Does Picard hate us?

[Prax]

By "us" I'm referring to us primitive folk that that weren't fortunate enough to live in the Trekkian future in which Picard was born.

Someone mentioned Picard's treatment of the 20th century humans in "The Neutral Zone" and it occured to me...

He doesn't want them aboard and considered them dead and unworthy of "Thawing." He then specifically asks for Worf to be present when Crusher revives them. He does this again with Samuel Clemens later in the series.

The Neutral Zone was the finale of season 1. Voyager's season one finale(even though they aired differently in the US) was "The 37's."

Contrast what Picard does above with this:

PARIS: There's one way we could find out what happened. We could wake those people up and ask them.
JANEWAY: I've had the same thought myself.
TORRES: Is that wise? We don't know how these people are going to react when they wake up in an alien world in the twenty fourth century.
JANEWAY: True, but I'm not willing to just leave them in stasis for another four hundred years. And if we can find out how they were brought here, we might be able to use that method to get home. We'll just have to be very careful how we handle this.
CHAKOTAY: I suggest that only human crew members be present when we revive them.
JANEWAY: Agreed. Mister Kim, I want a complete analysis of those cryostasis tubes. Find a way to deactivate them safely.
KIM: Aye, Captain.
JANEWAY: Commander, apprise the Doctor of our situation. Tell him to instruct Kes in the proper procedure for reviving someone from cryostasis. She can be made to look human easily enough. In the meantime I suggest we all brush up on ancient Earth. We're about to meet a bit of our history.

Picard: "Why couldn't you leave them frozen?"
Janeway: "I'm not just gonna leave them frozen."
Picard: "Make sure my Klingon Security man is present when you revive them."
Chakotay: "We should have only humans present when we revive them."

Are there many other other instances where Picard shows his disdain? Is this a reflection of certain writers? Or is is built into Picard's characterization. Riker too, perhaps. He often parrot's Picard's sensibilities on the "primitiveness" of past cultures or certain alien civilizations.

 

[Markonian]

The writing of this episode was rushed. It's a glaring a hole an archaeologist and humanist like Picard would not be amazed by this find and react with the appropriate sensitivity.

 

[Shikarnov]

The writing of this episode was rushed. It's a glaring a hole an archaeologist and humanist like Picard would not be amazed by this find and react with the appropriate sensitivity.

Well, in fairness, he did have a lot on his mind... like being sent alone to the neutral zone to investigate ripped-off-the-surface outposts, and potentially a resurgent and aggressive Romulan Empire. He might have been a lot more enthusiastic had they found the chryonics satellite after the crisis was resolved.

 

[Amaris]

It's the kind of episode that should have had either the A story OR the B story, but not both, because neither of them are served well as a result.

 

[Triskelion]

At what point does desecration become archeology?
100 years? 200 years? 500 ? 1000?

 

[Timo]

One possibility is that Picard has developed a special loathing of people associated with the United States of old. Janeway might not have, as she possibly sees the controversial historical events from the US viewpoint. And unfortunately for everybody involved, our heroes in general tend to thaw ancient Americans predominantly...

Kirk for one didn't seem to have a policy to let sleeping corpsicles lie. But he didn't really have a say, as Khan started thawing out without Kirk's involvement. Kirk certainly viewed the 1980s as "savage", and essentially his one area of authentic historical knowledge, the 19th century US, was also something he romanticized through the savagery angle. But him liking Lincoln and Holliday makes it unlikely he would have massively disliked Twain or Offenhouse for ethnic-political reasons, either.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Herbert]

He doesn't want them aboard and considered them dead and unworthy of "Thawing." He then specifically asks for Worf to be present when Crusher revives them. He does this again with Samuel Clemens later in the series.

Picard didn't "consider them dead". They were dead. They were put into cryogenic freeze after death.

 

[Herbert]

The writing of this episode was rushed. It's a glaring a hole an archaeologist and humanist like Picard would not be amazed by this find and react with the appropriate sensitivity.

