REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Star Trek is Socialist

POSTED BY: ANTHONYT
UPDATED: Monday, August 25, 2008 10:25
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Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:30 AM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:

I threw in the towel on watching Trek as the quality of the writing declined and it's moral messages got rather Anvilicious

The real Trek died with Gene. Here & there, some good stuff, entertaining a bit of it, but give me the original series any day.

I'm mostly with Bruce Campbell here:
Quote:

4. Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Trek. The original...with William Shatner. Everything else blows.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/57515/bruce-campbell/


Yeah babyisall

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Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:42 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Which is why Eddingtons speech struck me as so accurate.
Also, follow up with Sisko's subsequent actions, and tell me he didn't have a point, even if Eddington WAS (imho) crazy as a bedbug otherwise.

But even then it's wrong. Sure Eddington might see it like that, but Sisko took a close and trusted officer, a friend, turning out to be a spy and a terrorist personally. How could he not? He was personally betrayed, it still had nothing to do with 'leaving the Federation'.



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Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:06 PM

RIVERLOVE


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:

I'm mostly with Bruce Campbell here:
Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Trek. The original...with William Shatner. Everything else blows.
Yeah babyisall


Amen. Truer words have never been spoken. Roddenberry & Kirk's Trek was groundbreaking, and acutely intellectually critical of the times. Many of the episodes are of such a high quality that nothing else in 40 years has come close. And by the way, there is Firefly, and then everything else. Star Trek is in the everything else bracket, but it's the top seed.

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Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:17 PM

FUTUREMRSFILLION


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
I would join Starfleet in a second.

Captain James T. Chrisisall
]


Can I be Uhura? Cause I dig the little red dress and the ear piece thingy!

I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"

FORSAKEN original





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Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:41 PM

BIGDAMNNOBODY


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
Given that he's constantly obstructing and belittling Inara's profession in anyway he can, I think it's clear that if he was in the position to do so, he would outlaw companions.


Hey Citizen,
Did you happen to catch the "Heart of Gold" episode?

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Thursday, August 21, 2008 4:31 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important


Hello Citizen,

I disagree with you on some points about the Maquis.

First, while Eddington was A leader of the Maquis, he was not THE leader of the Maquis. In TNG, it's clear that the Maquis do not have a command structure unified under a single leader. This is evident in (I believe) the final season of TNG when Ro goes rogue after being assigned an undercover infiltration job.

Eddington's presence did not entitle the Feds, in my opinion, to mark the entire organization up for grabs.

Further, if any Federation citizens want to move to Maquis space and live the life of a freedom fighter, that should be their decision. It should not be inherently criminal to move out of a country and fight in the wars of another country. Federation citizens were being declared criminals for leaving the Federation, just as Eddington said. Note that the many Maquis members captured and put in prison were not all charged with sabotage, theft, and treachery, as Eddington might be. They were simply 'Members of the Maquis.' That was enough to brand them criminals.

This is the best analogy I can make for the Maquis situation:

A) The U.S. fights a war with the U.S.S.R. where it surrenders Alaska in a Peace Accord.

B) The willing residents of Alaska are relocated. Others choose to remain.

C) Those who remain are treated poorly (in their opinion) by the U.S.S.R.

D) The remaining Alaskans start a resistance movement to obtain independence for Alaska.

E) Some U.S. citizens sympathize with the Alaskans and move to Alaska to help their war effort.

F) The U.S. begins invading Alaska and arresting Alaskans.

G) A U.S. Navy Captain defects to Alaska.

H) The U.S. steps up its operations in Alaska, arresting many more Alaskans and putting them in U.S. jails.

That being the case... I sympathize with the Alaskans. They didn't have the voting power to prevent their lands from being given away. Then, when they decided to fight for independence, they got clobbered by the people who gave them up to begin with.

Sad.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Thursday, August 21, 2008 10:59 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello Citizen,
This is the best analogy I can make for the Maquis situation:

A) The U.S. fights a war with the U.S.S.R. where it surrenders Alaska in a Peace Accord.

