if you're a trekkie here and you've noticed an uptick on trolls/bigots/clickbait media catered to them, it's not coincidental.

thread on how (and why) the renaissance in star trek re-cementing itself as progressive political scifi is dragging out these "fans," and why it's good.

disclaimer before we start: DOES this give them the excuse to be bigoted dogpiling harassers online? no. tolerance cannot tolerate the intolerant. but we're gonna get into why, i believe, we're seeing a new wave of loudmouthed ""opinionated fans"" the more trek has added to it.

i'll start off by saying this: every fanbase has shitheads. nothing is perfect, and by no means are some "good" trek fans removed from flaws.
but it's all about intent, isn't it?
what makes these clumps of weeds so vitriolic? ready to lash out at any creative/actor/fan online?

let's get back to some historical reference. trek started out in 1966- a time littered with fear of the cold war, the civil rights movement, and the world as a whole was lurching in socio-economic upheaval.
to say that it was Controversial at the time is an understatement.

now imagine TOS premiering THEN with our current level of social media interaction/outrage culture.
how loud would a vitriolic section of sci-fi fans react to the TOS crew coming in and throwing a wrench in what they knew as ""classic sci-fi???"" how hard would TOS be rebuked???

i won't sit here and pretend TOS was perfect by any means. many trek conventions were round-table discussions of feminism, racism, and their approach to the topics within the episodes.
but at the time? some things were revolutionary for a company to be putting on prime time.

after trek's cancellation in the 3rd season, syndication came about.
fans, people who BELIEVED in the (at the time) progressive visions of trek, who saw themselves in its messages, called for its revival & kept that flame alive (in no small part thanks to women and STEM folks).

SMALL SIDEBAR??? THIS IS THE FANBASE THAT INVENTED THE CONCEPT of the FAN ZINE and SLASH within fanbase circles!!! there has ALWAYS been an element of "rebuttal against circumstance" in trek, and for (at the time primarily women) to be writing fan pieces for sci-fi??? amazing!

syndication came and went. the first trek CONVENTION happened in 1972. despite initial protest, attempted censorship, and outrage from ""traditional sci-fi fans"", it endured.
then star trek: TMP premiered in 1979.
it was very different.
as always, change was met with rebuke.

TMP was initially ROASTED back in the day. while some fans saw it as a MUCH needed revitalization of the material and fascinating/multi-layered continuation of the arcs of characters they hadn't seen for 10 years, some fans called it "too different."
sounding familiar yet?

the films continued. wrath of khan in 1982, search for spock happened because "SPOCK WAS DEAD???" etc., getting up to the undiscovered country until 1991.
but in between then, in 1987, a certain NEW trek series came out.
the next generation dropped. and with it, a new generation.

enter star trek's new era- and with it, new creatives. new voices, both young trekkies and old, coagulating on rivaling voices on what to use for this new crew.
and honestly?
sometimes the old wasn't perfect. i.e: gene wanted to give troi 3 breasts, which d.c. fontana shot down.

changes happened. from stinky spandex uniforms into tailored pieces (with so many in-show changes that a MEMORY ALPHA PAGE exists about it), initial revulsion at TNG's existence began to die down, and in time trekkies would accept this as the "bible" for trek despite its flaws.

and with this acceptance, we have new influences. new voices. new visions for what trek could be, always managing/trying to keep the root core of that "progressive, hopeful vision".
but progress does not come without rivalry. rivalry, sometimes, within the creative house itself.

enter rick berman/"the berman era", originally brought on as a creative to help with the next generation development.
but as gene's health declined, he began to take more of the daily responsibilities/executive decisions (not even getting into the legalities with gene's lawyer).

(i'm not gonna get too far in on this because he's a rabbit hole for another day/thread, but rick berman has been documented by multiple trek actors/creatives as being a racist, homophobic, and sexist influence on the series, with bigoted producers enabling him.
need proof? sure)

trek has, paradoxically, survived thanks to pushback against bigots. its resilience, baked into its genesis. against people who would rather see the series turned sterile. trek's greatest successes were its biggest risks, and its always had a history of pushing out toxic people.

complacency, then, was trek's downfall. its worst episodes are not only acknowledged to this day, but noted as falling victim to sexism, racism, and bigotry.
and boy, was it noticed by marginalized communities when the OG spirit of trek resurfaced to challenge societal norms.

time is a flat circle. rebuking against the new, more politically-relevant stances is nothing new under the sun. except in this digital age of social media, bigots have a more active, loud forum. (special shoutout to @TrekCore for recently posting the rebuttal to DS9's premiere)

a science-fiction series based in the ideas of progressive societies, hope, and equality cannot co-exist with the stagnant, the bigoted, and the hateful.
so they will yell.
they will scream.
they will whine.
and because they refuse to change, they will be left behind.

the difference is when the media ENABLES these "fans." enabling = lack of "controversy," then to complacency.
and where trek is heading? women at the forefront, highlighting relevant social issues, putting LGBTQ+ characters in? it's opposite of complacency. that's refusal of it.

so they'll begin to strawman. fashion and circulate rumors out of LITERAL anon 4chan posts- create clickbait video thumbnails designed to cater to this obsessive ouroboros of fans who cannot accept change, and would instead fester and rot in bigoted outrage thought trains/ideals.

unfortunately, they WILL be loud about it.
but change, hand-in-hand with time, will happen, caring little for their opinion.
b/c trek is a media whose origins are traced back to the enduring dedication of change.
if anything, it will make those they try to rebuke stronger.

does it SUCK that they're loud about it? yes.
is it ANNOYING as hell? oh yes.
is it PATHETIC that modern day social media has allowed them a platform to harass creatives/actors on a near daily basis? do i even have to say it.
but it's a sign that nu!trek is avoiding complacency.

the kurtzman era of trek (AOS, DISCO, PIC) has innumerable strengths because of its refusal of submitting to societal bigotry.
it's not without its faults, as is any media (and trek installment).
but its hateful rivalry is loud.
and we, as fans, must go boldly forward against it.

think it's time to bring this thread once more 'round the cul-de-sac methinks