Prejudice and The Katric Ark.

[Mirren Audax]

If the prevailing attitude of many Vulcans against Amanda Grayson - and presumably other humans - was one of prejudice, why would the VHC allow her access to the Vulcan 'Holy-of-Holies', The Katric Ark?

I thought that this was a bit of an incongruity; presumably Sarek's colleagues got to know her and respect her abilities and attributes, or maybe it's a plot inconsistancy.

What do you think?

 

[Locutus]

She was still the wife of Sarek of Vulcan, a very important man in Vulcan society. I'm certain that he'd have wanted her there, and the others couldn't have said anything against it.

 

[Alrik]

^

That, and were the Vulcans really prejudice towards Amanda? It appeared that some of Spock's school mates might have had some prejudice, but was it for real, or just a way to torment Spock. If there was a prejudice towards anyone by the Vulcans, I think that would go hands down to Spock.

 

[The Wormhole]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

 

[Pauln6]

Vulcan's are logical and curious. I think it's wrong to impute malice into their bullying. They know of no other 'hybrids' to experiment on so they test their 'theories' on Spock. Essentially, they seem to be trying to establish whether a hybrid has less control over his emotions than a full-blooded Vulcan. Yes, it's insensitive to Spock but then Vulcan's supress their empathy and sympathy along with all their other emotions.

The prejudice in the adults was more of what we see in Enterprise. If I was Vulcan, I'd find the humans to be tiresome and unprofessional too. In that respect, I can see why they thought Spock was at a disadvantage when it came to learning.

I was wondering more why, after Spock and Sarek were beamed onto the Enterprise, did everybody just stand there like idiots instead of clearing the platform and trying to beam up more people. Don't these people have emergency evacuation protocols? Sure, it was to give Amada's death some dramatic pause but we had the same lame dramatic pause in 2012 - the people are supposed to be preventing a ship from crashing and instead they all stand around either staring or cheering. I find them to be tiresome and unprofessional.

 

[Sector 7]

Having a human mother was considered a disability. This is prejudice. Perhaps they eventually came to respect her, but in such a short length of time? More likely she was at the Katric Ark because of Sarek.

 

[Green Shirt]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

Aren't the attitudes and prejudices of parents often passed onto their children?

 

[Sector 7]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

Aren't the attitudes and prejudices of parents often passed onto their children?

Watch pre-school children playing. They do not care what color their playmates are. Unfortunately, the parents teach them who they should not like as they get older- either by conscious teaching or by example.
The Vulcan children were old enough to learn this behavior from their parents and/or society.

 

[Franklin]

I don't think their attitude towards Amanda conveyed to just humans. Vulcan is an insular, almost secretive society, and she's an outsider. She could've been Andorian or any other species of alien and she'd have been treated the same way.
Further, the prejudice may be based on whatever perceived cultural superiority Vulcans think they possess. Let's face it, Vulcans do have egos. They do almost zealously think their way is the best way.

My guess would be that privately they aren't all too pleased with Sarek for marrying an outworlder, either. They only tolerate her because of who he is. Therefore, wherever he takes his wife, they say nothing. The marriage, after all, is not illegal. It was his choice. They don't have to like it. He can know that. They will also accord her the privileges she is due as his wife because they probably have to.

 

[Focus Abbey]

They were standing in a circle holding hands, right? Perhaps, in following their apparent wont, they were playing ring-around-the-rosy for the sole purpose of knocking her over and running away.

You know I'm right.

 

[Dr. Chandra]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

It wasn't just Spock's bullies. The head of the Vulcan Science Academy called Spock's mother a disadvantage of his.

 

[indranee]

Having a human mother was considered a disability. This is prejudice. Perhaps they eventually came to respect her, but in such a short length of time? More likely she was at the Katric Ark because of Sarek.

what you and I consider prejudice, they may deem the truth.

 

[M'Sharak]

I'd be inclined to think that yes, prejudice toward non-Vulcans does exist, but that it's not uniform: Vulcan society, like any real society, would most likely cover a spectrum ranging from openly prejudiced and antagonistic toward outsiders to prejudiced but outwardly tolerant to near-completely unprejudiced, and all points in between. While Amanda might be the object of prejudice harbored by some of the Elders, I'd think that Vulcan protocol/decorum would preclude most of them ever acting upon it, particularly under emergency conditions.

 

[The Wormhole]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

Aren't the attitudes and prejudices of parents often passed onto their children?

While its true that a parent's attitude can be passed on to their child, a child's attitude is not necessarily a reflection of their parent's.

 

[npsf3000]

No evidence of prejudice against humans or Amanda.

That coupled with the fact she was almost certainty there, at least in part, due to her husband I see no inconsistency.

 

[The Castellan]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

It wasn't just Spock's bullies. The head of the Vulcan Science Academy called Spock's mother a disadvantage of his.

He was probably of those old school Vulcans of Archer's era where they had the broomsticks up their asses.

 

[Pauln6]

Spock's bullies were prejudiced against Amanda, but I'm pretty sure children do not represent the official opinion of a society.

It wasn't just Spock's bullies. The head of the Vulcan Science Academy called Spock's mother a disadvantage of his.

Again I don't think it's right to be too judgmental of the Vulcans here. A vulcan with an impaired ability to control his volatile emotions may well be disadvantaged because he will be more distracted than a Vulcan who is in control. The Vulcans are making an assumption based on prejudice because they don't really understand what it is to be human or half human or how their less volatile, more rounded emotional state might give them other skills and insights. It is Vulcan arrogance through and through but the prejudice is founded on logic from their perspective.

In the same way, calling Amanda a whore is a logical means to elicit an emotional response where many other attempts had failed. They view Spock as a living genetic experiment and nobody is quite sure how he's going to turn out.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

A vulcan with an impaired ability to control his volatile emotions may well be disadvantaged because he will be more distracted than a Vulcan who is in control.

But there's no evidence that biology is equivalent to emotional control. It's all about upbringing. If Spock was raised as a Vulcan, he should have the same potential to control his emotions that any full blooded Vulcan will. I'm sure there are humans who could control their emotions better than a Vulcan could.

the prejudice is founded on logic from their perspective.

Then their perspective is wrong, because prejudice is inherently illogical.

calling Amanda a whore is a logical means to elicit an emotional response where many other attempts had failed.

For immature schoolchildren, maybe.

 

[indranee]

where exactly are you getting the idea that Vulcan emotional control is not based on biology? according to Trek lore, there ARE biological reasons for the Vulcans' superior control of emotions. Vulcans are able to (and taught to) construct mental shielding from an early age to keep emotions "out" and "in". last I checked in Trek, very few Humans were able to learn how to do that.

 

[Nerys Myk]

"Mental sheilding" what does that really mean? And the key word would be "taught",no?