# Dr. McCoy: Angel of mercy or racist bastard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883 "2003-07-16T14:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/41 "2003-07-17T03:00:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*You never saw _Amok Time_? > The hell are you doing posting in a Trek thread? \*\* Don’t believe **carnivorousplant**! This is the same poster that got me to run out and get the DVD of the ST:TOS episode “Devil in the Dark” because he said it contained a line about “phaser-cutting phasers.” ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/42 "2003-07-17T08:06:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tdn \* > \*\*Cite?!? \*\* “Cite” for what exactly? I’m afraid that there are no quotable sources available for decisions that I make myself, as I don’t bother to document them for future generations. By the way, can someone tell me the origin of the word _cite_? I have never seen it anywhere outside this messageboard. I suspect that it is in fact not a real word at all. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/43 "2003-07-17T08:08:23Z")
[Cite.](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cite) ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/44 "2003-07-17T09:52:47Z")
Oh right. There I was thinking it was a noun when it is in fact an imperative verb. Which means that I have encountered the word before and even used it a fair amount, albeit in French. Funny how the mind plays tricks on you. Well next time say _cite please_, please. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/45 "2003-07-17T10:01:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TWDuke \* > \*\*It is not necessarily true that members of different species can’t produce fertile offspring. \*\* That’s because biologists are sometimes sloppy in their descriptions of what constitute a different species. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t consider wolves and domestic dogs to be the same species, for example, since they can interbreed and produce fertile descendants. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/46 "2003-07-17T10:21:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > Oh right. > > There I was thinking it was a noun when it is in fact an imperative verb. Which means that I have encountered the word before and even used it a fair amount, albeit in French. Funny how the mind plays tricks on you. > > Well next time say _cite please_, please. It’s not fair to insist that others use complete sentences when you only use them, what, half the time? 😉 But you’re right, people like to use “cite” to mean “citation”. Now that you’ve been warned, you can look out for it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/47 "2003-07-17T11:20:28Z")
Actually, I found _Next Generation_ and _Deep Space Nine_ far more racist than anything shown on the original series. Their racism consisted of writing one-track Ferengi (always greedy) and Klingon (always violent) characters. Even the aggressively PC human characters would casually throw off remarks about how Ferengi couldn’t be trusted, etc. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/48 "2003-07-17T12:10:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\* Ferengi (always greedy) and Klingon (always violent) characters. \*\* Not to mention that Jewish actors tended to portray Ferenghi and Black actors Klingons. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/49 "2003-07-17T12:38:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*Not to mention that Jewish actors tended to portray Ferenghi and Black actors Klingons. \*\* When it comes to casting Ferengi characters, I’m not sure being Jewish mattered as much as being short. I always wanted to see one tall Ferengi, just to break the stereotype, but the writers were so locked into their limited characterizations that it probably never occured to them. Even one _TNG_ episode that featured a Ferengi scientist went out of its way to make him look like some kind of freak, when you’d think a spacefaring race like the Ferengi would have to have _lots_ of scientists (and engineers, and technicians) just to design, build and maintain their starships. This does remind me, however, of a story I heard Max (“Rom”) Grodenchik tell at a convention. He was travelling in Ireland and the cabbie asked him (rather boldly) if he was Catholic or Protestant: Max: Well, actually, I’m Jewish. Cabbie: Yes, but are you _Catholic_ Jewish or _Protestant_ Jewish? I made him laugh, though. He’d mentioned the episode [“Bar Association”](http://startrek.com/library/ds9_episodes/episodes_ds9_detail_68258.asp) (in which Rom encourages the workers at Quark’s Bar to unionize) as one of his favourites. I told him he should refer to that episode as “Norma Rom.” ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/50 "2003-07-17T12:52:10Z")
'member back in the early TNG when the Ferengi kicked ass and took names. They may have been short, but they beat up the Federation’s best a lot. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/51 "2003-07-17T12:52:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bryan Ekers \* > \*\* I always wanted to see one tall Ferengi, just to break the stereotype, > > \*\* It wasn’t a stereotype, Ferenghi were short like Cardassians had long thin necks. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/52 "2003-07-17T13:06:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Not to mention that Jewish actors tended to portray Ferenghi and Black actors Klingons. I’m not sure all the Ferengi were Jewish - somebody would have to give me a definitive word on Wallace Shawn. Also, Klingons were decided to be dark-skinned, so casting a black actor would probably be convenient. But not all of them were black. I remember Gowron was Irish and I’m pretty sure he was white. Martok may have been as well; both of them seemed pretty light. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/53 "2003-07-17T13:35:18Z")
“tended to” means “a whole lot of them”, guy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/54 "2003-07-17T18:48:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*It wasn’t a stereotype, Ferenghi were short like Cardassians had long thin necks. 🙂 \*\* “Ferenghi”? What, is that the Italian spelling? “I’ll have a side order of _mastaciotti alla Ferenghi_ with that, waiter.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/55 "2003-07-17T19:11:48Z")
Translating Ferenghi script into English is done phonetically and spelling varies. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/56 "2003-07-17T19:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > It wasn’t a stereotype, Ferenghi were short like Cardassians had long thin necks. Nonsense; that’s just racist propaganda. Ferengi come in all sizes, and their ears aren’t nearly a big as portrayed on the TV shows… Why are you all staring at me like that? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/57 "2003-07-17T21:48:02Z")
Which way would you prefer we stare at you, El Kabong? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/58 "2003-07-17T22:18:10Z")
A few of you have addressed the issue of Vulcans, Klingons, etc. being the same species as humans because they can interbreed. I would like to point out that that is completely false. The various humanoid species of the Trek universe cannot breed without extensive scientific help, gene therapy, and numerous other things to make the separate genomes mesh into one cell so that it can develop into an embryo, fetus, fertile adult, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/59 "2003-07-18T00:54:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smiling bandit \* > \*\*'member back in the early TNG when the Ferengi kicked ass and took names. They may have been short, but they beat up the Federation’s best a lot. \*\* Of course they also talked like slow witted morons as well. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883/60 "2003-07-18T07:39:27Z")
_A Moderator de-cloaks off the starboard bow…_ Prepare for transport to Cafe Society! jol yIchu’! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-mccoy-angel-of-mercy-or-racist-bastard/188883.md?page=4)