Was Janeway a dictator? And if so...

[JanewayRulz!]

...does that mean she really was the reincarnation of Captain Kirk?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...on-warning-to-prez-candidates/?iref=obnetwork

I liked this quote from Shatner in this article...

Don't compare President Barack Obama to Captain James T. Kirk.

That's what William Shatner told CNN's Ali Velshi when asked to respond to suggestions that Obama should act less like "Spock" and more like "Captain Kirk".

Shatner said the comparisons are "unfair" because "Mr. Obama has the onerous burden of obeying the constitution [and] Captain Kirk was captain of everybody's fate. He was a dictator".

Thoughts?

What does it mean.. to be "The Captain".

 

[Guy Gardener]

Prime Directive, Constitution... Pota-to, potat-o.

Think Nixon or Bush more so for a captain who uses hir principles for toilet paper.

 

[The Dominion]

The thing that often bothered me the most about Janeway, was that she would make big decisions like there was no such thing as a "consequence." And then she would always be portrayed as the hero who did the unquestionably right thing, even if it was one of the crew who saved them in the end.

And come to think of it, the crew rarely ever questioned her decisions. Which was odd, since we had a long standing tradition of having characters like Spock/Bones, Riker and Kira who did their jobs of calling the captains out on big decisions, when there were things to consider from different angels.

 

[Guy Gardener]

She threatened to erase the doctor in year of Hell.

Confined Chakotay to quarters in Equinox.

Locked Tom up for 30 days in 30 days

And put a demerit in Tuvoks permanent file in Prime Factors.

Life imprisonment with out a chance of parole for Suder the murderer.

But just told Neelix she was disappointed in him for dealing drugs in Fair Trade.

You do understand that "Dictators" don't have to be mass murdering psychopaths? Janeway came into power legally and has to abide completely with the laws of her state, and there are legal methods for her to lose or be removed form her position of authority...

The point of a (modern) dictator (Dictator is just what they called a single leader in Rome during war becaue they side barred the proconsuls.) is that they invent the law from moment to moment.

Which brings us to the Swarm.

All roads lead to the Swarm.

Janeway decided that she was not going to spend an extra year in space just because the prime Directive said that that is what decent lawabidig citizens of the federation do. She inverted the law to make her life easier no matter who she had to murder.

 

[The Dominion]

And then right after that, she helps propagate two Ferengi as the false gods of a planet.....at the persuasion of said Ferengi.

The Picard took an arrow to prove he wasn't a god to some natives. How did Janeway even begin to justify that decision?

 

[Guy Gardener]

it's the same rule she figured out from caretaker when she broke the Prime Directive then.

TUVOK: Captain, any action we take to protect the Ocampa would affect the balance of power in this system. The Prime Directive would seem to apply.
JANEWAY: Would it? We never asked to be involved, Tuvok, but we are. We are.

Just because the Ferengi asked to be involved it doesn't change the fact that they are involved. They had beome ingrained into the fabric of the society they were rapng that it would seem more harmful to stop the rape than let it continue because the little dinky aliens had come to point where the were used to the scocietal rape that they might crumble without it.

Of course once you accept that.

You have to ask why Janeway turned around and flipflopped seconds later thinking it was better to lie to the ferengi that there was a fast boat home up in orbit (which there wasn't), that they would be in the brig complaining soon enough about 69 year long journey home just like they would have been anyways if she hadn't let them return to the surface.

Madness!