed in 2017.
King said that many people point to the corporate backlash as the reason that the bill was repealed, but they often forget the political forces at play as well. Voter opposition to the bill <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/12/5/13776408/mccrory-cooper-governor-north-carolina-election-lgbtq">helped lead to the ousting</a> of the Republican governor who signed it into law, and it was repealed under his Democratic successor. “There were some major political realignment issues that happened in the state prior to the reversal, so that was probably a more direct cause,” he said.
It’s not clear now whether companies making a statement on Texas’s anti-abortion bill would make a difference in the state right now, though more direct action, such as lobbying or seriously considering pulling out of the state, might. Regardless, corporate activism — like all activism — can be helpful in drawing attention to the matter and showing that it’s important.
State legislatures and governors in places like Georgia and Texas are likely waiting to see whether any of the backlash to their controversial new laws has an impact on their states’ economies. If it appears there’s more talk than there is action from business leaders, lawmakers may just bide their time, let the criticism dwindle, and move on. On Texas’s abortion law, there’s barely even talk.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22660973/texas-abortion-lyft-att-godaddy-uber-bumble">https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22660973/texas-abortion-lyft-att-godaddy-uber-bumble</a>

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