Why did people dislike the Bajorans?

[Jayson]

This is something I could never understand. The Bajorans are one of my favorite alien races ever because I felt like they had more dimension to them than say a Vulcan and Klingon. The Bajorans were like modern day humans which means you could get alot of drama out of them and I love that they use to be slaves basically. They gave them a tragic feeling which I felt worked. I mean you could tell Halcaust type of stories or stuff about religion or do stuff on terrorism. There was so much material to use with them. Who cares if they don't look really alien and just have a bump on the nose. I never felt hav unique looking aliens was important in trek because aliens are very mainstream in that universe. While bumpy aliens are not ideal for all shows it works just fine for Trek IMO.


Jason

 

[Navaros]

I hate Bajorans, here are my reasons.

In my view their noses are hideous, their clothes are hideous, their earring is hideous, and their customs nauseate me (Ie: the "preganancy ritual" scene with O'Brien dinging the bell and all that never fails to make me gag). Plus I don't respect them because the abandoned the original morals of their religion and now practice a false version of it, as stated by Dukat in Covenant. Their priests fornicate and do not exhibit any discernable priest-like qualites to set them apart from any other "normal" Bajoran.

Worst of all, they are always whining about the occupation constantly ad infinitum even though everyone they are whining to already gets it; talk about beating a dead horse. Best to keep the mute button close at hand whenever a Bajoran other than Winn is on-screen, lest have one's ears assaulted by hearing whining about the occupation for the 100 millionth time.

In summary, Bajorans in my view are very unpleasant to look at, very unpleasant to listen to, vastly uninteresting & boring, and have no redeeming qualities whatsoever to make them likable.

 

[Ezri]

The Bajorans were ideal as an alien race during the 1990’s. If you were going to use the same model for the Bajorans in the post September 11 culture, they would not get past the development stage meeting. If it did, it would not be approved at the lowest level management meeting, or, the public relations department.

The reason is clear: the Bajorans used terrorism to win freedom. Not all the Bajorans used terrorism, only a small handful used terrorism. The Bajorans, did use religion during the occupation to support their claims for freedom. After the occupation, the Bajorans did use religion for political reasons.

If you look at Iraqi, what is the difference with the Bajorans during the occupation and the current occupation of Iraqi at the present time?

 

[sbk1234]

I think the difference is that the Bajorans sought military targets with some kind of tactical importance.
Who are often the targets of real terrorists? Women and children in crowded markets and busses. Civilian targets of every kind.
They may have used the term terrorist on DS9, but I could see it as two different things altogether.

 

[ALF]

Too preachy.
Too serious.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Um. You can't put that level of revision on what must have been barbaric times in which the heinous was played casually.

In Defiant, Kira said out and out that if she was still a terrorist, which Riker was claiming to be, she would have destroyed Deep Space Nine and a number of other high profile targets before the man caught up with her.

The Bajorans didn't have the convenience of fighting a war with ethics or rules.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If you look at Iraqi, what is the difference with the Bajorans during the occupation and the current occupation of Iraqi at the present time?

The Bajorans don't deliberately murder Cardassian civilians in order to win favor with the Prophets. If they'd been running around committing murder and saying they were doing it to get into heaven and pork a lot of chicks, I don't think they'd have been candidates for Federation membership.

Plus, cmon, do you really think the terrorists in Iraq (Sunni, Shi'ite, al Qaeda, whatever) give a flying flip about freedom? The freedom to impose their tyranny on their neighbors, sure. They have no loyalty to concepts like freedom or democracy, they just want to make sure their tribe is the one with the boot on the neck of all the other tribes. Power politics with religion as a BS excuse, that's what's going on.

If that's what you think the Bajorans were all about, you must have been backing the Cardies one thousand percent! Poor Bajorans, how in hell did they end up with such a bad rep? Just because they yak about their fairly innocuous religion once in a while? They were never depicted as being ANYWHERE as bad as the fucking human race! If only this planet were populated by Bajorans, it would be a paradise.



OMG, I've discovered the reason Star Trek isn't popular anymore. It's message is: all the aliens are better than we are. Who wants to be reminded of something depressing like that?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Why did the Cardassians execute anyone teaching the religion of the Prophets if it wasn't being used against them somehow? (Something Winn said when she was telling Kira to stop looking down her nose at her.)

