Race and culture in the Trek universe

[Qonundrum]

All humans all the time?

Because that sounds like too broad a stroke and I'm saying there are some, very few, who might value it in a wrong way. Just because the majority does doesn't preclude individuals or groups from rejecting this.

Servin's group, Alixus' group, colonists from "ul the long ladder." Or various bad admirals who appear across the different series. They may be exceptions, but that's what I would expect.

Or even the Q -- in rewatching Q Who, Guinan stated something I never really registered before: "Not all the Q are alike. Some are almost respectable." That alone now gives me big reason to appreciate VOY's use of the Q as being more than a metaphorical desert with 1920s gas station and 1800s mansion to suggest they're bored or whatever -- oh, and filled with a bunch of sophomoric jokes that are almost funny depending on mood, as (now that I finally get to the point) Suzie Plakson's Q, the dude from Death Wish, and the tribunal in Q2 are the only times we really get to see Q other than being Loki-style tricksters. Or the dude from Deja Q who grants Q his powers back but also seems less stoic'n'stolid than the other Q-figures (Qigures?), fortunately. Apart from an implied offscreen presence at the end of "Hide & Q", whom are referred to in "Deja Q" as well - they may be the same tribunal, who also wore the same outfits in "Encounter at Farpoint" for whatever reason, since Janeway wasn't at the trial and may not be as versed as Picard - but she's human so obviously she knows every last nuance of ~300 year-old things as much as Picard didn't (but at least was sufficiently aware of the style of the time.)

Quick side note: A similar theme is brought up by Guinan in "I, Borg", with an overall better result (if not slightly contrived, but this episode is in my rewatch list so it's obviously not a terrible episode...)

 

[Farscape One]

Most of the colonies that the Enterprise visited look like human only colonies, (probably due to budget constraints to avoid using alien makeup for the actors and background extras).
However, based on what is on screen, colonies and scientific outposts segregated by race are accepted by the Federation. e.g This side of Paradise colony, all human, Omnicron Theta, Data's home, looks all humn, the Up the Long Ladder travellers and research center, all human, the terraforming colony Home Soil, all human, the Hegemony colony all human. So the Native American colony is not doing anything unusual.
Exceptions
The only human founded colony shown with alien members was in Sub Rosa.
The Burnhams lived on a Vulcan science colony.
But segregation by culture or species for colonies is pretty common on Trek and none of the characters treat it as unusual.
31st century UFP should be over this type of colonies by species set up.

To be fair, the colonies from "Up The Long Ladder" ventured out before the Federation was formed, so it makes sense it was only humans. And the terraformers in "Home Soil"... there were only 4 people working on that project.

But there are plenty of other examples like "THIS SIDE OF PARADISE" where there are fully or mostly human colonies. Budget was probably the reason why there were so many human only colonies.

 

[Forbin]

Here's where I'm going to sound like a conservative, but this sort of thing strikes me like the recent trend on college campuses to set up "safe spaces" for different racial/minority groups, wherein dorms and living spaces are effectively segregated. Sure, you can do it, especially if you're a private university not using public funds, but is it a good idea? If we as a society recognize multiculturalism and the diversity of peoples and ideas as good things, then part of that is not supporting the separation of those peoples into their own little enclaves, but creating a community where everyone is welcome everywhere.

Sounding conservative by speaking out against segregation, and encouraging various peoples and cultures to get along together? Wait a minnit...

 

[Nyotarules]

I would agree. Hence the reason I preface it with "by-and-large." There's always going to be some exceptions.

But one of my favorite episodes of the entire franchise is "The Devil in the Dark" from TOS. I think that episode represents everything about the ethos of Star Trek and the mindset of humanity it wants to represent. Both the Horta and the miners have suffered losses. They could both be vengeful and destroy the other because of what's happened. However, once they realize the horrible misunderstanding that's occurred, they both find a way to live together.

The miners, who are at that point an angry mob when they think they're fighting a monster, choose to show decency in the moment that Kirk and Spock explain the tragedy of it all.

Here's where I'm going to sound like a conservative, but this sort of thing strikes me like the recent trend on college campuses to set up "safe spaces" for different racial/minority groups, wherein dorms and living spaces are effectively segregated. Sure, you can do it, especially if you're a private university not using public funds, but is it a good idea? If we as a society recognize multiculturalism and the diversity of peoples and ideas as good things, then part of that is not supporting the separation of those peoples into their own little enclaves, but creating a community where everyone is welcome everywhere.

Also, the entire idea of trying to "preserve your culture against homogenizing influences" strikes me as folly since cultures aren't static. American culture is in a constant state of flux as different peoples bring different influences to it. The fact it evolves and changes is not a bad thing. That's a strength. Otherwise, you truly are like the Amish fighting change and progress.

To me, something like Crusher's family off on some planet doing Scottish cosplay is ridiculous, no different than the people in Lower Decks who founded a colony around a Renaissance fair aesthetic to play out their Game of Thrones-esque fantasies. Because it's not preserving a cultural identity, it's fetishsizing a fantasy version of it.

As a so called minority myself, there is a difference between, 'here is a safe space for you to live or socialise, if you want to use it' and 'here is where you have to live and socialise and keep away from where the rest of us congregate'.

