# Should Trekkies be Allowed to Adopt **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072 "2003-01-01T19:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/61 "2003-01-04T20:34:20Z")
You know, if they just found God, they wouldn’t have the urge to see each other in pointy ears. Poor misguided freaks. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/62 "2003-01-04T23:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > if they just found God Found God? If they just changed the channel… ---
**Author:** ![Eastern\_Europa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9dc877/32.png) [@Eastern\_Europa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eastern_Europa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/63 "2003-01-05T21:07:48Z")
The thing that really worries me about all this “improved Trek tolerance” and whatnot is the cultural contamination. I mean, look all around you! Even good, American Star Wars fans are starting to adopt the weird and deviant habits of the Trekkies – conventions, costuming, all the classic traits of the Trekkie “life-style.” I don’t hate Trekkies – one of my best friends is a very flamboyant Trekkie, in fact – but what is the world coming to? Even the Tolkien fans have begun to become corrupted by the lure of the Trekkies. I shudder to think what could happen to a child raised in such a home. For that matter, what if Trekkies adopted just to use the child as a pawn in their “Trekkie rights” movements? The child would be traumatized for life because of the parents’ need to prove their “humanity” (or “Klingonity,” in some depraved cases!) What happens when our nation’s innocents are dragged to Washington for extreme protests like the Million Klingon March? What if they’re forced to carry signs? What if, Skywalker forbid, they start to take the militant anti-Star Wars stance that so many Trek-rights protesters do? Think of the children, thrown into the grueling sweatshop of the Trek Movement! Think of them… and weep. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Green\_Feather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@The\_Green\_Feather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Green_Feather)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/64 "2003-01-05T23:08:52Z")
My parents weren’t trekkies. But when I was in school, I found many of my friends were. So I tried it. You know, just youthful experimentation. And I found, I liked it! We’d do our Trek thing together. We weren’t hurting anyone. We didn’t do anything heavy. No dressing up, no conventions. But now I’m older. An adult. And I’m engaged to be married. She doesn’t know about my past. I know I should tell her before we get married. But I’m afraid, so afraid. I’m tired of sneaking around, watching reruns in the dark, when she thinks I’m asleep. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > \*\*I just want to adopt a Tribble. \*\* I have a tribble. I showed it to my fiance. I don’t think she understood. I know I should tell her. But I’m afraid, so afraid… _ **What should I do?!?!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/65 "2003-01-06T00:14:19Z")
I’m watching a TNG marathon RIGHT NOW! Thank Roddenberry for TNN! Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/66 "2003-01-06T04:33:34Z")
Well, what with the agressive sterilization plan currently being implemented by the U.S. government, I don’t really see what other option they have. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/67 "2003-01-06T16:42:43Z")
I come from a broken home. My mom was a trekkie but my dad was not. After many years he decided he couldn’t take it any longer and left me to be raised by my mother. So the inevitable happened…I became a trekkie too. I tried to keep it a secret from my friends and teachers, for fear that the authorities would be notified. Every waking moment was devoted to all things Trek. I worshiped Shatner’s hairpiece. I fantisized about Scottie in a Jefferies Tube. I even practiced opening hailing frequencies on occasion. Was this so wrong? Just youthful experimentation I thought. I’d out grow my fixation someday. I was almost free of my addition when The Next Generation came along. Oh the agony of having to choose between Kirk and Picard, Spock and Data. I descended into a pit of trek identity dispair. I went into rehab and am learning to cope. My therapist tells me that at the rate Enterprize is going I should be cured by the time it’s cancelled. I have hope. One episode at a time. And yes, I still live with my Mother. [sub]And I am 46 years old![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/68 "2003-01-06T17:22:11Z")
I got a call from a trekkie I met in a bar a year ago yesterday! HE was all “let’s open hailing frequencies, and everything”. The nerve of some people! He didn’t even bother to ask whether I was a trekkie or not. Although I gave him my number at that convention and everything, that is no reason for him to assume I am a trekkie! All I did was discuss the intricacies of a warp coil with dylithium chrystals with him for half an hour and he assumes ME to be like him!!! The nerve… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/69 "2003-01-06T21:10:16Z")
With this filthy Trekkie perversion coursing through our country, what is next, saying, \*Live Long and Prosper \* in our \*schools? \* I shudder… ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/70 "2003-01-06T21:27:19Z")
Excellent reference, **lothos2002**. ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/71 "2003-01-06T22:25:41Z")
Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/72 "2003-01-07T00:11:55Z")
