Yeh, I feel that. As much as I try to be hippy here, I can't disagree with that.
I agree with all your points. I don't deny or absolve them of their wrong; they should very much be aware they're hurting people.
My definition of "demon" is Hitler/Stalin/Mao/Pinoche level, and despite the evil they do and the fact that they collectively enable "demons", I don't think they themselves rise to that level of evil. There are shades of gray.
When I say, “It is difficult to think of how they could coexist”, I mean if they refuse to be kind and coexist with others, meaning that they’ve truly refused to coexist and thus renounced that right.
I agree there need to be consequences for being horrid, I just think human rights need to be considered in those consequences as not to become horrid.
Also, I sort of view human civilization as a whole through the lens of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. In many ways, we’re still in the pre-conventional stage where we still behave based on punishment and reward, and for humanity to survive long term (if we can), we need to strive as a society towards the post-conventional stage where we are largely beyond pain and punishment. We will likely never attain the post-conventional stage much like a circle can never be perfectly round, but we must approach it the best we can.
"What stuff? Stop that! When I find you, I'm gonna kill you with a flake of my power! I am a skin of evil."
Lower Decks! Lower Decks!
I somewhat rebut that notion, but still, that is brutally funny, so I have to upvote. I have known a decent amount of jerk Republicans as well; one of my university classes is in a room next to where the campus Turning Point meeting is held, and it boils my blood a bit.
Honestly, my response to a comment on the c/risa version of this post pretty much sums up my point, so I won't write it up again: https://startrek.website/post/30091443/19306453
Yes and no. I think some people are intolerant out of true hatred and will choose to always act in bad faith. It is difficult to think of how they could coexist.
But also, a lot of people are just intolerant because they don't actually know the people they're hurting, only what they've been told. If they actually got to know the people their vote affects, they might have second thoughts - maybe not change their votes, but at the least be more prepared to live in a tolerant society. Automatically taking away this sector of the intolerant's "right to coexist" (assuming this is an accurate interpretation of your point - I don't intend to sealion, so correct me if I'm wrong) denies them the opportunity to learn and evolve as people and turns us into the intolerant in a sense.
This does not absolve them of their wrong, this does not mean we don't take concrete action against intolerance in society (and unfortunately, sometimes it does mean taking away people's "right to coexist" if they refuse to coexist, although we should avoid it as much possible), and this does not mean these people shouldn't face the consequences of their actions.
Honestly, I often very angry about the intolerant, and part of me wants to feel they've renounced their humanity (the good part, anyway) in some sense, but at the end of the day I have to remind myself such thoughts are not conducive to building a good society (that is, assuming we still have a chance for one, which is not a given).
Reminds me of Mariner jettisoning herself out the holographic airlock saying, "Fail me, fail me, fail me."
You're forgetting Ad Homicide: Just because you killed someone doesn't mean you're right.
(And of course, its vice versa, just because you (or someone with your views) got killed doesn't mean you're right, which admittedly is less common in history, but nonetheless something to be aware of to evaluate arguments critically.)
You know, I think Paramount+ could increase its rating by one star just by replacing the mountain in its splash screen with Pike’s face and a huge Pike’s peak.
Of course, another star would come from the app actually working well and allowing you to actually use the resolutions you pay for on all the devices you owned, but the DRM cult continues, punishing paying customers and making pirating a more pleasant experience in some ways.
Another star or two would come from Paramount actually having the spine to stick up to authoritarians rather than sucking up to them in the name of profits, but that’s not going to happen with the oligopoly the American entertainment industry has become.
I mean, that's fair.
I feel that somewhat by accident, Lower Decks does better capture some aspects of classic Trek than other series, namely being mostly episodic and bringing a sense of humor back to Trek, and it sometimes even attains a level of dramatic skill comparable to the best of classic Trek (namely above all else the exchange between Mariner and Ma'ah in the S4 finale). Also, I'm honestly really impressed that Lower Decks managed to get me attached to its characters and make it feel like they've evolved so much in a total runtime less than that of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
That said, Lower Decks does lack the mellow charm and the long(er)-form storytelling of classic Trek. However, considering the Trekiness they otherwise pulled off, I kind of wonder how the Lower Decks writers would do if they were given the opportunity to do a 50 minute "standard" Trek series; I think they might be able to do pretty well.
Similarly, with SNW, while it has some of the strongest writing of social interaction, the sci-fi aspect is often weaker than it should be. For instance, "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" is almost a brain-dead premise in terms of science fiction, but executed so well in terms of the social dynamics and character writing.
In other words, I can see your desire for a no-compromises, no catches Trek.
You’re forgetting the 4th one.
Wesley Crusher: Jack Crusher was actually replaced by a surgically-altered Cardassian spy whose goal was to incriminate Picard by secretly impregnating his wife with Picard’s DNA, making it seem like they were cheating on him. Wesley is actually Picard’s child, thus why he’s so weird around Wesley.
(We love you anyway, Wes!)
To be fair, my intent was less because of that and more because at times, some people just want to go to c/TenForward for a bit of escapism, and dark memes may not fit that.
Though you do bring up a good point about a major side effect, and I worry a bit that I’ve succumbed to self-censorship.