 

[Navaros]

Temis the Vorta said:
If they'd been running around committing murder and saying they were doing it to get into heaven and pork a lot of chicks, I don't think they'd have been candidates for Federation membership.

I believe the Feds would accept membership from anyone as long as the applicant planet is meeting Fed standards at the present time. Note how Eddington mentions the Feds only help the Cardies because they want Cardassia to join the Federation one day.

I also don't believe that the Bajoran terrorists only ever targetted military hostiles. Didn't DS9 make a point a few times that the Kira and her Co. had killed innocents? I'm a bit hazy on that since I usually doze off when Bajorans talk too much, but if that's not in the show then someone can correct me. I do recall one Bajoran terrorist icing a Cardie whilst he was in the middle of taking a bath; hardly an honorable kill.

 

[Russell Croutear]

Didn't realise there was so much Bajoran hate here. I completely sympathise with them and think that almost all the ones we've seen have been a fantastic portrayal of a broken people trying to recover from hard times. The only thing I hated was their ridged nose. Should have made them look more unique and 'alien-like'.

 

[137th Gebirg]

Navaros said:
Worst of all, they are always whining about the occupation constantly ad infinitum even though everyone they are whining to already gets it; talk about beating a dead horse. Best to keep the mute button close at hand whenever a Bajoran other than Winn is on-screen, lest have one's ears assaulted by hearing whining about the occupation for the 100 millionth time.

This was my biggest gripe about them as well. They took the victimization pity-party to all new highs, which I think diminished and even insulted the sacrifice of those who died during said occupation. Just my 2 cubits, anyway.

 

[sbk1234]

Guy Gardener said:
Why did the Cardassians execute anyone teaching the religion of the Prophets if it wasn't being used against them somehow? (Something Winn said when she was telling Kira to stop looking down her nose at her.)

Probably for the same reason that numerous tyranical regemes limited or outlawed religion (or certain religions) here on Earth. The Nazis, the Communists, the Taliban - just to name a few.

 

[Ezri]

Temis the Vorta said:

If you look at Iraqi, what is the difference with the Bajorans during the occupation and the current occupation of Iraqi at the present time?

The Bajorans don't deliberately murder Cardassian civilians in order to win favor with the Prophets. If they'd been running around committing murder and saying they were doing it to get into heaven and pork a lot of chicks, I don't think they'd have been candidates for Federation membership.

Plus, cmon, do you really think the terrorists in Iraq (Sunni, Shi'ite, al Qaeda, whatever) give a flying flip about freedom? The freedom to impose their tyranny on their neighbors, sure. They have no loyalty to concepts like freedom or democracy, they just want to make sure their tribe is the one with the boot on the neck of all the other tribes. Power politics with religion as a BS excuse, that's what's going on.

If that's what you think the Bajorans were all about, you must have been backing the Cardies one thousand percent! Poor Bajorans, how in hell did they end up with such a bad rep? Just because they yak about their fairly innocuous religion once in a while? They were never depicted as being ANYWHERE as bad as the fucking human race! If only this planet were populated by Bajorans, it would be a paradise.



OMG, I've discovered the reason Star Trek isn't popular anymore. It's message is: all the aliens are better than we are. Who wants to be reminded of something depressing like that?

Temis the Vorta
Did not say the Bajorans are identical to the state of Iraqi. What I said they have a number of common factors that place the Bajorans within the same class as the current state of Iraqi. The point with any alien race in the Star Trek universe, they have to share some common accepted human understanding. If the alien race shared a common acceptable standard with a house cat and a beach ball, the show already has tribbles. With all the role play games dealing with Star Trek, nobody would want to role model themselves as a tribble?
So back to the Bajorans, who in the present state of the world do they fit in best with human accepted understanding of the world. Would it be Canada, do they talk about the occupation of their country, or, talk about their fellow citizens being organized into terrorist cells? Name me one other country other than Iraqi that would fit into the Bajoran role model.

 

[Jayson]

Ezri said:

Temis the Vorta said:

If you look at Iraqi, what is the difference with the Bajorans during the occupation and the current occupation of Iraqi at the present time?

The Bajorans don't deliberately murder Cardassian civilians in order to win favor with the Prophets. If they'd been running around committing murder and saying they were doing it to get into heaven and pork a lot of chicks, I don't think they'd have been candidates for Federation membership.