B) The willing residents of Alaska are relocated. Others choose to remain.

C) Those who remain are treated poorly (in their opinion) by the U.S.S.R.

D) The remaining Alaskans start a resistance movement to obtain independence for Alaska.

E) Some U.S. citizens sympathize with the Alaskans and move to Alaska to help their war effort.

F) The U.S. begins invading Alaska and arresting Alaskans.

G) A U.S. Navy Captain defects to Alaska.

H) The U.S. steps up its operations in Alaska, arresting many more Alaskans and putting them in U.S. jails.



You forgot the one between E and F:

The USSR demands US assistance to keep people it considers it's citizens in line, threatening war if it does not.
Quote:


That being the case... I sympathize with the Alaskans. They didn't have the voting power to prevent their lands from being given away. Then, when they decided to fight for independence, they got clobbered by the people who gave them up to begin with.


I think your analysis is rather trite. The Federation didn't give anyone up. They gave up the Federation. Was the Federation supposed to abduct them all or something? Would that have been a better solution? They chose to stay, and it occurred in an episode, and Picard was very clear what that meant, I.E. no Federation assistance in the future. What happens to personal responsibility in the Future anyway?

It wasn't about voting power, it was about war. Lines were drawn, and couldn't be redrawn, were these Federation settlers so selfish they'd rather the destruction of the Federation and the Deaths of millions, rather than a few thousand of them lose their homes? If that's true, I have no sympathy, let them fend for themselves and see what the real worlds like for a change.

The United States is now acting to prevent it's citizens from engaging in and supporting overseas terrorism, and it's about bloody time, because how many innocent blood is on American money in all the unofficial and official American sponsorship of Terrorism around the world?

Lets not romanticise the Marqui as freedom fighters, they were terrorists. They didn't limit themselves to military targets, they're very first targets were Cardassian civilians settling the same worlds. The Marqui started attacking the military when it started moving to arm and defend Cardassian settlers. The Marqui are terrorists. They probably see themselves as freedom fighters, but lets think of another analogy. Al Qaeda. There's a group who the US sees as Terrorists, and they themselves and others see as freedom fighters, fighting against US tyranny and oppression. The US demands that nations of the middle east, the same nations whose populations fund and fight for Al Qaeda, the same nations whose populations probably see it as a group of Freedom Fighters, fight Al Qaeda.

You're looking at the Marqui from the freedom fighters side, so too you Federation involvement is unwarranted, because they're not directly fighting them. But what about from the other side, the terrorism aspect? Is it wrong for the US to demand Saudi Arabia joins the war on terror against Al Qaeda, despite Al Qaeda focusing on the US and not Saudi Arabia? Is it wrong for Saudi Arabia to acquiesce? Do you feel sympathy for the unfortunate freedom fighters of Al Qaeda, simply fighting for independence from American Imperial hegemony?



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Friday, August 22, 2008 2:18 AM

JONGSSTRAW


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
Stay right there!


Can one gather from the story that Kirk was destined by history to be the one that was influential in causing her death? When McCoy went back before Kirk and history changed, was Edith in the same spot under similar circumstances that would lead her to getting run over by a truck? Can one also extrapolate that Kirk was indirectly responsible for the Allies victory over Nazi Germany? We know that without her death, her leadership of the peace movement would have delayed America's entry into WWII and allowed Germany to develop the A-bomb first. That didn't happen, so did it maybe actually happen that way the "first" time?. In time travel, is there even a first time for anything? If history gets changed & a new future is created, then it wasn't ever history to begin with, right?

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Friday, August 22, 2008 3:30 AM

CHRISISALL


Fascinating.

Spockisall

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Friday, August 22, 2008 5:25 AM

FREMDFIRMA


Quote:

The Federation didn't give anyone up. They gave up the Federation.

