Your conclusion. And resignations are standard in the real world for egregious acts of the higher ups. See: General Mattis’s after the administration abandoned our Kurdish allies to slaughter after they’d aided us in our wars for years. YOUR quote, not his.
The impression I got was Picard resigned because they wouldn't give him everything. I don't see that as applause worthy protest. I don't give a that Clancy used the F bomb. But, her denying Picard made sense based upon current information. Not what we the audience know. Yes, my conclusion. I can speak for no one else. This is my impression of the events unfolding, and what Picard might have done to keep effecting change, rather than taking his ball and going home as is the impression.
Even better, would be for these people to have their own web site(s) and BBS's where they can spew this bullcaca about PIC and DIS without bugging the rest of us who are able to enjoy the new shows without hearing the same ol' neocon whining about 'liburl' things being 'shoved' down their throats.
The canon quote we got was that it was his last desperate shot. I applaud him for trying everything to save those people. Whatever policy he might otherwise have effected as a random admiral wouldn’t have made a dent in comparison to saving 900 Million People. Is he pompous? Apparently so in this series. That given, who gives a fuck? Priorities. Forget the audience and consider what’s mentioned upthread. It was the espionage proficient Romulans, who he was forever linked to, that were the issue. She became immediately hostile for personal reasons before thoroughly investigating the situation. You just did for ‘Jean-Luc.’ That’s your opinion of resignations but that’s not how they play out in the real world. Again, it was Picard’s last card to play, and he was right to try. He threw his own ass in the fire for the former enemy, and his own people let him burn because they weren’t bloody good enough.
Getting the resources and ships coordinated for a rescue isn't worth it? That's what he was asking for
Could he not have stayed and work with limited resources. I feel like it was all or nothing and that isn't the only way.
Yes, he is pompous. He was not willing to try and save less lives. It was all or nothing. And then, he retreated and left. He did nothing else. She still ordered the investigation. Sarcasm-it's a difficult concept. As I am told so frequently this is not the real world. His resignation ensured that the 900 million touted would die, rather than working with more limited resources. His arrogance is that he went all or nothing, insulted Starfleet and then asked them for help. He was not willing to work with anything less than his demands. And then he gets held up as a prime example of humanity that Starfleet should be so lucky to kiss his soles and he can do nothing wrong. Starfleet may have been wrong but so was Picard.
Even if he stayed.. Wouldn't have helped.. Starfleet would have stopped ANY ship he tried to send to help the Romulans, and he would have been court marshaled for disobeying orders eventually. Now he could have resigned, then used his good will as a citizen to try to get a Dunkirk style civilian fleet together to save the romulans.. but yes.. he gave up which in my opinion wasn't like his character... he wouldn't have given up.
I think giving up is in his character at that stage of his life. He had lost too much at that point. But, that is why I think he was wrong to just completely walk away. They are both wrong.
Not less lives. That was HIS plan. NO lives. That was Starfleet’s. Instead of hailing Caesar while Rome burned, correct. Even duritanium hearts break. She asked one officer one question, while she bemused the formality. A Romulan spy that escaped her scrutiny like the those on the video who murdered Daj. Isn’t it though. And yet it’s employed so freely. Not at all what I got from the series. he gets credit for being a good man, yes, and for his record, yes, but the soles thing, Jesus. Neither acted exemplarily, no. Yet the Picard haters can’t seem to do more than dance on his would-be grave.
Right. Hyperbole also seems to be freely used... Look, I have no love for Picard and he is probably low on the list of my favorite Trek characters. But, saying he was wrong doesn't somehow denigrate his legacy or hate on him. It's acknowledging fault-that's it. Starfleet was wrong and so was Picard-and that's the end of my position.
