I’ve enjoyed what I’ve watched from him. It’s just so strange that someone who claimed to be a lifelong Trek fan could be a conservative Trump supporter.
As someone who used to hang around TrekBBS back in the day, there are actually many conservative and libertarian Star Trek fans.
It always baffled me also, but I think many of them were/are TOS fans. Kirk’s swashbuckling, individualistic, break-the-rules, throw-a-roundhouse-when-you-need-to style disguised Roddenberry’s socialist utopia that existed in the more civilised parts of the Federation. Certainly more so than adventures of the tea-sipping, conference-chairing, “I think I’ll surrender in my very first appearance” Frenchman who followed him.
@startrekexplained @Prouvaire it still amazes me when this comes up. How can anyone miss the point of something so badly?
As a TOS fan, I disagree with that. TOS might have had dated drapery, but it also had some flagrantly progressive elements, arguably more than many of the series that followed it. It’s just that the world has moved on, and many of those progressive things are either the norm, or seen as regressive, like the Miniskirts, Uhura being part of the bridge crew, or having an American, Russian, and Japanese man serve as part of the same crew, at the height of the Cold War.
Part of it might also be that they didn’t see Trek as anything more than “cool space show, with a whole bunch of scantily clad men and women”, and didn’t bother to look any deeper, not unlike Star Wars. It’s just guns, cool ships, and shooting, with the imperialistic allegory being ignored, or gone unnoticed.
many of those progressive things are [now] either the norm, or seen as regressive
Totally agree.
Part of it might also be that they didn’t see Trek as anything more than “cool space show, with a whole bunch of scantily clad men and women”, and didn’t bother to look any deeper
Again, I think we’re actually in agreement. If you look past the cool space show and can avert your eyes from William Ware Theiss’ gravity-defying outfits you should be able to discern that Roddenberry’s future is largely socialist, some would argue even communist. Centralised world government, no private enterprise (pun not intended), and by the time TNG aired, even no money. (Note there were references to money in TOS.) Not that I’m trying to imply conservative Trek fans aren’t smart enough to figure this out. But - like the diversity and inclusion in the TOS cast - TOS’s liberalism (social, not economic) isn’t something that the show hit you in the face with. It’s treated matter-of-factly, as backstory or backdrop. Whereas a show like DIS basically grabs you by the lapels and shouts “I’m progressive! I’m progressive!!” (Exaggerating of course, but you get the idea.)
not unlike Star Wars. It’s just guns, cool ships, and shooting, with the imperialistic allegory being ignored, or gone unnoticed
Not much of a Star Wars fan, but I assume this is David Brin’s critique?
I can definitely see how a genuine libertarian could be a Trek fan.
The politics of Star Trek is all about individual dignity and fulfillment in a post-scarcity society. A lot of people try to call it socialist (as Pelia mockingly did in the most recent SNW episode) but the circumstances mean it’s not any form of socialism anyone’s encountered in real life on Earth, such as in the 20th century. After unfathomable levels of technological advancement eradicates the problem of scarcity, there’s neither the need for a big state nor a market to allocate scarce resources - what we know as socialism and capitalism wouldn’t be meaningful concepts. What we see instead is people doing what they do (joining Starfleet, undertaking research, conducting journalism, opening restaurants) out of a sense of personal fulfillment, and with neither a state nor a society nor a need to pay the bills particularly forcing them to do anything. They’re free to live their lives as they see fit - infinite diversity in infinite combinations. I can see how a libertarian could look at that and call it their personal utopia.
I struggle much more with how a conservative could embrace Star Trek. So much of conservative politics is about the primacy of the norms of the collective over the rights and dignity of the individual - whether that’s in moderate forms (e.g. wanting to manage the pace of social progress so as not to offend the sensibilities of the majority, wanting immigrants to integrate into host societies) or more aggressive forms (outright hostility to immigrants, denying the rights of women and minorities, denying the existence of LGBTQ people).
I guess what I’m saying is that once you remove economics from the problem of politics (as Star Trek has hand waved away via technology) then what’s left of libertarianism looks a lot like Star Trek, whereas what’s left of conservativism looks very different.
The bumper stickers on a car I saw just the other day indicated the same.
What do they do? Root for the Ferengi?
@tukarrs @ValueSubtracted
I think a lot of people vote Republican because of where they live. It’s what they are taught. Same reasons why they use inches and speak English. I’m guilty of all those things in the past. I never really thought about it. I have always loved Star Trek. It never occurred to me until about 2016 that none of the good guys in that universe are Republicans. Donny opened my eyes to what the Republicans are all about. I’ll never go back.
