Areas where you'd respectfully disagree with Chuck

[Dragon Ball Fan]

there are a few things I disagree with as well.

the alien cultures in Trek aren't as homogenized as Chuck makes it out to be. even if Klingon lawyers treat their job like a big battle, there are still more options for Klingons besides just being warriors.

and with Equinox, he seemed to be treating the issue as if it was analogous to animal rights and thus, what Ransom did could be valid, but the Spirits of Good Fortune were fully sapient and thus, morally equivalent to humans. So, Janeway was totally in the right, at least at first. and since I ignore stuff like "Time and Again", Janeway did not commit any atrocities herself and is not being a morally righteous hypocrite.

and some say that merely opposing Ransom doesn't make Janeway the good guy. wile it isn't without merit, I think at a certain point, the moral high ground argument is a meaningless platitude. some people commit actions so vile, you'd be on the moral highhanded by default.

and then there his speech about the Vulcan terrorists and differing values in "Lethe". in some aspects, I agree like I don't like the simplistic narrative we have nowadays that everything bad done to minorities by what people was out of malice.

but wile I would like to believe that sometimes, people just have different values, as someone who knows a lot about many different serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that some individuals really are "demons in human skin who can't help but be vile". they aren't all serial killers but full blown psychopaths, the ones who literally cannot feel empathy, don't have different ideologies, they just want to hurt people for funzies.

the first recorded American serial killer literally said "I was born with the devil in me." and another early serial killer, Jane Topan, said she wanted to kill more people then anyone else, the only way to do that would be the complete extinction of the human race.

writers aren't lazy or uncaring when they make simplstic villains, we evolved to be empathetic and compassionate to each other and instinctively know hurting others is bad. So, the idea of willingly hurting innocent people for any reason is so unfathomable to normally functioning people that "They're just monsters" or "there is some supernatural force of darkness driving them" is the only explanation that makes sense.

and to focus on the fictional side of things, one of the things most fans liked about the otherwise devicive Dragon Ball Super was the character of Zamasu. his reasons for his villainy did make sense, but he was still a simplistic monster.

[TGLS]

and since I ignore stuff like "Time and Again", Janeway did not commit any atrocities herself and is not being a morally righteous hypocrite.

Ignoring stuff is the path that leads to madness. If you keep cutting and cutting, eventually you'll de facto quote mine a series.

and then there his speech about the Vulcan terrorists and differing values in "Lethe". in some aspects, I agree like I don't like the simplistic narrative we have nowadays that everything bad done to minorities by what people was out of malice.

but wile I would like to believe that sometimes, people just have different values, as someone who knows a lot about many different serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that some individuals really are "demons in human skin who can't help but be vile". they aren't all serial killers but full blown psychopaths, the ones who literally cannot feel empathy, don't have different ideologies, they just want to hurt people for funzies.

The problem is that in Lethe, the guy who blew up the shuttle wasn't a psychotic killer (an example of that was the Vulcan with the super gun in that one DS9 episode). He had some vaguely defined ideology of "Logic Extremism". If even the Nazis have some twisted logic that explains why they decided to commit genocide, surely, this Vulcan's ideology is something beyond a straw "For the Evulz!" But we never see it. And of course, the worst part is you could have written the terrorism part out, and said it was an accident, and cleared a big chunk of stupid.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

and since I ignore stuff like "Time and Again", Janeway did not commit any atrocities herself and is not being a morally righteous hypocrite.

Ignoring stuff is the path that leads to madness. If you keep cutting and cutting, eventually you'll de facto quote mine a series.

and then there his speech about the Vulcan terrorists and differing values in "Lethe". in some aspects, I agree like I don't like the simplistic narrative we have nowadays that everything bad done to minorities by what people was out of malice.

but wile I would like to believe that sometimes, people just have different values, as someone who knows a lot about many different serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that some individuals really are "demons in human skin who can't help but be vile". they aren't all serial killers but full blown psychopaths, the ones who literally cannot feel empathy, don't have different ideologies, they just want to hurt people for funzies.

The problem is that in Lethe, the guy who blew up the shuttle wasn't a psychotic killer (an example of that was the Vulcan with the super gun in that one DS9 episode). He had some vaguely defined ideology of "Logic Extremism". If even the Nazis have some twisted logic that explains why they decided to commit genocide, surely, this Vulcan's ideology is something beyond a straw "For the Evulz!" But we never see it. And of course, the worst part is you could have written the terrorism part out, and said it was an accident, and cleared a big chunk of stupid.

my main argument against Chuck's was how it pertains to real life. I admit I stole this hypothetical from Doctor Who but if Hitler's scientists made a virus that would kill every other living thing in existence instantly, you really think he wouldn't have it released? it's clear Hitler didn't believe the things he said and just wanted power. and what's a greater power for one to have then the power to end all life?

and on the fictional side of things, I gave the example of Zamasu from Dragon Ball Super to show that having a believable motivation for a villain and writting them as "just a monster" are not mutually exclusive.

but on something else, I really like "Unimatrix Zero". the suicidally stupid course of action was the only option for Voyager. the more time they would have taken to look for a weaker Borg ship, the more inhabitants of Unimatrix Zero get re-assimilated and even one person getting re-assimilated was unacceptable.

