I’ve rewatched the episode fairly recently and I stand by my decision. Sisko had no reasonable justification to do what he did, in my opinion. Are there arguments? Sure, but none that I consider valid simply because of the quote that I ended that previous comment on. You cannot explain away a wantonly immoral act because you think it is connected to some higher purpose.

Terrorist is a point of opinion. They were still people fleeing occupation and reclaiming their world. On top of that, are you willing to say that every single Maquis member is a terrorist? Every man, woman and child? That they deserved to all go through that when they might not have any other options to turn to? That doesn’t seem very Starfleet to me.

That being said, who they are makes literally no difference to me. There were other solutions. Sisko didn’t need an immediate answer in that moment. He actively went to the planet and decided to gas it himself. The actions carried out by Sisko are the problem. Not who he takes them out on. But the personal vendetta plays a significant role and you cannot deny that it does. The majority of the episode is Sisko throwing a temper tantrum over Eddington. Eddington even successfully manages to tease Sisko into making rash decisions. Sisko actively endangered his own crew to hunt down Eddington. The Defiant was not remotely fit for service but he still brought her out, nearly smashing the hell out of it by colliding with the station itself.

Every single action taken by Sisko in that episode horrifies me. He allows himself to get played so easily and then says “Oh I’ll play the villain” and attacks the planet. He’s so utterly not Starfleet in that episode that it hurts. The fact he doesn’t show any remorse, but actively enjoys the fact that he’s managed to capture Eddington, really sickens me. If he had shown any iota of a problem with what he was doing then it would be a different conversation. Sisko didn’t. He rarely shows remorse and it’s why I don’t like him. A good Captain should be willing to question the decisions he makes. When he doesn’t the answer of what’s right and what’s wrong, he shouldn’t be able to sleep well at night. The fact I have two episodes to point to and say “Look at Sisko commiting unspeakable acts. Now look at Sisko completely absolving himself of all responsibility and assuring himself that he’s right” really sticks in my craw. I can’t like the man.

Even though I had it saved and saw it before, I still ended up crying with laughter before posting it.

Migleemo couldn’t have better writing or better casting. I hate him so fucking much. He’s perfect.

Also, Pulverized Oats? Can you imagine that being part of the ad for Lucky Charms?

But of course!

…

That’s fair. I can see how it can be appealing. Makes for good storytelling at the very least.

I do want to make clear here that I wasn’t trying to shame other people or say they’re wrong for liking Sisko. It’s totally just my personal preference.

There are far more elections than you’re giving credit to. Those elections can make a major difference down the line. Something like judges and sheriffs. As frustrating as it is that the system is broken, the answer isn’t to give up and do nothing. It isn’t to be defeatist. It’s to do the bare minimum that you can do (which is voting) to at least attempt to change it. Otherwise you’re just becoming part of the muck keeping everyone else in place.

Yes. I, the dude who cannot afford both groceries and a video game, am clearly ‘sheltered middle class’.

I’m a disabled dude. I can’t afford money either but I can give the time. Is it difficult? Yeah. Does it matter? Yeah. I’ve got this thing where I believe that helping people is worth taking into consideration instead of just discarding it completely. Moreover, you seem to have a very narrow understanding of what political activisim means if you think it takes a lot of time or effort. There are small things you can do too. Stuff that will make a difference. Stuff like sending in a letter to voice your concerns/intentions on who to vote for. Stuff like helping give your services to a candidate if they can be of any use. Can be as little as an hour a week helping to set up chairs at a campaign event or even just talking with friends and family.

But thanks for attacking me and calling me an asshole while you have no understanding about me. Thanks for making assumptions about me. Thanks for filling in the gaps because you couldn’t be bothered to even ask a simple question before you opened into hostility. I’d suggest you reflect on that behavior. I wish you the best but I’m not going to bother engaging with you when you’re going to come at me with that energy from the get-go.

Take care.

No but seriously. Thank you so much, and thank everyone. I’m stoked I get to be a positive experience here and help people enjoy their time. The more we bring in the better. But we might as well enjoy ourselves along the way, right? Or… as someone much better looking puts it…

By the way love the Faith of the Heart lines. Always do. 🖖 Peace be with you, friend.

True. Every camel has it’s limit of straw and somewhere in those 20 years something broke her. God knows what it was specifically, or even if it was something specific, but it shattered her. I feel for her, I do, but she was objectively wrong. She gets brownie points but she did done goofed.

In tough moments like with the Caretaker, it’s a little fucked up if the Captain doesn’t second guess themselves. But there is a limit. Admiral Janeway crossed it.

Oh I’m not. I’ve got a lot of problems and I make a lot of mistakes. A fair few of them have been some major fuckups at that. I don’t always do the right thing and sometimes I know it and don’t even care.

I just try to be better when I can. I don’t always win on that fight. But I try.

Dat fuckin everything…

Well, you know. Pre-beepbeep-chair.

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Oh it definitely factors into my overall opinion. I’ve always looked at Janeway at being the Captain who puts Starfleet above all else, typically, to a fault. That episode really shows the fault.

No fucking way. That is fucking hysterical.

I was a bit unclear when I pointed to Bashir. I meant that genetic engineering wouldn’t lead to evil, not that his circumstances weren’t created by overzealous parents. My apologies on that front, that’s totally on me.

For the Vulcans, there might have been a small advantage in humans deliberately stunting their technological development in some areas, both considering their history, and that the Vulcans had been concerned that human technology was developing much faster than their society/culture was, enough that they were trying to slow humans down some (to not much success).

That’s actually a very good point. I’ve been meaning to rewatch Enterprise but I have a vague recollection of the Vulcans not being always that happy with how the Humans did things. Then we had the extremists that we saw in Discovery who outright bombed certain areas and tried to assassinate Sarek, all because Vulcan above all else. Those extremists had support too. That must have come from somewhere. Why not have them come from, or at least be around, during the founding of the Federation? You really do make a great point. Never thought about that!

Oh for real. Motherfucker has a voice so rich, thick and buttery you could spread it on toast.

At least I have the excuse of can’t walk. What’s yours, Mr. Data?