provided they’re literal children
Yeah, you could just remove that part. There’s no sense on holding the non-intervention principle so high that you comply with every crazy request from the natives.
Comment on Just get a bigger fence
Stamets@startrek.website 6 months agoTo be fair they wanted to execute a child for tripping. Fuck the Prime Directive in that case and fuck that planet. There should very much be a clause for protecting your own citizens provided they’re literal children.
marcos@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Stamets@startrek.website 6 months ago
Well, no, it must be left in because if you stick with your part of “every crazy request” then it completely ignores the entire spirit and purpose of the Prime Directive. Starfleet isn’t the be all and end all of morality. Their decisions affect them and the people within it but they’re not “Team America: Space Police.” They don’t go around judging which laws are good and which aren’t. ESPECIALLY when that perspective comes from them and them alone. Different cultures have different beliefs. Ignoring them and imposing your own on everyone is imperalistic as hell and directly against what Starfleet stands for.
Adding a clause to children works for me because the only purpose is to protect the children. The Prime Directive is still able to stand and work between cultures but this way Starfleet is able to say “Our cultures matter too and our culture says children whos brains aren’t done developing shouldn’t be executed for a mistake.” Sure it’s still fucked up that they’d do it to adults but they’re adults. They made their decision and their decision led to them doing stupid shit on an alien planet, fucking around and finding out.
marcos@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Not complying with requests is not the same as imposing your morality. Nopping out of the contact with some population because they believe your people must be killed won’t destroy their culture.
But then, yeah, the show would have to contain hard decisions, and would be completely different from Star Trek (at least the newer ones).
Stamets@startrek.website 6 months ago
Aaaand I’m out. So tired of people feeling the need to bash newer Treks to make some random point.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
You should watch The Orville, it’s like Star Trek with the training wheels taken off.
Meowoem@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Yeah but the principle of it is to let them evolve on their own, when you’re already on their planet and they try to kill one of you then it’s different rules.
If it wasn’t then the romulans could just announce their new law makes being human illegal and Starfleet would just have to power down their shields and let them kill us all.
Stamets@startrek.website 6 months ago
I think you’ve considerably misunderstood what the Prime Directive is… It doesn’t just apply to unevolved people. It also applies to civilizations that have warp too.
Anticorp@lemmy.world 6 months ago
They let Tasha Yar duel to the death because some dude had the hots for her.
CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 6 months ago
Its definitely a case of “um, yeah, your application to join the Federation has been denied, pending you not having incredibly stupid laws”.
charonn0@startrek.website 6 months ago
Which is a real thing in canon. Bajor’s application was put in jeopardy when they briefly reinstated a caste system, which violated Federation equality rules.
Anticorp@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I’m surprised them being a theocracy didn’t disqualify them.
Nacktmull@lemmy.world 6 months ago
A theocracy with gods, who in fact exist. I guess that made the difference?
VindictiveJudge@startrek.website 6 months ago
They’re actually a republic. The Vedek Assembly has a lot of influence, but they’re fully separate from the Provisional Government. And they only have that much influence because the vast majority of the population follows the Bajoran faith. Think of the Assembly like the Vatican - powerful when everyone cares (Pope during the Middle Ages), but virtually powerless when nobody does (Pope now).