I agree. However, I'm not sure Picard's archaeological interest was shown this early in the series, was it?
Let's face it, a lot of the awkwardness of the first season was due to the characters not being fleshed out yet. Compare Picard in later seasons to the first season. He was quite a different character. So was Riker

 

[Vandervecken]

I

Well, in fairness, he did have a lot on his mind... like being sent alone to the neutral zone to investigate ripped-off-the-surface outposts, and potentially a resurgent and aggressive Romulan Empire. He might have been a lot more enthusiastic had they found the chryonics satellite after the crisis was resolved.

That's how I took it. He was ultra-busy with Captain stuff and the last thing he needed was this.

 

[Prax]

It might actually be Riker who is the bigger jerk in this episode. He makes some pretty negative assessments of the 3, and often in their presence. The doctor isn't so nice either.

 

[Jedi_Master]

The portrayal and treatment of the 20th century humans in "The Neutral Zone" was pretty bad, but to be fair the crew was in the midst of a serious crisis that could have possibly led to a quadrant-spanning war.
They might have been more reflective and more responsive under better circumstances.

On the flip side, this episode gave Deanna Troi a chance to be kind and useful, living up to her given title.

 

[Kor]

He doesn't hate us. He just has disdain for us backwards primitives, and rightly so.

Kor

 

[Vger23]

Honestly, it's one of the reasons Picard is a bit of an unlikable d!ck.

Seriously, dude. It's easy to be all high-and-mighty having grown up on your fuck!ng winery in France, having indulged in archeology and science and philosophy your whole life to then look down the end of your nose at people who aren't as privileged or enlightened as you.

While others have struggled against oppression and hardships in their lives or as a result of the society they grew up in, Picard is taking his next sip of replicated tea while he sits in a comfortable ready room reading his Shakespeare books, contemplating how mankind is the light of the universe.

 

[Jedi_Master]

He doesn't hate us. He just has disdain for us backwards primitives, and rightly so.

Kor

Let's review that... how do you feel in general about people who lived in the 1600's?
Obviously, if you met one and he or she espoused ideas that were repugnant, you could condemn those, but in general that person would want the same things we want... food, clothing, happy family life, shelter, and a purpose in life. Within a few years, they could be caught up educationally, and would likely adapt quite nicely to some of the aspects of "modern life."
I would hope that none of us would choose to lecture them - a day or two after they were unfrozen - about the wrongness of their ENTIRE worldview.

 

[Sophie74656]

I think nobody there was trying to be sympathetic to the tremendous culture shock that those people would go through upon waking up. Just because they could wake them up, does that mean they should?

Imagine someone from just 50 years ago waking up TODAY with smart phones and all of the technology we have come up with in just that short of a time span, what kind of shick and adjustment will they go through? Now even more when they suddenly wake up in the 24th century with not only more advanced technology but entirely different economy and way of thinking.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Makes you wonder what if Picard had been thrown back in time to the desperation of the sanctuary district days instead of (or alongside) Sisko.

 

[Herbert]

Honestly, it's one of the reasons Picard is a bit of an unlikable d!ck.

Seriously, dude. It's easy to be all high-and-mighty having grown up on your fuck!ng winery in France, having indulged in archeology and science and philosophy your whole life to then look down the end of your nose at people who aren't as privileged or enlightened as you.

While others have struggled against oppression and hardships in their lives or as a result of the society they grew up in, Picard is taking his next sip of replicated tea while he sits in a comfortable ready room reading his Shakespeare books, contemplating how mankind is the light of the universe.

That's okay. The 29th century folks probably feel the same way about Picard's time.

 

[Vger23]

Makes you wonder what if Picard had been thrown back in time to the desperation of the sanctuary district days instead of (or alongside) Sisko.

He would have promptly soiled himself.

Then, he would have speech-ified the populations into changing their outlook on things.

Very realistic, indeed.

 

[Vger23]

That's okay. The 29th century folks probably feel the same way about Picard's time.

Buncha pompous 29th century privileged windbags!!!!

 

[Herbert]

Buncha pompous 29th century privileged windbags!!!!

Not to worry, the 34th century guys will give them what for.