Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site mmm.UUCP
Path: utzoo!lsuc!pesnta!pyramid!decwrl!decvax!bellcore!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!mmm!mrgofor
From: mrgofor@mmm.UUCP (MKR)
Newsgroups: net.startrek,net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: "His was the most human"
Message-ID: <480@mmm.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Feb-86 11:56:38 EST
Article-I.D.: mmm.480
Posted: Mon Feb 10 11:56:38 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Feb-86 01:15:21 EST
References: <1623@mtgzz.UUCP> <2669@colossus.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: mrgofor@mmm.UUCP (MKR)
Organization: 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn.
Lines: 39
Xref: lsuc net.startrek:844 net.sf-lovers:5957

In article <2669@colossus.fluke.UUCP> moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) writes:
>I assume this is an early April Fool's joke on the part of Monsieur Leeper;
>something akin to Kelvin Thompson movie reviews, though not as funny.
>Equating the requium for Spock (I'd just love to hear a voice out of the
>photon torpedo/coffin: "But I'm not dead yet!") to a racial slur like
>"That's mighty white of you!" is, at least, a warped sense of degree.  As to
>whether Kirk is making a racial slur by saying he was "the most... human", I
>guess it depends on 1) the way he said (is human a compliment) and 2) who
>the audience of the film was.  1) is almost certainly a compliment to
>humans, and as for 2), I didn't see any Vulcans hanging around the aisles in
>my local theatre, popping licorice Juji-fruits and mind-melding with the
>cute blond at the concession stand.
>
>                                        Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
>ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
>UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
><*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>

I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Leeper. I have always felt that this was
one of the weakest parts of Star Trek - that human wild-hairs always work
better than logic and reasoning. Bullshit... the only reason they do in ST
is because it's MAKE-BELIEVE. In real life I would imagine that Vulcans would
be Star Fleet's wet-dream captain of a star ship. As far as the quote goes,
I thought it was the ultimate insult to Spock, considering how he was always
trying to suppress his human side. I thought the "mighty white of you" 
analogy was perfect. You know, there are people who consider that to be quite
a complement, too. Is it okay to say it if there are no non-whites around?
That's what you imply by saying that there were no Vulcans in your theater.
All the Vulcans in my theater left in a huff.

	In a related vein - I busted out laughing at the end of ST:TMP when
Kirk went into one of his irrational tirades - saying something like:
"There are times when we need to take that leap beyond logic and rationality
blah blah blah." Star Trek is not as bad as Star Wars (Ewoks overpowering
Imperial forces with rocks and sticks? gimme a break) or any of Spielberg's
BS (there's an alien in that house. he's been there for a week. let's put
a baggie over the house), but it is infused with an upsetting techno-phobia.

--MKR