Not the way I see it - the Federation abandoned them, in spite of it's endless promises, and to be blunt, they were ok with that, if the Federation wasn't gonna stand with them as it's citizens, then the Federation could very well fuck off.
Quote:

They chose to stay, and it occurred in an episode, and Picard was very clear what that meant, I.E. no Federation assistance in the future.

See above - also, the Federation demanded they leave their homes, no matter how you slice it, that is a tyrannical act, and after that rather rude wakeup call, I kinda doubt they WANTED "Federation Assistance" given it's nature.
Quote:

What happens to personal responsibility in the Future anyway?

The Maqui did take personal responsibility - far more than the Federation did, they never made any bones about it, this was their HOME, and they were gonna defend it, come hell or high water, and where's the personal responsibility in the Federations abandonment of their own citizens for not giving up their home to be relocated somewhere against their will ?
Quote:

were these Federation settlers so selfish they'd rather the destruction of the Federation and the Deaths of millions, rather than a few thousand of them lose their homes?

All for the greater good, right ? the cry of Tyrants everywhere.
I know *I* would fight any effort to forcibly relocate me too, fuck the Federation, for all that they demand for membership, leaving them to swing like that when the chips came down was morally reprehensible.
In the situation as presented, letting them out of the Federation was the only sane thing TO do, and given their feelings on the matter, and towards the Feddies, I rather doubt the Maquis were that sad to see em gone.
Quote:

Lets not romanticise the Marqui as freedom fighters, they were terrorists. They didn't limit themselves to military targets, they're very first targets were Cardassian civilians settling the same worlds.

Come onto MY property and start setting up a settlement, see what happens to your thieving, tresspassing ass...
Quote:

The Marqui started attacking the military when it started moving to arm and defend Cardassian settlers.

Damn right they did - it was THEIR turf, and they were gonna defend it.
Quote:

They probably see themselves as freedom fighters, but lets think of another analogy. Al Qaeda.

Only we never moved into Al Qaeda's land and forcibly displaced them, the proper analogy here would go to Palestinian Terrorists kicking the shit out of Israeli settlers, and vice versa - which is a situation every bit as ugly, or even uglier, but with me, the line gets drawn when someone starts TAKING YOUR LAND.

I know folks are probably utterly horrified that I don't suck up to the Zionistas with fawning affection like I am supposed to, but fuck it, the anology still applies, and right/wrong in instances like that gets really grey and murky, but I generally do side with the folks who's land it was in the first place.

If someone is on YOUR land, trying to take it and/or it's resources from you, or deny you it's use for farming (*Ask me how my buddy Little died, go on, ask...) or any other purpose, killing your people and destroying your infrastructure, they are the bad guys, yes.

I'll not gainsay the Federation involvement in pursuing them, once they began committing acts against the Federation to procure resources and equipment, but the fact is that the Federation involved themselves by providing to the Cardassians - like Finn said, they brought the chair to the table, the Maquis just forced them to sit in it, is all.

And I'd like to see you try to justify Siskos actions toward them, go on and try to justify that one, if you will.

-Frem
*My buddy Little, he bought it trying to clean OUR cluster bombs (which we were at the time trying to deny using) out of a locals field so he could safely plant something for his family to eat, he knew his job would eventually catch up with him, and hoped to "not linger" when it did - so I doubt he went with any regrets, but I am still PO'ed about it, a stupid waste from a stupid war.

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Friday, August 22, 2008 10:03 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Not the way I see it - the Federation abandoned them, in spite of it's endless promises, and to be blunt, they were ok with that, if the Federation wasn't gonna stand with them as it's citizens, then the Federation could very well fuck off.
...
See above - also, the Federation demanded they leave their homes, no matter how you slice it, that is a tyrannical act, and after that rather rude wakeup call, I kinda doubt they WANTED "Federation Assistance" given it's nature.
...
The Maqui did take personal responsibility - far more than the Federation did, they never made any bones about it, this was their HOME, and they were gonna defend it, come hell or high water, and where's the personal responsibility in the Federations abandonment of their own citizens for not giving up their home to be relocated somewhere against their will ?

