This book speaks to it better than I can: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-bullshit-jobs/

Specifically take a look at

Chapter 3: Why Do Those in Bullshit Jobs Regularly Report Themselves Unhappy? (On Spiritual Violence, Part 1)

If your eyeballs are missing, I can make an assumption that your vision isn’t great just by looking at you. That’s not a moral judgement.

Doesn’t mean blood tests are useless, and in fact it means we have some idea where to start investigating a potential health problem.

Yes, I agree that there’s bias against folks who are overweight, and also that there’s a range of risk associated with being overweight. It’s pretty clear, however, that obesity is a health concern that we should take seriously. If someone smokes five pack of cigs a day, I’m going to make an assumption about their lung health. There’s always outliers that live to 100 smoking and not doing exercise, but it would be a shit doctor if they didn’t tell folks not to follow their example.

We saw the uniforms go mostly black in DS9, so I think it is meant to show how the Federation isn’t totally recovered from the Dominion war…I wish they had pushed than angle harder re: the struggle to help the Romulans, the Synths, etc. At least by Lower Decks they’re back to the more colorful uniforms!

Or as the Engineer from TF2 said:

Hey look, buddy. I’m an engineer, that means I solve problems. Not problems like “What is beauty?”, ‘cause that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy. I solve practical problems! For instance, how am I gonna stop some big mean Mother-Hubbard from tearin’ me a structurally superfluous new behind? The answer? Use a gun. And if that don’t work, use more gun. Like this heavy caliber, tripod-mounted, little ol’ number designed by me, built by me, and you’d best hope… not pointed at you.

My favorite joke in Brooklyn Nine Nine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5QoYZuMILo

For folks who haven’t seen the show, the Captain is normally stoic to a near-fault. RIP André Braugher.

Also, I think it’s worth pointing out that Adira was from Earth, which at that point had left the Federation, and had become seemingly a much more paranoid place. So that Adira was uncomfortable and worried about what folks might think of them seems reasonable, since they weren’t used to living in the Federation, where being nonbinary isn’t something anyone should be worried about sharing with others.

Thank you for saying that: it’s been interesting to see things from another perspective.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it.

I certainly agree that there’s more crying than I’m used to in Trek, but I wouldn’t call that wokeness (unless the crying was about a reason that was “woke”, I guess?). Mostly I chalk that up to popular entertainment dripping with CW style shows (for the worse, of course). That said there was a fair amount of crying/emotional outbursts from Sisko and others on DS9, especially if we take the Maquis into account - like Sisko said, it’s easy to be a saint in paradise. Doesn’t jive with the perfect crews we’ve seen on the Enterprises, but like DS9 being a run-of-the-mill station that got swept up in religious politics and galactic war, Discovery was “just” a bleeding edge science ship that went through hell, so it does kind of make sense that people would be more than a little traumatized and outburst-y.

Totally agree that the casts being treated like it was normal is a great message to send without focusing on it, but they did touch on it occasionally. In the TNG pilot itself, Geordi and Crusher talk pretty openly about his blindness IIRC, and he says something to the effect of “I was born this way”, and he rejects potential “cures”, showing how comfortable he was with what others would consider a curse.

Also there most certainly episodes reassuring Data he was part of the crew. An entire episode reassuring him he was sentient, right? It was central to his (and others’) growth over the series. Whether he was truly a sentient being or not definitely draws parallels to dehumanization in the real world, and was pretty blatant about it.

Plenty of folks on TNG had to talk through their problems - that was pretty much the point of Guinan, in a lot of ways, and even having a Betazoid on the bridge. Feelings and emotion were being pretty openly explored in a way that’s just different to the way things are now. Mental illness has over the decades been normalized in a way that is kind of incredible. Again though, the amount of crying does irk me (that much I agree with, especially when shit is literally on fire). I just don’t consider that to be wokeness in my face, just shoddy writing.

I’m not downvoting either of you, and I hope this doesn’t sound like me being argumentative, I just want to know what you’re seeing in Discovery that I haven’t seen in all the other Trek series (see me other comment in this thread, I guess). Morality lectures are central to Trek, IMHO.

What about Discovery felt like it had a spotlight on it more than “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”? Or that TOS put a diverse cast front and center on the screen, including folks hailing from nations that were currently/recently enemies of the USA at the time? I grew up watching TNG, and the way Geordi turned the concept of what it meant to be ‘disabled’ on its head felt really pointed, even for child me. Likewise the dehumanization of Data.

