Thursday, January 28, 2021

Maybe Star Trek isn't for Ted Cruz?

Not to be a fandom gatekeeper or anything, but maybe Star Trek isn't for Ted Cruz. I mention this because he had this to tweet in response to a story about the staff at Politico signing a letter voicing their objections to right-wing commentator and big fan of mass shootings, Ben Shapiro, writing for the site:

That's uh...that's not how Borg work...
I guess it's like calling someone you
disagree with a Nazi, which coming from
a Republican is kind of, you know...
The funny, funny joke here is that people taking issue with the editor giving a platform to Ben Shapiro, are like the Borg. For those who may be unfamiliar, first of all, what brings you here? Second of all, I'll explain: the Borg are the cybernetic hive mind antagonists of Star Treks The Next Generation and Voyager. They fly around the galaxy conquering other planets, and turning the inhabitants into more Borg. They are patently apolitical and only care about absorbing technology, but whatever.

You mess with the Borg, you
get the assimilation tubules.
Anyway, Cruz was quickly taken to task by Star Trek actor Jonathan Del Arco, who played the Borg Hugh on TNG and Picard:

"Actually I AM the Borg and our goal is to seek out higher civilizations and incorporate their knowledge. Rest safe @tedcruz, I can assure you there is nothing that we want to assimilate from the likes of you."

-Jonathan Del Arco, out
 nerding Ted Cruz on Twitter 

But you know, I have some issues with Cruz making Star Trek references. For one, he's a piece of shit who not three weeks ago was perpetuating the nonsense assertion that the election was rigged. He fanned the flames conspiracy theories and the result was rioters storming of the Capitol. He is, perhaps almost as much as Trump himself, to blame. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, those weren't rioters, those were patriots who
love America so much, the had to try and violently overturn the
 election because they didn't like the outcome. Let's be fair here."
-Ted Cruz, on how it's only 
treason when liberals do it

Pictured: Doctor Crusher handing out
free healthcare...like a goddamn socialist.
For another thing, why is he even making a Star Trek reference? Is he a fan? And if so, why? There are certainly politically conservative Star Trek fans, in fact, I think there's a lot of them. But I've never really understood how that came to be. Like, it's a show set in a progressive, humanist utopia in which the people of Earth have come together in the common goal of building a better future. Men and women are equal, racism and homophobia are things of the past and capitalism has been tossed on the trash heap of history. It's basically a sci-fi repudiation of everything the GOP stands for. So what's even the appeal?

Are they just there for the space battles? Or do they read the show as a dystopia? Is Star Trek the right-wing equivalent of watching something like Children of Men? Or wait, you don't suppose--does Ted Cruz think Quark is the hero?

The Ferengi love money and think women are property. 
Their civilization is basically the Republican platform, so maybe? 

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