You have a remarkably black and white view of it.

The Federation had no choice. They didn't abandon the Settlers, they had no choice, it wasn't Federation territory. You're advocating a war of aggression to take territory that didn't belong to them.

Furthermore, your colouring of it as being a tyrannical "for the greater good" is bullshit. In fact your position is far closer to that than what I'm saying. The Federation was trying to avoid a massive interstellar war that would have killed millions, you want that so some settlers that landed on planets another Government had laid claim too can stay. You're then one advocating a terrible war of aggression, and you say you don't side with the Zionists, right?

I justify the Federation leaving the colonists because that's what they wanted, and the only other choice was to abandon the peace process and start war with Cardassia. Before you start telling me to justify that, how about you justify starting a war that would kill millions?
Quote:


All for the greater good, right ? the cry of Tyrants everywhere.

It's ours, and well keep or take it at any cost, the cry of megalomaniac dictators everywhere.
Quote:

I know *I* would fight any effort to forcibly relocate me too, fuck the Federation, for all that they demand for membership, leaving them to swing like that when the chips came down was morally reprehensible.
No, it was choosing the lesser of two evils. Choosing the most evil and destructive path, starting an interstellar war, as you advocate, would be moral reprehensible. I had no idea you were such a war hawk.
Quote:

In the situation as presented, letting them out of the Federation was the only sane thing TO do
So you agree with me now? There were three possible paths, The Federation stands by the treaty, and evacuates the settlers from Cardassian space, they let them stay under Cardassian jurisdiction, or they start and interstellar war. Everything up to this point has had you advocating interstellar war, so which is it?
Quote:

Come onto MY property and start setting up a settlement, see what happens to your thieving, tresspassing ass...
The ends justify the means, the cry of Terrorists everywhere...
Quote:

Only we never moved into Al Qaeda's land and forcibly displaced them, the proper analogy here would go to Palestinian Terrorists kicking the shit out of Israeli settlers, and vice versa - which is a situation every bit as ugly, or even uglier, but with me, the line gets drawn when someone starts TAKING YOUR LAND.
Time you look up your facts Frem. Osama Bin Landen focused on the US, because of US military bases on Muslim land, which he saw as an occupation. The US has been practising soft colonialism in the Middle East for the best part of a century. Of course for part of that time other powers were practising hard colonialism, but Al Qaeda was totally setup because the US was "on their land".
Quote:

I'll not gainsay the Federation involvement in pursuing them, once they began committing acts against the Federation to procure resources and equipment, but the fact is that the Federation involved themselves by providing to the Cardassians - like Finn said, they brought the chair to the table, the Maquis just forced them to sit in it, is all.
The Federation didn't go after the Marqui until they started doing exactly as you say, so what's your problem?
Quote:

And I'd like to see you try to justify Siskos actions toward them, go on and try to justify that one, if you will.
What, you mean like saving the settlers from the Dominion backed Cardassians? Does that need justifying?



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Friday, August 22, 2008 1:36 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Apparently you don't get what I was saying.

The Federation had little choice BUT to let them go - it was indeed the least of all evils, sure.

Doesn't make it right, but sometimes there just ISN'T any "right" choice to make.

But logically the Maquis were gonna be a bit pissed about that given the strict standards one has to abide by for Federation membership, which in the end left them swinging in the breeze.

Humans being humans, no way they were gonna take that with a smile, were they ?

And hell yes, having broken with the Federation over it, the Maquis damn straight were gonna fight for their turf, whether it was in the opinion of anyone ELSE morally right or not, considering they told the Federation to piss off over it, like they were just gonna LET the Cardassians come in and set up shop ?