Lots of back-and-forth the last couple of days. My take: Yes, Jean-Luc was being very arrogant in demanding a ship and crew on a Monday after he slagged off Starfleet on interstellar television on Friday. But he was not being arrogant when he resigned from Starfleet -- that was the appropriate course of action to take. And he had every right to call the Federation out for their betrayal of the Romulans. Yes, Clancy was being very arrogant by choosing to deny his request and throwing him out. However, she did ask the Chief of Starfleet Security to investigate whether or not Jean-Luc's claim that a Tal Shiar strike force was operating on Earth, and it is not her fault that Commodore Oh disobeyed that order. Shockingly, both characters can be arrogant, and both characters can be a little bit wrong and a little bit right!! There was no indication whatsoever in "Remembrance" that Andor and Tellar were among those Federation worlds threatening to secede. The worlds' identities were never confirmed. For all we know, United Earth might have been threatening to secede -- U.E. was the one that fought a major war against the Romulans in the 2150s, after all. Strongly agreed. Oh's decades-long infiltration of Starfleet probably constitutes the single largest intelligence security breach in Federation history.
But in the case of Picard's resignation, it WAS arrogant of him to think: "I'll threaten it, but they'll never accept/allow me to do it, and I'll get what I want.." which is how he expected that scenario to go (per the flashback conversation scene with Rafi at SF HQ.) Further is was very arrogant to after that just throw up his hands, give up and just retire to his vineyard in France too.
I think that is more my sticking point. If he resigns in protest fine-but he did nothing to continue the effort. He simply walked. I'm not sure how that can be justified.
Maybe he should have kept his job and become an evil admiral. Starfleet's system is very favorable toward that option.
I think it might be borderline arrogant of him to think that his threatening to resign would be seen as undesirable enough by Command and the Federation President that they'd just give in... but I would say this might also be justifiable. In 2385, Jean-Luc Picard very clearly is a famous officer with a great deal with political clout. He was commanding officer of consecutive Federation flagship for almost twenty years, he's saved the Federation and its capital planet on multiple occasions, and he's had major influence on the political situation in local space (he installed Gowron as Klingon Chancellor, then his officer Worf installed Martok; he made first contact with the Ferengi; he helped get the ball rolling on establishing a Federation presence in the Bajor system after the Cardassians withdrew; etc.). When the Mars Attack happened, FNN threw his name and reaction all over the news. In 2385, Jean-Luc Picard is a big deal. He's arguably the Dwight D. Eisenhower (pre-presidency) of the Federation. And, well... Yeah, he was fighting to save millions if not billions of lives. And his government totally betrayed them and thew him under the bus in doing so. I can't fault him for this one. I'm not sure I'd call it arrogance, but there's certainly a level of privilege and of being too caught up in your own pain and depression to realize that his moral obligations to the Romulans did not end just because he took off the uniform.
Again, he didn’t go home to throw soirées and throw vitriol at the establishment from his armchair. He was heartbroken after Starfleet rejecting him and going “criminal” in his assessment. He wrote some history books and was basically waiting to die, so much did the loss of “utopia” diminish him. It’s extremely pitiably human. EDIT: If the Romulans are lost because Picard was lost, what does that say about Starfleet? Hell, reject him, but then if he falls, it’s up to them to deal with the ramifications of their actions and/or inactions.
Yes, they must deal with the fallout of their actions. But, so must Picard. They are both wrong here. That is my point. And, thus, a season of Star Trek was born.
All Picard had to do (to realize SFC would tell him to go screw himself) was look at the PAST career of James T. Kirk who - after saving the Earth (and Federation) from a Space Probe modified by aliens which was decimating EVERYTHING in its path; and then again; saving the Federation by preventing a madman from getting his hands of God-like tech that would allow him to destroy/create entire habitable worlds - after ALL that - Kirk (who was DIRECTLY involved with the situation that created the Genesis planet) couldn't even get permission to go retrieve Captain Spock's body from the Genesis planet for burial on Vulcan (even having the request of a well respected Vulcan Ambassador, whom the Federation Council President often went to for advice.) Picard really thought SFC would cave after what happened on Mars even though he KNEW he was helping the Federation's first/oldest enemy - and hell, even in that situation Rafi HAD circumstantial evidence that Romulans themselves might be involved in sabotaging the rescue effort - which we DO find out WAS the case - yet Picard still blindly believes that because it's 'him' - SFC will just cave and give him what he wants when he threatens to resign... If that's not 100% self sieving arrogance (especially if he knew SFC's history on acquiescing to famous Captains who saved the Federation and Earth more than once) , I don't know what is.