[clearspira]

Star Trek: Insurrection
The area I disagree with Chuck is that the planet should not be blasted with the collector and stripped of its life giving powers. With a planet working like this you have millions of years worth of resource. Collecting it into a big can makes it a finite resource with no inkling it will return. So you will dynamite the fountain of youth, to collect the spray, because you don't want to live in nor visit the everglades. Further, I agree to stopping the collector because you do not know if it will even work. Admiral Dougherty's own words. "Our best scientists already have (looked at the device) We don't understand how it works." So how do you know 'if'?

The Federation's capability to simulate how well technology will work is extremely high thanks to the holodeck and its quantum level computers.

[clearspira]

there are a few things I disagree with as well.

the alien cultures in Trek aren't as homogenized as Chuck makes it out to be. even if Klingon lawyers treat their job like a big battle, there are still more options for Klingons besides just being warriors.

and with Equinox, he seemed to be treating the issue as if it was analogous to animal rights and thus, what Ransom did could be valid, but the Spirits of Good Fortune were fully sapient and thus, morally equivalent to humans. So, Janeway was totally in the right, at least at first. and since I ignore stuff like "Time and Again", Janeway did not commit any atrocities herself and is not being a morally righteous hypocrite.

and some say that merely opposing Ransom doesn't make Janeway the good guy. wile it isn't without merit, I think at a certain point, the moral high ground argument is a meaningless platitude. some people commit actions so vile, you'd be on the moral highhanded by default.

and then there his speech about the Vulcan terrorists and differing values in "Lethe". in some aspects, I agree like I don't like the simplistic narrative we have nowadays that everything bad done to minorities by what people was out of malice.

but wile I would like to believe that sometimes, people just have different values, as someone who knows a lot about many different serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that some individuals really are "demons in human skin who can't help but be vile". they aren't all serial killers but full blown psychopaths, the ones who literally cannot feel empathy, don't have different ideologies, they just want to hurt people for funzies.

the first recorded American serial killer literally said "I was born with the devil in me." and another early serial killer, Jane Topan, said she wanted to kill more people then anyone else, the only way to do that would be the complete extinction of the human race.

writers aren't lazy or uncaring when they make simplstic villains, we evolved to be empathetic and compassionate to each other and instinctively know hurting others is bad. So, the idea of willingly hurting innocent people for any reason is so unfathomable to normally functioning people that "They're just monsters" or "there is some supernatural force of darkness driving them" is the only explanation that makes sense.

and to focus on the fictional side of things, one of the things most fans liked about the otherwise devicive Dragon Ball Super was the character of Zamasu. his reasons for his villainy did make sense, but he was still a simplistic monster.

Janeway was right ''at first'' is the key point here though. When she threatened and damn near killed a crewman in that cargo bay (and would have if not stopped), she became just as bad as any of them. You say some actions are so vile that you are morally right by default - how many humans does she need to kill before she loses that moral high ground?

And Ransom or his crew were not psychotic, conscienceless killers so that argument goes out the window - they were DESPERATE. The Equinox is a science vessel not a fully fledged ''go to the end of the galaxy whilst kicking ass'' starship like Voyager. It was slower, less defended, less manned, and less equipped than Voyager; they had no hope whatsoever of getting home by conventional means. I am NOT saying that justifies the killing of innocent life, all I am saying is that this situation is far from black and white. And Starfleet would have discovered their crimes immediately upon their return, where they would have faced an actual court of their peers instead of the business end of Kathryn ''Dirty Harry'' Janeway.

Oh, and having rewatched that review recently, it should be noted that Janeway's first instinct upon meeting him was to make him her subordinate. That says all we need to know about her.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

there are a few things I disagree with as well.

the alien cultures in Trek aren't as homogenized as Chuck makes it out to be. even if Klingon lawyers treat their job like a big battle, there are still more options for Klingons besides just being warriors.

and with Equinox, he seemed to be treating the issue as if it was analogous to animal rights and thus, what Ransom did could be valid, but the Spirits of Good Fortune were fully sapient and thus, morally equivalent to humans. So, Janeway was totally in the right, at least at first. and since I ignore stuff like "Time and Again", Janeway did not commit any atrocities herself and is not being a morally righteous hypocrite.

and some say that merely opposing Ransom doesn't make Janeway the good guy. wile it isn't without merit, I think at a certain point, the moral high ground argument is a meaningless platitude. some people commit actions so vile, you'd be on the moral highhanded by default.