Plus, cmon, do you really think the terrorists in Iraq (Sunni, Shi'ite, al Qaeda, whatever) give a flying flip about freedom? The freedom to impose their tyranny on their neighbors, sure. They have no loyalty to concepts like freedom or democracy, they just want to make sure their tribe is the one with the boot on the neck of all the other tribes. Power politics with religion as a BS excuse, that's what's going on.

If that's what you think the Bajorans were all about, you must have been backing the Cardies one thousand percent! Poor Bajorans, how in hell did they end up with such a bad rep? Just because they yak about their fairly innocuous religion once in a while? They were never depicted as being ANYWHERE as bad as the fucking human race! If only this planet were populated by Bajorans, it would be a paradise.



OMG, I've discovered the reason Star Trek isn't popular anymore. It's message is: all the aliens are better than we are. Who wants to be reminded of something depressing like that?

Temis the Vorta
Did not say the Bajorans are identical to the state of Iraqi. What I said they have a number of common factors that place the Bajorans within the same class as the current state of Iraqi. The point with any alien race in the Star Trek universe, they have to share some common accepted human understanding. If the alien race shared a common acceptable standard with a house cat and a beach ball, the show already has tribbles. With all the role play games dealing with Star Trek, nobody would want to role model themselves as a tribble?
So back to the Bajorans, who in the present state of the world do they fit in best with human accepted understanding of the world. Would it be Canada, do they talk about the occupation of their country, or, talk about their fellow citizens being organized into terrorist cells? Name me one other country other than Iraqi that would fit into the Bajoran role model.

I always asumed the Bajorans were a mixture of Holcaust era Jews and the Palenstians. Add a touch of new age modern humanism to how they aproach religon and presto you got a really great alien race for Trek.


Jason

 

[137th Gebirg]

Jayson said:
I always asumed the Bajorans were a mixture of Holcaust era Jews and the Palenstians. Add a touch of new age modern humanism to how they aproach religon and presto you got a really great alien race for Trek.

Post-occupation Bajor, I would agree. However, during the occupation, I would liken them more to the IRA.

 

[anti-matter]

Jayson when you ask “how come people disliked the Bajorians” …except for the Cardassians who really disliked them? Capt. Pickard had a lot of respect for them and he draws a lot of water with me.

In one of the episodes it was referenced that the Cardassians came to Bajor to ‘help’ them…it was never made clear what that help was.

The ‘war’ or hostile occupation probably started when a zealot committed some crime against the proud and arrogant Cardassians …then things went downhill from there. In one episode we saw a zealot kill an person for working in the wrong craft…remember?

Steven Hawking (sp) the super genius who discovered tons of stuff that I can’t even explain once warned humanity against the ‘promise’ of extraterrestrial visitation …he said history has revealed that when a strong race visits a weaker one…things aren’t good for the weaker one.

That’s what probably happened when the Cardies happened upon Bajor.

In a waste of time making comparisons to present day events…DS9 is all fiction.

 

[Photon]

Kai Opacca was the only Bajorian w/a modicum of decency. Oh the Bajoran monks talked a good game, and they "sounded" humble-but in essence they were just a bunch of horn dogs humpin' around like 50 cent ho's. Everyone was a victim, whine and bitch about the Cardies. As for their clothing, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder could design more fashionable attire than that mess.

 

[Photon]

If you look at Iraqi, what is the difference with the Bajorans during the occupation and the current occupation of Iraqi at the present time?

Duh
Typical left wing Kool Aid drinking in that one. Way to keep up w/current events Ezri.

 

[J47]

Not to turn this into a political thread, but there's a huge difference between the Bajor/Iraq situation. Iraq today is as much about a class war as it is anti-Americanism. And while Bajorans weren't above harming innocents, they still restrained themselves to enemy installations. Bajor is much closer to Afghanistan than Iraq, but even then the link is rather tenuous.

 

[Jayson]

I also don't see much comparison to Iraq either though it is intresting that it sounds like the Bajorans use to be like that. They use to have a caste system. Then again I wonder if that makes them more like Muslim or American Indians who also have different tribes. In fact you could say the Bajorans are a methphor to the indians. The Cardissians would be like Europeans who came here and wanted to "help" the primitves.

Jason


Jason