Been awake for more than an hour. Still took me about 10 seconds to realize that “Black Flag Officer,” was referring to the color of his skin, and NOT the banner he was flying, possibly indicating Special Forces, or Piracy.
I had the same reaction when posting to be honest
Or hardcore punk lmao.
Watching this as a kid when it was new, scenes like this went right over my head. The only thing that seemed odd was a Russian crew member. I had a lot to learn about the world.
And that is exactly why it was so effective.
Like the old saying goes, “show, don’t tell”. TOS didn’t need to shake us by the shoulders and say “look! There’s a black woman in a respected professional position! Isn’t that amazing‽” They just showed us Uhura doing her job, being treated the same as anyone else because it’s the future and why would it be any other way?
Honestly, I’m really happy for you that you saw it as just another moment. That’s the world I want to live in, it’s the world I want to raise my child in.
For me, this is nonsensical. Star Trek being political is a truism. It makes no sense to claim it. It’s like saying politics is political.
Even talking about it is inviting a counter argument which can only be nonsense.
But I’m also old, from the time start trek was political.
Idiots complaining about how star trek is “political now” are speaking nonsense but they’re still speaking. It’s important to counter this because idiots, gullible folks, and people not paying attention, will be sucked in by the nonsense if it’s unopposed
It alternated. Sometimes they boldly went. Other times it was other stuff, like politics.
Fact is, the other stuff is more popular than scifi. And that’s why they do it.
Misread “Black flag officer” as “Black Flag officer.” I thought to myself: “Wait, Henry Rollins would have been too young to been in Star Trek.”
What is black flag officer meaning?
A flag officer is a commissioned naval officer above the rank of captain, or an army/marine corps officer above the rank of colonel. Basically, it refers to admirals and generals. Typically, officers at these ranks have flags flown on their conveyances and command posts that denote their presence.
Oh I see the black is about the officer, not the flag. Thank you
Totally apropos of nothing, this is the senior leadership at Africom right now.
Idk if SciFi is necessarily going to save us
The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM)[4] is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.
Uhh, were you suggesting they should have black people serve in that because… Africa?
Given that the role is as much diplomatic as it is operational, and given that 20% of the US military is African American, is a bit crazy that they could only find white people to fill the roles.
That’s not how the military works. They dont “find” people, they send whoever is in that theatre. And considering DEI is now commie or whatever, yeah. This tracks with their behavior
This is lowkey kinda racist, implying Black Americans need to be sent because their darker skin makes them more suited to negotiate with Africans.
Additionally your statistics are coincidental. Even if 20% of the armed forces is black, what percentage are ranked to these positions? Also there’s only 5 dudes. 20% would be 1/5, so missing 1 is within margin of statistical error.
This is lowkey kinda racist
But the whites only officer corps is what, exactly?
A different and likely more damning bit of racism perhaps.
The argument is that if you have 99 white guys and 1 black guy in your pool of people, then the choice to specifically send that single black guy to Africa is a bit messed up. You probably should have more black guys in the people pool, and that surely points to some racial bias in the hiring process, but the decision on how to deploy those people is a different decision that can be racist or not all on its own.
The argument is that if you have 99 white guys and 1 black guy in your pool of people
Okay. But why is it so difficult to get non-white guys in your officer’s corps to begin with?
the choice to specifically send that single black guy to Africa is a bit messed up
Given the history of African states under European colonial occupation, I might argue that sending any of the white guys (particularly white guys with a certain expressed stigma against domestic nonwhites) is a foolish move.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. You can ask any of the leaders of the seven different African governments that have seen officers’ coups overthrow the sitting Western-backed governments and replacing them with African nationalist military leadership.
the decision on how to deploy those people is a different decision that can be racist or not all on its own
The heavily predicated on the attitude American leadership has towards the African state they’re deploying troops. If they consider military in the country part of a mutual defense partnership, it makes sense to send people who are relatable and who integrate well with the political establishment. If they consider military in the country an occupation - or military leadership a diplomatic corps for dealing with wealthy white business owners - then the leadership will reflect American priorities rather than Host Nation priorities.
Sending a guy who looks and talks like Elon Musk to server as senior commander in Botswana sends a very particular message, especially when it is coming under a Presidency that keeps insisting South Africa is doing reverse-genocide against Afrikaners.
Okay, sure. You do understand that the vast majority of African Americans have been rooted families for generations now? I can’t underline enough how fucked up it would be to send someone to Africa because they have dark skin. That is a verbatim echo of all sorts of internal American racism.
I’m addressing that very specific point.
The writers weren’t being political, they’re just above all that.