People ain't like that, I suspect they never will be - hell, most of the wars of the last couple centuries prettymuch amount to "Hey y'all, git offa mah LAND! *BOOM*"

And yeah, I know what Al Qeadas bitch is, but the situation of the Maquis far more closely resembles that of the Palestinians, if you were going to draw that kind of analogy about it, why not use the more accurate one ?

A military base isn't (usually) a colonisation and displacement attempt, putting up a settlement and burning the nearby crops to drive the locals out... that is.

And as for the Federation "getting involved" - well, they were ALREADY involved, by providing material support to the Cardassians, something the Maquis took issue with and proceeded with aggression against the Federation over, sure.

At which point they and the Federation were clearly redefined as enemies rather than non-neutrals, and it was quite proper for the Federation to pursue them.

What I dispute, mainly, is calling them Terrorists OR Freedom Fighters, cause I don't think they fit neatly into either category.

Calling them terrorists is a pretense to deny the fact that they had a fairly legit gripe that initially had nothing to do with Starfleet, and then later on, did.

We don't let OUR enemies determine if OUR Government is legitimate or not, so why would the Maquis be any different ?

And what I would like to see someone try to justify - is Sisko's intentional use of bioweapons against the Maquis.

Yes, for him it was personal, but he fired them from a Starfleet ship, and while wearing a Starfleet uniform, something that for damned sure should have gotten him stripped of rank and formally charged, but it's all ok when Starfleet does it ?

No, the ends do NOT justify the means, not for the Maquis, not for the Cardassians, and not even for Starfleet.

Mostly I wanted to put it across to you from the MAQUIS viewpoint - the whole screwup was not the fault of any particular individual or race, and always seemed more of a diplomacy failure than anything else - and the Cardassians were idiots for not taking advantage of Starfleets stupidity.

And yeah, sure, from the Cardassian viewpoint these guys were a buncha tresspassing assholes who refused to leave territory no longer rightfully belonging to them, I am aware of that.

But the SMART thing for them to have done is to have signed a seperate treaty with the Maquis giving them the turf in return for cut rate goods and services, freeing up that many of their own trained people on the other end, and letting the Maquis field their own vessels and personnel to defend that section of the perimeter.

Anyhows, mostly I wanted to put the issue forward from the perspective of the Maquis themselves, in a situation where it's NOT that black and white, rather than the standard-issue Starfleet "They just don't know any better, the poor ignorant savages.." line of drivel.

Every factor involved had a legit gripe, especially when the Maquis started aggression against Starfleet as well, and just because the Maquis were not an empire like the other two, doesn't make THEIR gripe any less legit, you know.

It's one of those situations where everyone on every side is, to THEM, doing the right thing, and yet the bodies still pile up, and you DO get those from time to time.

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

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Friday, August 22, 2008 2:24 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Correction, apparently the Cardassians DID agree to a similar set of terms.

"Ultimately, an agreement was made whereby the Dorvan colonists were permitted to remain in their colony under Cardassian jurisdiction. The arrangement was approved by Gul Evek, the Cardassian official in charge of affairs in the Demilitarized Zone.

Following the Dorvan agreement, colonists on many other worlds also refused to abandon their homes and demanded to be permitted to stay on their colonies. Both the Federation Council and the Cardassian Central Command acquiesced."


... and then reneged on it ...

"However, the resolution of the dispute did not prove to be a practical solution. Although Starfleet assigned an attaché, Lt. Commander Calvin Hudson, to the Demilitarized Zone, resentment began to fester as hardships mounted. Although the Cardassian government had officially pledged to leave the Federation colonists alone, a wide campaign of oppression began at practically the same time. Food replicators were poisoned, mobs were organized, and general harassment of the Federation colonists made life difficult at best.

At the same time, the Central Command secretly began arming their own colonists on the Demilitarized Zone. By shipping the weapons through intermediaries such as the Lissepians, they managed to avoid the attention of Starfleet. The Cardassian colonists mounted the weapons – including Galor -class heavy disruptors – onto shuttlecraft-sized vessels and used them to attack Federation interests."


