So I was having a conversation when that line came up, I was of the opinion that it’s racist. I mean you wouldn’t say “All Asians should stick to maths” would you? The other person insisted it wasn’t, since Vulcans out themselves in that small box. My thoughts were that would be a valid point if a Vulcan said it, but a human said it so it’s a derogatory comment. Please vote and leave a comment.
Yes, but it’s more the fact that someone said it. It’s a sweeping generalisation aimed at a whole race, racist surely?
Yeah it's racist, but apparently everyone in the Federation is racist in that way. McCoy's non-stop "GREEN BLOODED POINTY EARED LOGICAL COMPUTER" stuff towards Spock always just seemed outright racist to me. Spock's responses about humans weren't much better. The TNG and DS9 crews say a lot of similar stuff about Ferengi and Klingons, and it always bothers me, even if they're technically correct based on everything we see on screen. Tom Paris used to do some "hilarious" Vulcan-based bullying of Tuvok too. On the flip-side, all the non-human races seem to spend huge amounts of time bitching about how much they hate humans and how illogical/cowardly/whatever humans are, so it's a two way street, I guess.
However, it is not particularly racist because it is a generalization, but because the statement is trying to disempower someone. It is basically saying that Vulcans have no business in matters that having nothing to do with contemplating logic. It is basically saying, "stick to what you are good at, and leave the decisions to those who have legitimate power."
No more or less racist when Kirk mentioned he’d “still like a Vulcan” at the science station in TMP after Sonak got melted in the new transporter. It’s a kind of “favorable” form of racism, as it attributes a positive trait stereotype of a particular race, but still racist in its strictest definition of the word. As in, “I’d prefer a Vulcan in that spot over all the other races who are clearly idiots by comparison”.
Yeah, it's probably racist. But then again, the line in question was spoken by Landry, so what's the point of all this? Is it just another pile on about how horrible a person Landry was?/THREAD
That moment when you realize that even recent entertainment like this could not be created in today's PC climate.
The thing about Trek is Vulcans (and all the other ailens) are a different species. It's a different order of magnitude. Is it racist to say dogs are better at smelling than cats and cats are better at stalking prey?
Racism within the context of Star Trek has been dealt with from the beginning. "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" being the most obvious example. But there's also TUC. Azetbur rightfully points out how Chekov sounds when he talks about "inalienable human rights". And as a half-Iranian, I identified with Spock when I was a kid because he also had to deal with being part of two cultures. I sided with Spock when he told Kirk he found his remark insulting when Kirk tried to tell him everybody's Human. They laugh it off, but the point still stands. It's not just a "these days" thing. The first years after 9/11 were especially not easy for me. IRL, I didn't feel safe or comfortable talking about my ethnicity in public again, after that, until 2006. If you're WASP, it's not something you'll ever completely understand, even if you sympathize. EDIT: But back to Spock. Then there's "Balance of Terror" where, despite what I said in upthread, when push came to shove, Kirk wouldn't tolerate prejudice toward Spock when it reached an escalated level, beyond McCoy just ribbing him, such as when when Stiles tried to treat Spock as if he were the enemy. Like Kirk told him outright in no uncertain terms, "Leave your bigotry in your quarters. There's no room for it on the bridge."