'The Enemy', was Picard or Tomalak right?

[Farscape One]

But there definitely have been racists in Starfleet.

Lt. Cmdr. Hobson on the Sutherland with Data... Captain Solok with humans... Captain Maxwell and O'Brien with the Cardassians, though in both cases it's actually understandable... Worf with Romulans, but that is also understandable.

 

[Starflight]

True but those were just personally-held beliefs rather than actual actions that resulted in real harm (except for Maxwell, who was rightly arrested). McCoy might have been repulsed by Vulcan ideology and taken it to the point of outright racism, but he'd never refuse to provide life-saving aid to a Vulcan. And if he did, he'd surely be stripped of his rank and find himself on the next shuttle back to Earth.

I liked the way Kirk dealt with Stiles in Balance of Terror. People can have any private prejudices they want but if you sign up to Starfleet and you're on duty, those prejudices have to be left at home and you have to be prepared to uphold the rights and lives of people you might personally hate. The more I think about it, the more I think Picard would have been well within his rights to order Worf to give blood (and Worf well within his rights to refuse at the cost of his place in Starfleet, if he really had to).

 

[Farscape One]

I think Picard made the right choice. Hevhas the utmost respect for people's beliefs, and he certainly does for those under his command... particularly those in his inner circle like Worf. I think he felt if he ordered him, it would be hypocritical of him to say he respects beliefs while forcing someone to go against them.

Picard earned a lot of respect for those he served with, and with good reason.

 

[Mojochi]

Never liked Picard's actions in this episode, including his final attempt to persuade Worf. He doesn't make any kind of moral appeal at all, just the practical concern that the Romulan "is more valuable to us alive than dead" or whatever. It falls to Riker, of all people, to make the obvious case that letting someone die by refusing them access to life-saving medical care is immoral.

I also wonder if Picard was right to refuse to order Worf to give blood - on the surface it seems pretty clear-cut that you can't order someone to give up their bodily autonomy like that, but at the same time, you don't join Starfleet if you're going to let your racism result in someone's death.

In my head canon, it's more than just respect for the values of other cultures, in this case for Picard. I actually think Picard is especially sympathetic to Klingon values in general.

If you'll recall in Ethics, Picard is the sole voice of sympathy to Worf committing ritualistic suicide, as per Klingon custom, even though it means leaving his partly human son an orphan. Then there is also the fact that he didn't just support Worf in risking his own life challenging the ruling against Mogh, he actively chose to become a participant in a Klingon legal matter, even though once the duplicity of the Klingon High council became evident, it surely was a very close call to violating the Prime Directive by participating.

Plus, surely many other captains would have drummed Worf right out of the service for killing Duras, while on an active mission, & Picard just logs it as a reprimand. I'm not saying he's entirely wrong about it, but Picard is kind of a Klingon apologist. He also has a soft spot for the Bajoran ladies, but that's a story for another time lol.

 

[Farscape One]

Regarding Picard's attitudes on Klingon customs, I wonder if he seems that way because Klingons tend to be very black and white when it comes to morality and actions. Maybe Picard likes the simplicity of that line of thinking. Can't say I don't like that kind of simplicity.