I think that last line should read Maquis interests, since the Maquis were no longer under Federation jurisdiction, but Cardassian.

That changes things in fact very little, but it's worth the mention that initially the Cardassians DID agree to them being there, and then broke that trust.

-Frem
*Credit to Memory Alpha, for the quotes.
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Portal:Main

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Saturday, August 23, 2008 3:01 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Apparently you don't get what I was saying.

Yeah, because you're saying a bunch of things that are largely mutually exclusive. How can doing the best possible thing you can, be morally reprehensible?
Quote:

And yeah, I know what Al Qeadas bitch is, but the situation of the Maquis far more closely resembles that of the Palestinians, if you were going to draw that kind of analogy about it, why not use the more accurate one ?

A military base isn't (usually) a colonisation and displacement attempt, putting up a settlement and burning the nearby crops to drive the locals out... that is.

Because Al Qaeda is more personal, so easier to sympathies with. Beyond that, it's not important how you see it, the important factor is how Al Qaeda sees it. They do see military bases across the middle east as an occupation. They see the encroaching 'soft colonialism' through culture and soft political interference as an attack. Blankly saying it isn't, is funny given that your the one saying we should also look at the Marqui's actions from their point of view. The point I was making is that every Terrorist has reasons for their actions, and see themselves as righteous.
Quote:


And as for the Federation "getting involved" - well, they were ALREADY involved, by providing material support to the Cardassians, something the Maquis took issue with and proceeded with aggression against the Federation over, sure.


I wasn't aware they did.
Quote:

What I dispute, mainly, is calling them Terrorists OR Freedom Fighters, cause I don't think they fit neatly into either category.

Calling them terrorists is a pretense to deny the fact that they had a fairly legit gripe that initially had nothing to do with Starfleet, and then later on, did.


I fail to see how you couldn't fit them into either category. A terrorist organisation can mean many things. The IRA were terrorists, and they were entirely unlike Al Qaeda, another terrorist organisation. A terrorist organisation could be defined as a non-state military organisation, that aims to fulfil political goals through violence.

Far from being a pretence to deny they have a legitimate grievance, on some level all terrorist organisations have a legitimate grievance, at least in their own minds.
Quote:

And what I would like to see someone try to justify - is Sisko's intentional use of bioweapons against the Maquis.
I'd forgotten about that, though I'm not sure there was any widespread damage. Wasn't it Marqui bioweapons being used though? How can you portray the Marqui the victim because their tactics were used against them?
Quote:

Mostly I wanted to put it across to you from the MAQUIS viewpoint - the whole screwup was not the fault of any particular individual or race, and always seemed more of a diplomacy failure than anything else - and the Cardassians were idiots for not taking advantage of Starfleets stupidity.

As you say, Sisko's actions were his, not authorised by Starfleet. I'm not sure of the resolution beyond that. How is it a question of "is it okay when starfleet does it" when in fact, Starfleet didn't do it?
Quote:

And yeah, sure, from the Cardassian viewpoint these guys were a buncha tresspassing assholes who refused to leave territory no longer rightfully belonging to them, I am aware of that.

But the SMART thing for them to have done is to have signed a seperate treaty with the Maquis giving them the turf in return for cut rate goods and services, freeing up that many of their own trained people on the other end, and letting the Maquis field their own vessels and personnel to defend that section of the perimeter.

That may have been the smart thing to do, but why is it ok for the Marqui to fight for their territory, but not the Cardassians?

As I remember it, the episodes concerned considered deeply the moral aspects of Federation involvement.



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Saturday, August 23, 2008 5:13 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important


Hello,

Here's how I see things.

The Federation abandoned territory as part of a peace treaty. The citizens who chose to remain were similarly abandoned. They were promised that the Federation would take no action to protect them. In other words, they were no longer Federation citizens. The Federation chose to sever all responsibility for these holdouts, and the holdouts similarly could not be perceived to have any responsibility to the Federation.