I hate this artificial Trek/Wars distinction. Hello? Has anyone ever heard of the fallacy of the false dichotomy? Some people actually prefer their sf to come from a variety of styles. Sure a little Trek is ok and a little Wars is OK, but what about, say, a little Spielberg or Serling mixed in for variety? So, you see, the problem isn’t Trek or Wars, it’s being so close-minded that either, or even both of these represent the predominant source of screen sf in a household. So take a closer look at those Trekkies–are they actively trying to indoctrinate their kids? Is their household an exclusively Trek one? Or do you find them being exposed to other lifestyles as well–say with maybe a copy of Close Encounters or 2001 on the shelf with those Trek dvd’s. Don’t be so harsh to judge. Now, those Stephen King wackos, I’ve been known to call child welfare on them. You can’t be too safe. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/73 "2003-01-07T00:19:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > **You know, if they just found God…** They tried. Shatner screwed it up. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/74 "2003-01-07T00:30:12Z")
God wanted a starship or some junk. Spock shot him. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/75 "2003-01-07T01:52:17Z")
Marshmelons. Campfire songs. Bourbon and beans. Rock-climbing. yecch. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/76 "2003-01-07T06:18:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > **I hate this artificial Trek/Wars distinction. Hello? Has anyone ever heard of the fallacy of the false dichotomy? Some people actually prefer their sf to come from a variety of styles. Sure a little Trek is ok and a little Wars is OK, but what about, say, a little Spielberg or Serling mixed in for variety? So, you see, the problem isn’t Trek or Wars, it’s being so close-minded that either, or even both of these represent the predominant source of screen sf in a household. So take a closer look at those Trekkies–are they actively trying to indoctrinate their kids? Is their household an exclusively Trek one? Or do you find them being exposed to other lifestyles as well–say with maybe a copy of Close Encounters or 2001 on the shelf with those Trek dvd’s. Don’t be so harsh to judge.** Great point, **Number Six**. Especially in light of the groundbreaking work being done in scifiology by such eminent names as [Kinsey,](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/1M00AHG04WOPD/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/102-8248244-7177708) [Hite,](http://www.allbookstores.com/book/0671040014) [Masters and](http://www.scifan.com/writers/mm/MastersMark.asp) [Johnson.](http://classictv.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://russell%2Djohnson.com/Sci%2DFi%5FRuss/sci%2Dfi%5Fruss.html) The evidence is growing clearer each day, that there is no true either/or orientation to be parsed, but that most people fall somewhere along a continuum from Trek to Wars. And if there’s no true orthodox orientation to use as a standard, who’s to arbitrarily say that someone is abnormal? Is a Lucas Scale 6 to be any more admired (or despised) than a Roddenberry 3.5? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/77 "2003-01-07T10:28:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lothos2002 \* > \*\*I got a call from a trekkie I met in a bar a year ago yesterday! HE was all “let’s open hailing frequencies, and everything”. The nerve of some people! He didn’t even bother to ask whether I was a trekkie or not. > Although I gave him my number at that convention and everything, that is no reason for him to assume I am a trekkie! All I did was discuss the intricacies of a warp coil with dylithium chrystals with him for half an hour and he assumes ME to be like him!!! The nerve… \*\* You know what your problem is? Deep down, you know you’d _like_ it. There’s a part of you that _knows_ you’d get excited by putting on that blue uniform and pretending to be “Ensign Lothos of the _U.S.S. Constitution._” And it scares you. You can’t accept the fact that, deep down inside, you’re a fucking nerd. That’s why they call people like you “Trekophobes.” What you really need is a good pair of pointy ears strapped to your head. It would make a man out of you. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/78 "2003-01-07T17:40:07Z")
Hear hear! Live long and prosper. Esprix ---
**Author:** ![lothos2002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@lothos2002](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lothos2002)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/79 "2003-01-07T18:04:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bob Scene \* > \*\*You know what your problem is? Deep down, you know you’d _like_ it. There’s a part of you that _knows_ you’d get excited by putting on that blue uniform and pretending to be “Ensign Lothos of the _U.S.S. Constitution._” > > And it scares you. You can’t accept the fact that, deep down inside, you’re a fucking nerd. That’s why they call people like you “Trekophobes.” > > What you really need is a good pair of pointy ears strapped to your head. It would make a man out of you. \*\* I find you an extremely offesive m…f… How dare you tell me to get pointy ears strapped on! I am not a trekkophobe! Some of my best friends are trekkkies! I just don’t think it’s natural for someone to wear pointy ears and funny suits! If this was IRL I would have to beat the crap out’a you for telling me to get strapped! You should ItShut UP. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072/80 "2003-01-07T18:19:48Z")
I am SO tired of being told that the reason I don’t like Trekkies is because I wish I was one, or that I secretly am one. Hello, maybe it’s because what they do is DISGUSTING, OFFENSIVE, and AGAINST NATURE! If GOD had wanted us to have pointy ears and green blood, He would have made us that way. If he had intended us to be androids that can’t use contractions, we would. No one is born weaing a starfleet uniform, that is a CHOICE that they make themselves. And that’s without even mentioning the clear COMMUNIST message in Star Trek. If we did without money, we’d all be happy and end disease and end poverty? SURE, LIKE HOW IT WAS IN RUSSIA. I can’t believe there are people here DEFENDING this ANTI-AMERICAN, DEVIANT culture. (man, I’m starting to spook myself with this) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-trekkies-be-allowed-to-adopt/146072.md?page=5)