To be fair to McCoy, though I definitely think there are many times a line is crossed, I always felt his Anti-Vulcan stance with Spock was more akin to the friendly rivalries you get between ethnic groups, or cultural groups, or even individuals, that display what seems like something more similar than it is.....the kind of thing that happens between actual people as opposed to nebulous groups (two working class men in Britain might rag on each other for being southern, northern, cockney, geordie, English, Welsh Or scots....and to an outside observer it might seem like racism, but in the context of those people, that group, it is decidedly not, and is meted out in a balanced manner...there is no victim. As we see with Spock and McCoy barring each other. That kind of balance is often forgotten these days, and the barbs are treated as 'real' when not, or the barbs that are real are hidden under other excuses. A joke of that nature after all, is only funny when both sides can laugh at it, each other, and themselves. The best recent example I saw was what I assume from his profile was a Black British person commenting on a news story about Dune...and I paraphrase 'obviously Muad'Dib was Caucasian, they said he walked naturally without rhythm' . It's funny, but only if you know the racial stereotype to both groups is not meant with malice. Someone somewhere probably didn't find it funny mind you. Any real world inequality shouldn't come to bear on that joke, because basically, it's Dune fans talking about Dune. Sometimes I miss shows like The Real McCoy, or Goodness Gracious Me...the world is a poorer place without sensible humour lancing these things and showing them up. All of us, laughing at us, recognising difference but all the same...no us and them.)