So, a clean split between the Feds and their erstwhile colonies, right?

Wrong.

The Cardies started stepping on these ex-Fed-colonies, and the colonies started hitting back.

It should have been a matter between the ex-colonies and their new overlords, the Cardies. The Feds were definitely not going to help their ex-colonies, so the Cardies were free to abuse them however they pleased. Indeed, this is exactly what the Cardies proceeded to do.

HOWEVER, the Feds got involved again. They started up undercover operations and joint strikes with the Cardies to get these Freedom Fighters under control. Why? No Fed assets were involved at this point. Why were the Feds helping the Cardies?

To preserve their treaty. The Cardies must have said, "If you don't get these ex-colonies under control, the deal is off."

What SHOULD have been the Fed response?

"Hey bud, you wanted those planets, and now they're yours. Enjoy. Oh, and if you can't handle these brand new citizens of yours, these men, women, and children fighting you with spare parts and scraps... You sure as HELL can't handle us. So tend to your business, and we'll tend to ours."

And without the Feds providing material aid to the Cardies in the form of intel and joint operations, there would have been no incentive for the colonists to conduct operations against the Feds.

I'll shock you a bit further, Citizen. I don't think the world is black and white. It's a very gray place where I can completely sympathize with and understand my enemies, even when I recognize the necessity of killing them.

Somewhere in Iraq, there is a dude with a Makarov, an AK-47, and a kilo of plastic explosive. He's setting up an IED to blow up an American Humvee. He's just some dude doing what he thinks is necessary to expel foreign invaders. Invaders who took over his country and installed what he must believe is a puppet government. And while I hope we kill him and foil his plan, I'm not pompous enough to call him a terrorist. I know exactly what he is, and what we are, too. After we put some lead in his skull, and the skull of all his friends, I hope they get the consolation they are looking for in the afterlife. And I hope we do, too. God save all of us bastards.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Saturday, August 23, 2008 5:52 AM

FREMDFIRMA


I see Anthony covered most of the turf I was going to, so I'll cut to down to two points.

The greater bulk of my point Cit, is that there are situations where there just ain't any "right" choices, and you have to go with what does the least harm - but harm is still done, the choice is morally flawed, and it still sucks.

And many a time in those situations, everyone involved is doing what is right by them, and yet still at the end of it you wind up with a pile of bodies - it's rarely as simple as any one side would paint it for you.

And yes, the Maquis did use bioweapons, an utterly unacceptable thing to do by any standard, but that in no way justifies Sisko also using them from a Starfleet vessel, while serving in Starfleet and wearing the uniform - those kind of justifications always lead to the ends-means discussion, in which my stand is as ironclad as it always was, as stated in the posts above.

The fact that Sisko wasn't stripped of his rank and cashiered for that incident has always bothered me, it sets an ugly precedent, doesn't it ?

No, it's NOT ok - no matter who does it, but apparently the Federation was all A-OK with Sisko doing it, despite their horror at the Maquis doing so.

As Mal would say "I don't hold with that."

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

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Saturday, August 23, 2008 12:54 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by AnthonyT:
The Federation abandoned territory as part of a peace treaty. The citizens who chose to remain were similarly abandoned. They were promised that the Federation would take no action to protect them. In other words, they were no longer Federation citizens. The Federation chose to sever all responsibility for these holdouts, and the holdouts similarly could not be perceived to have any responsibility to the Federation.

So, a clean split between the Feds and their erstwhile colonies, right?

Wrong.


Hi.

