And all I can say is that there is no evidence that Solok isn't competent at any of the other responsibilities a Starfleet captain tends to have. We only saw him in his interactions with Sisko. If we only knew Sisko through his interactions with Picard, we'd have a far different view of him, too - a cold, bitter man who hates Picard (at first), and that would make Sisko out to be an unlikable and unsuitable Starfleet officer.
I never once said nor hinted at Solok being incompotent. My whole premise was based off of you saying that his "attitude" didn't matter because it was wartime and that his being a representative of the Federation was irrelevant. In fact, I am suggesting that Solok got to be a Capt because he proved he could excel in all things a Federation starship Captain should excel in. I only have an issue with the all Vulcan crew making no sense with respect to what the Federation represents.
I don't think Solok had an attitude, at least, when not interacting with Sisko. Our view of Solok as a character is biased by Sisko's rivalry with him. He is apparently an upstanding and exceptional Starfleet officer, one with a dislike for Sisko nevertheless. And, again, an all-Vulcan crew is not unprecedented in Trek, and no different than Human-dominated crews. "Political correctness" still has to give way to practicality.
I wonder if it's possible to buy some of that baseball gear they were wearing in that episode...I'd like to have a Niners or Logicians cap.
I can't help but feel like you are playing with me here. My statement about his attitude was in response to you saying his attitude didn't matter earlier. I could care less about his interaction with Sisko which I have also not mentioned at all in my post. Also, the statement about practicality is nonsense. The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. The only other Vulcan ship I can think of was the one that was lost in TOS during Kirk's first five year mission. Are you saying that things don't progress in 100 years time. Maybe the Federation in the 2270's isn't the same as the one in the 2370's? Are social norms in 1913 the same as they are in 2013? No, and thank God. Mr. Laser Beam. I would definitely rock a niners baseball hat.
I really don't think we've seen enough of Solok to suggest he isn't capable of what other Starfleet officers are. He dislikes Sisko personally and taunts him about the human stuff. Hell, I love my girlfriend and I sometimes make fun of her Italian-ness. Given that Solok rose to the rank of Captain, was very decorated, and specifically chose Starfleet, I don't think there's any evidence of him being a racist or incapable of diplomacy.
I wish I could take credit for it, but I just found it around the time I started this thread when I was googling stuff about the episode.
Me too. Fun fact: Cirroc Lofton is the nephew of baseball star Kenny Lofton. (That's why Cirroc wore an Atlanta Braves cap during rehearsals because Kenny played for the Braves at the time. Avery Brooks wore a SF Giants cap.) Then again, look at Lt. Stiles from TOS. He was prejudiced against Vulcans (although not as bad as Solok was against humans), yet Stiles was a member of Starfleet as well.
Hmmm. I suppose it is possible that both Solok and Stiles hid their prejudices well enough to get by. Though in Solok's case, that would seem extremely odd. Why go out of your way to appease a human-heavy crew of Admirals in a human-heavy organization like Starfleet.
Yeah, I can picture Stiles getting reamed out after the episode. Something to the effect of; "Why did you even apply to the academy if you are so uncomfortable around other races?"
Granted it has been ages since I've seen Balance of Terror, but I thought Stiles was okay with Vulcans until he realized they were related to Romulans and then he got all paranoid about it?
A plausible explanation as any. He also wasn't the only one to have some certain feelings towards other races.
Regarding Chu'lak, I wonder if incarcerated Vulcans get furloughed every seven years when their pon farr rolls around.