"The Borg Scare"

[Ragitsu]

Good morning.

In "Homefront", Sisko's pop says the following ->

JOSEPH: I haven't seen people so nervous since the Borg scare.

At the time, I didn't think much of the dialogue (that line included); now, I find his observation strange in the context of the conversation. He's saying this to a man who lost his wife to the Borg...Joseph's own daughter-in-law, in fact. Was the character meant to sound unintentionally insensitive or did the scriptwriter make a mistake?

 

[The Wormhole]

Probably just how the incident had become known among Earth's Gen Pop. After all, from the perspective of the ordinary citizens the fact the Borg ship was destroyed before causing any harm to Earth itself likely just led to them being dismissive of the incident. Since Joseph spends so much time among the Gen Pop, he's unconsciously adopted their terminology.

 

[DonIago]

Good morning.

In "Homefront", Sisko's pop says the following ->



At the time, I didn't think much of the dialogue (that line included); now, I find his observation strange in the context of the conversation. He's saying this to a man who lost his wife to the Borg...Joseph's own daughter-in-law, in fact. Was the character meant to sound unintentionally insensitive or did the scriptwriter make a mistake?

I'm not really seeing how that's insensitive? Especially since it was after the second time (that we know of) that the Borg came close to assimilating Earth? He's certainly not saying or doing anything here that diminishes Ben's loss, from my perspective at least.

 

[Ragitsu]

I'm not really seeing how that's insensitive? Especially since it was after the second time (that we know of) that the Borg came close to assimilating Earth? He's certainly not saying or doing anything here that diminishes Ben's loss, from my perspective at least.

Starfleet would know, but was Earth's population in general made aware of the "alternative" 2063?

 

[DonIago]

Starfleet would know, but was Earth's population in general made aware of the "alternative" 2063?

I'm sure they knew that a Borg cube was en route to Earth. What else do they need to know?

 

[Ragitsu]

I'm sure they knew that a Borg cube was en route to Earth. What else do they need to know?

Ah. The reason I asked is because we - the audience - know that time travel almost allowed the Borg to conquer Earth before The Federation was even established, but I am skeptical as to whether Earth as a whole was apprised of this shift in history. If not, then the average citizen would only be aware of Wolf 359.

 

[Tuskin38]

If not, then the average citizen would only be aware of Wolf 359.

The Cube in First Contact was also destroyed near Earth, in the present.

Pretty sure the average citizen would know about it, especially with ships being destroyed.

Edit: Wait Homefront was before First Contact

 

[UssGlenn]

I'm not really seeing how that's insensitive? Especially since it was after the second time (that we know of) that the Borg came close to assimilating Earth? He's certainly not saying or doing anything here that diminishes Ben's loss, from my perspective at least.

First Contact doesn't happen until after Homefront.

 

[DonIago]

First Contact doesn't happen until after Homefront.

Ah, my bad. I saw "Homefront" was fourth season, which meant Worf was part of the show, and got the timeline confused in my head.

Of course, that just means the "Borg scare" was now over four years earlier. Especially after Ben's experiences in "Emissary" I'd hope he'd be desensitized to a phrase like, "the Borg scare", though I still don't see how that's insensitive to begin with.

 

[Ragitsu]

It's akin to saying "that terrorist scare" to someone who lost a loved one in a terrorist attack.

 

[JoseNoodles]

Picard's brother didn't seem to know or fully understand what happened to Picard, but that could have been because Robert was old-fashioned and concepts like the Borg were beyond him.

 

[DonIago]

It's akin to saying "that terrorist scare" to someone who lost a loved one in a terrorist attack.

Well, first of all, I think there's a difference between "the Borg scare" and "that Borg scare", in that I think the latter puts it at more of a remove.

But also, Ben and Joseph were family, which is different from saying it even to a friend.

What alternative language should Joseph have used? "That Borg attack that killed your wife"?

 

[Tosk]

"The time the Borg tried to get to Earth but were stopped, but not before killing a lot of people along the way."

It's akin to saying "that terrorist scare" to someone who lost a loved one in a terrorist attack.

In my opinion, it's akin to referring to "that terrorist scare" to someone who lost a loved one during a mission to stop the attack. Which is different.

 

[Finn]

Yeah, the writers didn't realize Ben Sisko's wife was killed by the Borg, making his father seem flippant when saying that, I'm guessing. Different writers?

 

[Tosk]

Homefront was written by Ira Behr and Robert Wolfe. So I don't think it's a worthy avenue to pretend that the writers didn't know that Jennifer was killed by the Borg.

 

[Yuri Nikolayev]

He wasn’t being insensitive. The general Earth population likely didn’t know about Wolf 359 until after the Cube was destroyed, and the survivors brought home by any rescue craft. The planet was likely on a global alert once the Cube entered Sector 001. Papa Sisko probably didn’t know what happened until Ben told him, either when he got back to Earth, or en route, on a responding starship.

 

[Crewman6]

Picard's brother didn't seem to know or fully understand what happened to Picard, but that could have been because Robert was old-fashioned and concepts like the Borg were beyond him.

Picard said Robert "knew what happened" and Robert simply said, "not precisely." He knew the basics and he certainly wasn't "too old fashioned" to understand it. But no one except Picard could have known the finer details, which is what he was trying to get at.

 

[Crewman6]

Good morning.

In "Homefront", Sisko's pop says the following ->



At the time, I didn't think much of the dialogue (that line included); now, I find his observation strange in the context of the conversation. He's saying this to a man who lost his wife to the Borg...Joseph's own daughter-in-law, in fact. Was the character meant to sound unintentionally insensitive or did the scriptwriter make a mistake?

What on earth is "insensitive" about that? Joseph is referring to the people of Earth being nervous about the changelings, a level of anxiety and concern not seen since "the Borg scare."

No one made a mistake and the character wasn't being insensitive in any way.

Is Joseph not allowed to talk about history because they have a personal connection to it? That's not how life works.

 

[Orac]

In the 24th century, people no longer fear words.

 

[DonIago]

Except "bathroom", that is.