Wrong indeed, but not simply because the Federation was pissed because the Colonists dared leave their utopia. Cardassia blamed the Federation for the Marqui, they held them responsible for the Marqui attacks. The Cardassians tried to frame Miles O'Brien for smuggling weapons to the Marqui, and although a trumped up charge and a load of crap, it shows that the Marqui were a real threat to the Federation-Cardassian peace treaty. They had to act against them, the choice between hunting down some disparate terrorist cells in the badlands, or waging an interstellar war against Cardassia, is a pretty simple choice to make.
Quote:

HOWEVER, the Feds got involved again. They started up undercover operations and joint strikes with the Cardies to get these Freedom Fighters under control. Why? No Fed assets were involved at this point. Why were the Feds helping the Cardies?
Federation joint operations started AFTER Marqui terrorist attacks within Federation territory, and was largely an effort to prevent war with Cardassia.
Quote:

To preserve their treaty. The Cardies must have said, "If you don't get these ex-colonies under control, the deal is off."

What SHOULD have been the Fed response?

"Hey bud, you wanted those planets, and now they're yours. Enjoy. Oh, and if you can't handle these brand new citizens of yours, these men, women, and children fighting you with spare parts and scraps... You sure as HELL can't handle us. So tend to your business, and we'll tend to ours."


Which is exactly what the Cardassians said. As for your Federation response? It would have meant war, so you're tacitly backing interstellar war, which is the worst option no matter what way you cut it. Diplomacy tends to be trying to make the best and least destructive course in a bad situation, not saying "fuck you buddy, cause I'm gonna shootchya". Well, unless you're George Bush, and if he was Federation president, that's probably what he'd say. Still the stupidest course of action the Federation could have taken.
Quote:

And without the Feds providing material aid to the Cardies in the form of intel and joint operations, there would have been no incentive for the colonists to conduct operations against the Feds.
They'd already committed acts of terrorism within Federation territory. The first appearance the Marqui make in the show was an attack on a Cardassian freighter at DS9, a Terrorist attack on Federation soil. Before you dismiss it, do you think Al Qaeda blowing up a Spanish freighter in a US port wouldn't be seen as an attack on the United States?
Quote:

Somewhere in Iraq, there is a dude with a Makarov, an AK-47, and a kilo of plastic explosive. He's setting up an IED to blow up an American Humvee. He's just some dude doing what he thinks is necessary to expel foreign invaders. Invaders who took over his country and installed what he must believe is a puppet government. And while I hope we kill him and foil his plan, I'm not pompous enough to call him a terrorist. I know exactly what he is, and what we are, too. After we put some lead in his skull, and the skull of all his friends, I hope they get the consolation they are looking for in the afterlife. And I hope we do, too. God save all of us bastards.
So I'm pompus for calling Terrorists, terrorists? The Marqui are terrorists, whether you or anyone else agrees with that label doesn't make much odds to me. It's not pomposity at all, it's a correct label.

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Saturday, August 23, 2008 1:01 PM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
The greater bulk of my point Cit, is that there are situations where there just ain't any "right" choices, and you have to go with what does the least harm - but harm is still done, the choice is morally flawed, and it still sucks.

If your making the best possible choice, doing everything possible to get the best situation out of whatever mess you find yourself in, your actions aren't morally reprehensible. Harm might be still done, and in some perfect world the same actions may be 'wrong', and for sure doing it in a context where it's the best possible course, doesn't make it right, but morally reprehensible? That's what I'd call rather black and white thinking, yeah.

Part of black and white thinking is saying "this is morally reprehensible, no matter what" isn't it?
Quote:

And yes, the Maquis did use bioweapons, an utterly unacceptable thing to do by any standard, but that in no way justifies Sisko also using them from a Starfleet vessel, while serving in Starfleet and wearing the uniform - those kind of justifications always lead to the ends-means discussion, in which my stand is as ironclad as it always was, as stated in the posts above.
Like I said, I'm not sure what the resolution is. Did Starfleet turn a blind eye?



More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

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Monday, August 25, 2008 10:25 AM

FREMDFIRMA


Quote:

I'm not sure what the resolution is. Did Starfleet turn a blind eye?

Yes, they did.

That alone would remove any moral high ground they might have had, imho.

-F

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