Why didn't Chang challenge Gorkon?

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I always saw the "Let them die!" line as an emotional outburst, not a statement of policy. And certainly Kirk proves by the end of the movie that, ultimately, he's capable of looking beyond his own history and emotional demons--just as, indeed, he did in "Day of Dove."

People are complicated. I'm sure that, back during the Cold War, that there were plenty of American soldiers that hated the Russians in the abstract, but we're still capable of seeing the humanity of the enemy as well.

Kirk isn't always right all the time, and was certainly capable of letting his emotions get the better of him on occasion, but his higher angels always prevail in the end.

Well said. It's easy to try to hold up a man like Kirk as some sort of standard, but he's human like anyone else. That's why I've always preferred his character to Picard's (even though I like both a lot). Kirk seems like a real human being who's done great things, rather than a legend who happens to look like a human being.

--Sran

 

[Greg Cox]

I always saw the "Let them die!" line as an emotional outburst, not a statement of policy. And certainly Kirk proves by the end of the movie that, ultimately, he's capable of looking beyond his own history and emotional demons--just as, indeed, he did in "Day of Dove."

People are complicated. I'm sure that, back during the Cold War, that there were plenty of American soldiers that hated the Russians in the abstract, but we're still capable of seeing the humanity of the enemy as well.

Kirk isn't always right all the time, and was certainly capable of letting his emotions get the better of him on occasion, but his higher angels always prevail in the end.

Well said. It's easy to try to hold up a man like Kirk as some sort of standard, but he's human like anyone else. That's why I've always preferred his character to Picard's (even though I like both a lot). Kirk seems like a real human being who's done great things, rather than a legend who happens to look like a human being.

--Sran

Exactly. I prefer to think of the TOS crew as flesh-and-blood human beings, not plaster saints.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Exactly. I prefer to think of the TOS crew as flesh-and-blood human beings, not plaster saints.

I like the DS9 crew for same reason. It's easy to ridicule Sisko for the choices he made during the Dominion War or Bashir for lying about his genetic enhancements for years before getting caught. But these weaknesses show that each is an actual person with flaws and feelings. It's much easier to relate to someone who thinks and acts like a regular person instead of trying to embody an ideal.

--Sran

 

[Greg Cox]

It's much easier to relate to someone who thinks and acts like a regular person instead of trying to embody an ideal.

--Sran

Bingo.

 

[Christopher]

Acting like a real person is one thing. Expressing the sentiment that an entire race should go extinct is another. There are a lot of ways to be a believable, flawed human being without ever uttering a word about genocide. They could've had Kirk and the others be uneasy with the prospect of peace without taking it in such a racially oriented direction.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Acting like a real person is one thing. Expressing the sentiment that an entire race should go extinct is another. There are a lot of ways to be a believable, flawed human being without ever uttering a word about genocide. They could've had Kirk and the others be uneasy with the prospect of peace without taking it in such a racially oriented direction.

I'll agree with you on this point, as I've often wondered what point Myer was trying to make by including the racism. TUC was released only a few months before the Rodney King Riots happened, so it could easily be used as a social commentary on the necessity of overcoming racism to serve one's country or civilization. But I don't think that's what Meyer was going for. How could he? He wouldn't have known about the riots when writing TUC.

--Sran

 

[Christopher]

Well, TUC was an allegory for the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. There was a lot of hostility between the US and the USSR, but I don't think it often translated to actual ethnic hatred; generally people disliked the other government but were more accepting of their common people.

But for what it's worth, I think people in LA were probably well aware of the racial tensions that existed there for quite a while before the riots brought them to a boil.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

But he was also the one who reached out to Mara and tried to convince her there was a better way than war between their peoples.

aka the one TOS episode where the Klingons didn't come off as complete bastards willing to do anything or kill anyone to get what they want.

 

[starburst]

Acting like a real person is one thing. Expressing the sentiment that an entire race should go extinct is another. There are a lot of ways to be a believable, flawed human being without ever uttering a word about genocide. They could've had Kirk and the others be uneasy with the prospect of peace without taking it in such a racially oriented direction.

Kirks outburst wasnt to suggest genocide, Kirks response was to sit back and do nothing which is a whole other moral conundrum; do you help a mortal enemy in their hour of need? = the answer by the end of the film was a yes.

The only person who directly inferred genocide was West when he mentioned "cleaning their chronometers" and wipe them out.

End of the day Starfleet had been at a constant state of war with the Klingons since before this crew joined up, no wonder they would be jaded against them.