I’m happy to gripe about worse writing, but if someone wrote a shoddy story that included a couple giraffes (because giraffes were more popular nation-wide), I wouldn’t get mad about “giraffe messages” in entertainment, I’d get mad about shit writing.

I must be ancient here, because nobody has claimed this is like September 1993 all over again…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

Also, if you bailed after driving the hovercraft, maybe you didn’t get to Black Mesa East, or Ravenholm? IMHO that’s where things really ramp up: story-wise (you meet more allies), and you get a better glimpse at the endgame. You get a neat tool to use (which also was mind-blowing in 2004, less so almost twenty years later), too.

If you don’t dig it though, I wouldn’t force it. I’m a fan of science fiction more than fantasy, so I’ve never finished a Dishonored game, but I love Prey. Just doesn’t hook me the way I know it could…just not my particular vibe I guess, which I think is OK.

Yeah, I’m reminded of one of the things the Emissary himself tried to explain to the Prophets. In this case, however, the past experience guiding Pike’s choices in the present is already in the future…

Prophet - OPS OFFICER: You have no regard for the consequences of your acts.

SISKO: That’s not true. We’re aware that every choice we make has a consequence.

Prophet - CAPTAIN: But you claim you do not know what it will be.

SISKO: We don’t.

Prophet - JAKE: Then how can you take responsibility for your actions?

Sisko: We use past experiences to help guide us. For Jennifer and me, all the experiences in our lives prepared us for the day we met on the beach, helped us recognize that we had a future together. When we married, we accepted all the consequences of that act, whatever they might be, including the consequences of you.

Cited from: http://www.chakoteya.net/DS9/401.htm

One of the roads near my house was removed completely.

All roads near my house were removed completely.

Two different implications, no?

Yes, the title implies something more extreme than is actually proposed, but that’s why I read articles (usually) before commenting.

They would have had the money and time for the CGI if they didn’t spend so much in footage for all of Morn’s damn monologues.

It’s what it costs you now, and you don’t have alternatives now.

Maybe this will help you think about the future differently: be it planning to move or getting a different job so that you can use alternative transport, making smaller changes that would allow you to not use a car as much, or even long-term decisions like championing for change at the legislative level that might aid development of better transportation access.

I struggle to find what to say, because I’m just some random schmuck on the internet. Plenty of people post vile comments, so I’m going to post a saccharine one, in honor of your friend.

Others have said it already, but I’ll say it again because why not: your voice online has been a pleasure.

Grief is terrible, and I’m sorry you lost a loved one. I’m lucky enough to have a friend like the one you describe. We’re a big part of each others’ support system, and a lot of what we talk about winds up being Trek. I say that only to let you know that your grief will help me remember why I should cherish my friend, while we’re both around. Maybe that doesn’t do you any good, hopefully it doesn’t come across as selfish/insensitive on my part (if so, you have my apology in advance), but maybe it’s some consolation that you and your buddy are inspiring others who have never even met you. We all have an effect on people’s lives, whether we know when it happens or not. Just being some kind of role model, even in a small way, will influence people for the better. That’s my hope, anyway. So you and your buddy have clearly been doing this for a lot of us, here. I’m sure elsewhere. You don’t owe any of us anything, but I know seeing your positivity makes me smile.

Gotta say though, I wouldn’t mind the unceremonious death of Jadzia if it wasn’t wrapped up in the sexist contract disputes, because the character is the perfect one to kill off, because she was (in a sense) only mostly dead! Imagine if we had gotten the chance to see Ezri talk to Jadzia, like we saw Jadzia talk to former hosts.

The two of them could work through the complications of living on the same station as Jadzia’s husband, how her death wasn’t some honorable warrior’s death like Jadzia (and Curzon) would have dreamed about, and how Ezria wasn’t ready for the responsibility of being a host. There’s a lot of really interesting stuff writers could play with there, and I think Adira and Gray in Discovery have showed there’s some nice storytelling potential there (the same kind of additions to canon could have happened with Ezri and Jadzia, in terms of a traumatic host transfer causing unexpected bonds between the hosts’ memories).

Precisely. I voted today and it took a few minutes of my time. There was still plenty of time in the morning to keep working on the things I think will make more of an impact re: improving things somewhat. Mutual aid and anything else in the bucket of “resisting tyrannical government” is much easier when it’s only +1 more evil rather than +10.

There’s a great They Might Be Giants song about exactly this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbEOZY7k20