and then there his speech about the Vulcan terrorists and differing values in "Lethe". in some aspects, I agree like I don't like the simplistic narrative we have nowadays that everything bad done to minorities by what people was out of malice.

but wile I would like to believe that sometimes, people just have different values, as someone who knows a lot about many different serial killers, I have come to the conclusion that some individuals really are "demons in human skin who can't help but be vile". they aren't all serial killers but full blown psychopaths, the ones who literally cannot feel empathy, don't have different ideologies, they just want to hurt people for funzies.

the first recorded American serial killer literally said "I was born with the devil in me." and another early serial killer, Jane Topan, said she wanted to kill more people then anyone else, the only way to do that would be the complete extinction of the human race.

writers aren't lazy or uncaring when they make simplstic villains, we evolved to be empathetic and compassionate to each other and instinctively know hurting others is bad. So, the idea of willingly hurting innocent people for any reason is so unfathomable to normally functioning people that "They're just monsters" or "there is some supernatural force of darkness driving them" is the only explanation that makes sense.

and to focus on the fictional side of things, one of the things most fans liked about the otherwise devicive Dragon Ball Super was the character of Zamasu. his reasons for his villainy did make sense, but he was still a simplistic monster.

Janeway was right ''at first'' is the key point here though. When she threatened and damn near killed a crewman in that cargo bay (and would have if not stopped), she became just as bad as any of them. You say some actions are so vile that you are morally right by default - how many humans does she need to kill before she loses that moral high ground?

And Ransom or his crew were not psychotic, conscienceless killers so that argument goes out the window - they were DESPERATE. The Equinox is a science vessel not a fully fledged ''go to the end of the galaxy whilst kicking ass'' starship like Voyager. It was slower, less defended, less manned, and less equipped than Voyager; they had no hope whatsoever of getting home by conventional means. I am NOT saying that justifies the killing of innocent life, all I am saying is that this situation is far from black and white. And Starfleet would have discovered their crimes immediately upon their return, where they would have faced an actual court of their peers instead of the business end of Kathryn ''Dirty Harry'' Janeway.

Oh, and having rewatched that review recently, it should be noted that Janeway's first instinct upon meeting him was to make him her subordinate. That says all we need to know about her.

I wasn't saying the Equinox crew specifically were psychopathic killers, that was a different point and just saying that not every single individual has good reasons for their actions or simply different values.

and I really don't think Janeway was intending to have that guy killed, so, wile bad, it would still be different.

and I still think the reason most people are against Janeway in this two parter is because of a case of "What Measure is a Non-Human". most have a hard time seeing the Spirits as people because they aren't the usual humanoids or can't speak English despite that they are still sapient.

and besides, Janeway regrets her actions and accepted Ransom before he blew himself up.

on another topic, I don't have a problem with the way evolution is treated in Trek for the most part of using "The Chase" to justify it. first, this isn't just an explanation for why they all look similar to humans but how almost every species in the galaxy can breed with one another.

and the idea that aliens messed with human evolution is actually starting to be taken seriously by scientists.

similarly, is "Tatto" really that offensive? I heard that the Blackfoot Native American Tribe have legends of people from the sky helping them and stuff that could be interpreted as aliens coming down and interacting with them.

[TrueMetis]

and the idea that aliens messed with human evolution is actually starting to be taken seriously by scientists.

By who? I've seen speculation about directed panspermia, but never seen anyone talk about it in more than a speculative way.

similarly, is "Tatto" really that offensive? I heard that the Blackfoot Native American Tribe have legends of people from the sky helping them and stuff that could be interpreted as aliens coming down and interacting with them.

"The only reason you guys have any culture at all is because of a bunch of advanced white people came and showed you how."

Yeah that's pretty fucking offensive.

Because there's a bit more to the episode than just "alien intervention".

[Admiral X]

similarly, is "Tatto" really that offensive? I heard that the Blackfoot Native American Tribe have legends of people from the sky helping them and stuff that could be interpreted as aliens coming down and interacting with them.

"The only reason you guys have any culture at all is because of a bunch of advanced white people came and showed you how."

Yeah that's pretty fucking offensive.

Because there's a bit more to the episode than just "alien intervention".

Yeah, this sums it up for me pretty well, too. Honestly I found Chakotay to be kind of insulting before I ever knew anything about how he was based on the advice of that scam artist. I just kind of took it to be typical Hollywood new age crap that was so prevalent in the '90s.

[Dragon Ball Fan]

okay, I see why "Tatto" would be offensive but I just sometimes don't get the dislike of the magical Native American archetype in general because if anything, it's saying white people are inferior because we can't do magic. I can see why that could still be offensive but still.

[SuccubusYuri]

But the bad part, aside of the fact that stereotype lives in the neighborhood of the Magic Negro, is that the episode says they had no culture, civilization, or intellect (slash, goofy magical ability) until white people from outer space showed them how. Which is literally white-man's burden packaged as "but good this time", which kind of misses the point of...literally everything about Colonialism.