'White genocide in space': Racist "fans" seething at racial diversity in Discovery...

Exactly.
It's a facet of the Internet that anonymity can create some weird space inside a person that they will say things, stupid, hurtful, racist (fill in the blank) with no regard for people. Why? Because the Internet doesn't look like a person.

So, yeah, grain of salt on this one for me, that it's a minority opinion, that simply is getting its 5 seconds of news cycle.

 

TPTB need to announce a new series set on the USS Intrepid just for all the "human genocide in space" remarks.

 

Yep, big news that there are racists commenting on media on the internet.

 

There really are Trek fans with these feelings out there. My friend's little brother sadly ended up as a white supremacist. He loved Trek, mostly the ships and military aspects of it. Really depressing. Reasoning with people like this is very difficult (I tried because I hated seeing someone I used to like turn into a monster).

 

The mind truly boggles. I ran away from the io9 comments field. Any time I see the 'ferengi are space jews' I shake my head. (Not least as they were more Arab stereotypes)
If you are sitting there with an effing dulux colour chart of nationality skin tones guide on your lap and getting your knickers in twist over percentage points, then you are plainly watching TV wrong. And have never probably senne Star Trek.

 

Man that's a horrible thought. For someone out there...HT is their Trek. Their hopeful future. Ew.

 

Giving attention-seeking internet trolls nationwide coverage is not how you defeat attention-seeking internet trolls, NBC...

 

Star Trek's overall message is very much consonant with the ideals of racists, identitarians, whatever we want to call them. The overall message of Star Trek is this:

1. There are biological differences between peoples who evolved in different places. In Star Trek, these heritable traits include intelligence, physical strength, and propensity for engaging in or avoiding certain behaviors, as well as various fanciful sci-fi conceits like telepathy, turning into pure energy, etc.

2. Different populations have very different ways of looking at the world, individual rights and responsibilities, etc. There is a Vulcan way, a Klingon way, a Ferengi way, a Borg way, etc. When these worldviews collide, there is a heightened probability of conflict.

3. Individuals can live among foreign populations, but will never truly assimilate. Spock will always be a Vulcan, Worf a Klingon, Nog a Ferengi, Seven a Borg, etc. These resident aliens are usually few in number, well-behaved, and contribute to the common good. The occasional foil from their species shows how well-adapted to Federation life the individual is, and how poorly-adapted the rest of the species is.

4. Cooperation is possible, but long-term political union requires a powerful civilizational center. In Star Trek, this is Earth--more precisely, it is western civilization, represented by Paris and San Diego. This is because western values are uniquely suited for interstellar exploration and coalition-building. The values of other civilizations were thoroughly repudiated by the ousting of the Indian superman after the Eugenics War and the destruction of the Eastern Coalition in WW3.

5. Entering Starfleet is very difficult. It's based not only on shared values, but also on being extremely talented. Likewise, entering the Federation requires shared values and a certain amount of technological sophistication. No one has the right to enter Starfleet. No world may enter the Federation solely to benefit from its economy. An outsider must demonstrate that they have the same values and that they are adding value before they are admitted to society.

When you look below the surface, Star Trek is very alt right.

 

Nope.

 

San Diego = alternative facts

 

Diversity. One man's feast of fried Kylerian goat toes is another man's case of heartburn. We should all respect diversity in culinary arts and rubber foreheads.

And we can safely skip the opinions of the diversity challenged among us.

 

Ah,San Diego. The Paris of North America.

 

That is probably because for much of the the a) post-Civil War history of America, the ideas of racialism and white supremacy were dominant and widely accepted ideologies in this country and that b) modern science fiction itself owes a debt to the imperialist and colonialist literature of the 19th and 20th century. If anything ST and SW are a reflection of the underlying racialism in American society.

 

And even most of them know such and unjust world makes for an interesting setting for stories but is horrifically miserabe when it's real.

 

That's an interesting reading.

 

Parts of this are very true, mainly the first two points. Trek has always engaged in a kind of stereotyping where the putative non-humans are concerned that would be easily recognized as racist now if the characters were human. And Star Trek has confused the issue over the decades by consistently referring to alien "races" when the more accurate term would be "species."

 

And generally not allowing as much diversity among these "races" as would be expected among space-faring societies.

 

Klingons are bloodthirsty, Vulcans are logical and Ferengi are greedy. That's a lot of diversity there.