Do Vulcans Deep Down Feel Like Hypocrites?

[Captain McBain]

Vulcans are against the showcasing of emotion, and yet they obviously have emotion. They feel anger, happiness, sadness, etc., but they keep those feelings inside, rarely showing them to others. Isn't it hypocritical for Vulcans to put down those who show emotion, when they themselves have just as much emotion as Klingons, Andorians, and Lore?

 

[Spock/Uhura Fan]

But having and showing are 2 different things. So are having emotions and being influenced by them. I think that's where Vulcans typically draw the line. I'm not sure that this is hypocritical.

 

[Marsden]

SPOCK: Mother, how can you have lived on Vulcan so long, married a Vulcan, raised a son on Vulcan, without understanding what it means to be a Vulcan?
AMANDA: If this is what it means, I don't want to know.
SPOCK: It means to adopt a philosophy, a way of life, which is logical and beneficial. We cannot disregard that philosophy merely for personal gain, no matter how important that gain might be.

So, for Star Trek, no they aren't, so I don't think they feel that way. For the spin offs and Enterprise, maybe, because they changed things around. Sybok might have though the other Vulcans were.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Vulcans know the danger of emotions based on their own violent past.

It's been heavily implied that thousands of years ago, the Vulcans were the most savage race in the galaxy. So they see emotional races as on the path to becoming exactly what they became.

 

[Pavonis]

Isn't it hypocritical for Vulcans to put down those who show emotion, when they themselves have just as much emotion as Klingons, Andorians, and Lore?

They're not putting down people who show emotion, they're putting down people who are apparently ruled by their emotions, people who make decisions based on emotion. Vulcan's have emotions, they just suppress them and do their best to not make decisions based on their emotional reactions to situations.

 

[YARN]

Deep down inside they are embarrassed at how inconsistently they are written as characters.

 

[Pavonis]

How are Vulcans written any more inconsistently than humans in Trek? Are Vulcans cookie-cutter characters, that all of them should be merely copies of Nimoy's Spock?

 

[Greg Cox]

How are Vulcans written any more inconsistently than humans in Trek? Are Vulcans cookie-cutter characters, that all of them should be merely copies of Nimoy's Spock?

Yeah, it makes more sense to assume that, even among Vulcans, there's a spectrum of personalities, with some being even more reserved and stoic than others. Just like some humans are more emotional than others.

Heck, why would you need to an advanced course in Kolinahar (sp?) to fully expunge your emotions if all Vulcans didn't have them to some degree?

 

[YARN]

How are Vulcans written any more inconsistently than humans in Trek? Are Vulcans cookie-cutter characters, that all of them should be merely copies of Nimoy's Spock?

Who is saying this?

 

[Pavonis]

Deep down inside they are embarrassed at how inconsistently they are written as characters.

How are Vulcans written any more inconsistently than humans in Trek? Are Vulcans cookie-cutter characters, that all of them should be merely copies of Nimoy's Spock?

Who is saying this?

You said it, YARN. "Inconsistent" suggests there is a standard to which the characters can be measured - only Nimoy's Spock could be the standard. He's the one with the most exposure, and the largest imprint on Vulcans as a society.

 

[YARN]

Deep down inside they are embarrassed at how inconsistently they are written as characters.

How are Vulcans written any more inconsistently than humans in Trek? Are Vulcans cookie-cutter characters, that all of them should be merely copies of Nimoy's Spock?

Who is saying this?

You said it, YARN. "Inconsistent" suggests there is a standard to which the characters can be measured - only Nimoy's Spock could be the standard. He's the one with the most exposure, and the largest imprint on Vulcans as a society.

That's quite a bit you unpacked from a passing joke.

 

[Pavonis]

I wasn't aware you had a sense of humor, YARN.

 

[R. Star]

Vulcans don't have emotions... unless the plot says so.

 

[Greg Cox]

Seriously, I don't think Trek ever meant to suggest that Vulcans don't have emotions, only that their culture strongly believes in repressing and controlling them.

As far back as "Journey to Babel," Sarek obviously had deep feelings for his wife and son. T'Pring had hidden feelings and agendas. Stonn certainly seemed to have feelings for T'Pring.

And that's all before we get into the later shows and movies.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wasn't there a suggestion in "Journey to Babel" that Sarek had a fiery temper and could be quite violent if something set it off?

 

[Greg Cox]

Wasn't there a suggestion in "Journey to Babel" that Sarek had a fiery temper and could be quite violent if something set it off?

Not really. It was stated that he was perfectly capable of killing--if there was logical reason to do so.

But he obviously loved Amanda and was emotional where Spock was concerned. (Refusing to speak to your own son for eighteen years is an emotional reaction, no matter how stiff and formal you are about it.)

Amanda also "accuses" him of being secretly proud of Spock.

 

[YARN]

Wasn't there a suggestion in "Journey to Babel" that Sarek had a fiery temper and could be quite violent if something set it off?

No, I remember Spock saying that his dad could be very lethal if he felt it were the logical course of action.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Wasn't there a suggestion in "Journey to Babel" that Sarek had a fiery temper and could be quite violent if something set it off?

I believe it was said (by Spock) that if needed Sarek could kill, but in cool, logical manner.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

If anything most Star Trek aliens are written too consistently. How many races have we even seen that have more than one possible skin color?

Until Tuvok all Vulcans were white, and I'm sure if they didn't become the main alien race for an entire series all Bajorans would have been white too. There's the Xindi, I guess.

I did like the different flavor of Vulcans we got in Enterprise, who interpreted order and logic to mean militant isolationism.

(Unless Admiral Lleyton just went back in time and put on some fake ears.)

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Look at popular entertainment among humans, and two very very important thing you'll learn are that:

1) We're basically good, and hoping to find love;
2) Loudly killing one another is exciting and cool.

Deep down, do humans feel like hypocrites?