From another reader:
Having the opportunity to watch almost every TiVo’d episode of DS9
after work, I can say that your previous emailer is partially correct.
The Cardassian/Bajoran conflict IS a direct allegory of the
Isreali/Arabs-living-in-Israel conflict, complete with the sinister
Obsidian Order as the parallel to the Evil to End all Evils of the
Leftist panatheon, Mossad, the Central Command as the military branch
that completely controls society, and Cardassians in general as a
brutish occupying force that regard the Bajorans as little more than
escaped slaves.
The real wierdness comes from looking at the Bajoran side of the
equation, though. As your previous emailer wrote, the Bajorans are
spiritual, oppressed, and fighting for their homeland (although not
matriarchial, as he claims), and their justifications of terrorism, of
any kind, really, are shaped in such a way that they can only be the
moral conclusion the story writers wish you to reach. Indeed, Kira,
on MULTIPLE occassions, has advocated straight up terrorism and the
death of civilians, always claiming something along the lines of
“Sometimes you have to do things you aren’t proud of to win your
freedom”, or some other nonsense. I can remember more than a couple
of episodes where she either caused, or was the main proponent of, the
killing of thousands of civilians because they were working on an
industrial base.
Is Star Trek the great classic liberal paradise? No, of course not.
But then again, it doesn’t have to be. The world of Star Trek
eliminated the economic propery of scarcity: what’s scarce when you
have replicators and essentially free energy? Yes, there’s a lot of
capitalist bashing, and making an honest profit is often portrayed as
less than desirable in a character, but whatever, man. It’s a science
fiction show about flying through space and blowing stuff up.
Finally, why can’t the Cardassians AND the Ferengi be symbolic of the
Jews? The Cardassians represent the militaristic baby killing ghouls
that have a permanent home in the psyche of the Left, and the Ferengi
represent the “money grubbing” Jew stereotype that’s been around
since, oh, I dunno, forever. Why just bash Jews once when you can do
it twice?
Me: This is just great. Moments away from our triumph we’ve painted Star Trek as anti-Semitic and/or anti-Israel. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Quick someone figure out how the Klingons are racist so we can score an exacta.