Peptuck wrote:I find it fascinating that people even think that "Starfleet is not a military outfit" is even a viable argument in a vs. debate. Aside from its obvious factual inacurracy, what good does it actually do in the debate? Are they actually admitting that the Federation has no military force? If so, it further confirms blatant Fed incompetence.
As seen in the forum referenced by this thread, versions of this argument get trotted out in a couple of different contexts:
1) JMSpock argued that Starfleet does have combat-dedicated forces, we just do not see them on the shows because a) Starfleet's primary function is exploration, not combat and b) warships have "limited space and barely enough personnel to handle all the technical duties(.)"
Darth Servo pointed out that the evidence does not support argument b -- ships with enough rooms to house families in peacetime should be able to accomodate troops in a war. Argument a is simply used as an excuse by trektards like JMSpock to baselessly speculate about massively powerful ground combat units that just happen to be off-screen at all times but somehow assuredly exist. Never mind that we saw examples of the ground troops that Starfleet used during the Dominion War and they were nothing like JMSpock's wild flights of fancy.
2) Shuttle argued in turn that Starfleet is not a military.
The statement itself has already been thoroughly dissected. The reasons for it appeared to be nothing more than asserting that because Darth Servo made such an erroneous assumption, it demonstrates that Servo does not understand the facts or philosophies behind Trek and is thus arguing from ignorance. The ease with which the argument is demolished only demonstrates Shuttle's own ignorance of both Trek and real life.
Part of the attitude in that second argument probably stems from the tendency of Roddenberry and other ST producers themselves to have conflated the form of a military organization with a dominant ideology of militarism. The same fans that accept this uncritically are probably the same ones who think ST portrays an egalitarian utopian future despite many blatant examples of racism and sexism by the UFP and Starfleet -- for them, liking the series means drinking the Kool-Aid.
Meanwhile, grown-ups can actually enjoy things while not being afraid to examine them critically and acknowledge their failings. I imagine that's why they stretch so desperately in their arguments for Starfleet Uber Alles. They like it best so it MUST win regardless of reason or evidence. Christ, with that kind of thinking, I'd have to argue that my 80-year-old grandfather could beat Mike Tyson in a boxing match or people would accuse me of being a mindless grandpa-hater.
It's okay to kiss a nun; just don't get into the habit.