 

[UssGlenn]

If we as a society recognize multiculturalism and the diversity of peoples and ideas as good things, then part of that is not supporting the separation of those peoples into their own little enclaves, but creating a community where everyone is welcome everywhere.

This Kurzgesagt video is about interaction on the internet, but deals with the same issue. Basically, our brains can only deal with differences of opinion in other people if we know they are similar to us in other ways. It's why our political discussions here are more civil than say, twitter, because our brains know everyone here is a Star Trek fan. So basically enclaves are necessary for our mental health. Plus if you don't have multiple cultures then there is no multiculturalism.

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[C.E. Evans]

The way I see it, you can still live and fully appreciate living in a diverse society without losing your own culture in the process. You can still be proud of your own heritage, be it European, Asian, African, Latino, or Vulcan because that's who you are/descended from and there's absolutely nothing wrong with cherishing that. The problem comes when you forcefully impose it as being superior to others and at the expense of others.

In Trek, even the Federation isn't perfect and some--like the Klingons and the Ferengi--have even accused the Federation as sometimes being holier than thou, and often rightfully so. No society is without its faults and there are times when they can't see those faults because of the blinders they wear (no one likes to be wrong, IMO). I think the vast majority of colonies established in Trek are by small groups who want to maintain their individual culture or philosophy in lieu of the Federation. For some, the Federation is a too fast-paced and even too cohesive society, and it's easy to forget who you are or where you came from. Some may label the desire to hold on to your own cultural identity as being racist, but as long as you don't consider or treat others as inferior, it's really just holding onto your roots.

Real-world television production reasons aside, the seeming abundance of Human-populated colonies seen in Trek may be due to Humans having a stronger desire to migrate across the Galaxy than most races do in the Federation. On the other hand, there could be colonies in the more quieter or less [hero ship] traveled sectors of space where the number of Humans present is low or even zero.

 

[Citiprime]

Enterprise does imply that one thing that "scares" the Vulcans about humanity is how eager we are to push outward from Earth and go places they seem reticent to explore. That's a possible explanation (beyond the realities of budget for a TV show) for why humans dominate the ranks of Starfleet and most colonies in deep space.

When Star Trek (2009) came out, I remember one of the things some argued about is whether or not it made sense that just destroying Vulcan would make the Vulcans tantamount to an endangered species, since the implication is that there weren't that many Vulcans off-world (e.g., Prime Spock says "there are so few Vulcans left" at the end of the movie). And whether or not that jived with a species that (per Enterprise) controlled a significant area of space even before humanity discovered warp drive?

 

[Nyotarules]

Enterprise does imply that one thing that "scares" the Vulcans about humanity is how eager we are to push outward from Earth and go places they seem reticent to explore. That's a possible explanation (beyond the realities of budget for a TV show) for why humans dominate the ranks of Starfleet and most colonies in deep space.

When Star Trek (2009) came out, I remember one of the things some argued about is whether or not it made sense that just destroying Vulcan would make the Vulcans tantamount to an endangered species, since the implication is that there weren't that many Vulcans off-world (e.g., Prime Spock says "there are so few Vulcans left" at the end of the movie). And whether or not that jived with a species that (per Enterprise) controlled a significant area of space even before humanity discovered warp drive?

It is an element of the movie that I rolled my eyes at, even if 0.05% of Vulcans were offworld at any given time, for a population of 6 billion as stated in the movie, that number is still in the millions. Would 3 million be considered endangered?

 

[Ovation]

It is an element of the movie that I rolled my eyes at, even if 0.05% of Vulcans were offworld at any given time, for a population of 6 billion as stated in the movie, that number is still in the millions. Would 3 million be considered endangered?

In the shock of the immediate aftermath? Of course. And you’re assuming that so many are off world. I don’t recall a specific number stated, but seem to remember a much lower number implied (been a while since I watched it, though).

 

[fireproof78]

Here's the dialog:

SPOCK: (voice-over) Acting captain's log, stardate twenty-two fifty-eight point four two. We have had no word from Captain Pike. I have therefore classified him a hostage of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero, who has destroyed my home planet and most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon the ship, I estimate no more than ten thousand have survived. I am now a member of an endangered species.

Spock might be in shock, and have limited information but the impact is significant given the sudden loss of a population.

 

[UssGlenn]

It is an element of the movie that I rolled my eyes at, even if 0.05% of Vulcans were offworld at any given time, for a population of 6 billion as stated in the movie, that number is still in the millions. Would 3 million be considered endangered?

There are multiple ways to be classified an endangered species. The Vulcans fall under this one: a 50–70% population decrease over 10 years. Though, technically, you are supposed to measure that over 3 generations if that time is longer than 10 years. Of course, the Vulcans are actually way over 70%, so they would be considered critically endangered.

 

[Nyotarules]

There are multiple ways to be classified an endangered species. The Vulcans fall under this one: a 50–70% population decrease over 10 years. Though, technically, you are supposed to measure that over 3 generations if that time is longer than 10 years. Of course, the Vulcans are actually way over 70%, so they would be considered critically endangered.

So in the Kelvinverse, cloning looks like it would be a legal option for them or getting in touch with the Romulans.

 

[1001001]

Vulcans need to start getting busy.

 

[Forbin]

This reminds of something I should post in the hed canon thread. Vulcan and Romulus didn't get blowed up. 'Cause it was stupid and I hate it.

 

[fireproof78]

But, Praxis?