Paving the way - How did Trek inspire you?

Star Trek inspired me by showing me a galaxy full of equals, and a galaxy where you don't interfere with indigenous cultures. A federation of worlds where everyone's needs are taken care of and human rights are respected.

And most importantly, an imperative to talk things out in a hostile situation before shooting.

That last line is what hits me the most. Probably because if we did the last line first then the others would fall into place. One can understand quite a lot by simply listening.
- Exactly. We do far too much shooting first and asking questions later in this world and it is not a path to peace.
You worded it more eloquently than I was going to. We'll get our fully automated gay space communism one of these days.

For me personally, two shows/movies made a big impact on me as an early teen:

Star Trek (TNG at the time)
Jurassic Park

The reason being that most of the characters in those two shows/movies weren't superheroes/cops/etc. They were geeks and nerds.

Star Trek, the geeks and nerds are prized in society, and their purpose is to explore, to learn. They were scientists. They didn't accomplish their thing by conquest, but by diplomacy and science. There, of course, were battles/warriors/etc, but those are shown as the exception.

In Jurassic Park, every character is a nerd (the Dino obsessed boy, the Unix hacking girl, the Paleontologist/Paelobotanist, the Geneticist, Mathematician, etc). The good guys AND the bad guys were nerds. No strong-man was needed to save the day.

I was a nerdy kid, and those spoke to me. I now work in a science research lab, and love it. I'm still a nerd.

I love this answer. I somehow didn't realize that everyone in JP was a nerd except for Muldoon who was neutralized almost immediately.
- It's one of the reasons I don't care for the newer Jurassic Park movies. Chris Pratt plays the strong man to save the day (continually)
- I mean, even he was a nerd. A survivalist nerd.

Good opportunity for a reminder of how it inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And thanks to him, we had Uhura through all 3 seasons and all 6 movies. Obviously nowhere near his greatest achievement, but I am grateful for it.
- It's quite possible that we wouldn't have Uhura on Strange New Worlds without him meeting Nichols, either.
That made me real sad in a way. It's a beautiful story, but I wish Nichelle Nichols could've gone into theatre like she wanted. There was a quote from a black feminist group that I can't find now that said something about how it isn't really a choice to become a fighter to resist oppression, because if they could choose, they'd choose something else, that they want to do, rather than what they are compelled to do. The reason to be a fighter is to try to make it so that the black little girls of the future can be free to self-realise.
It was an impactful quote because I felt like it acknowledged the respect that is due to people who fight for a better world, while also not excluding the grief and sorrow that comes from recognising that to commit to a cause is a sacrifice that wouldn't have needed to be made in a just world.
I know that Nichelle Nichols' work and activism extends far beyond Star Trek, but underlying it all is a deep sense of duty that I find at once beautiful and sad.
- Indeed, the fact that such activism is needed at all is a travesty.
That story made my eyes leak for some odd reason.
Bless you and thank you all Dr. King, Mr. Roddenberry and Mrs. Nichols.

Putting my mod hat on here- This post is about how Star Trek inspired you, not what you think of Whoopi Godlberg. Think of the quote as why Star Trek inspired someone, not who that someone is.

What does this have to do with moderation?
If you choose to focus on how Star Trek inspired you I think that's great. If other members of the community choose to focus on Whoopi's frequent shit takes, then this post is also about that.
It concerns me that you would brandish your mod card in an effort to influence narrative. Your comment sans 'mod hat' is perfectly reasonable.
- Part of a moderator's job is keeping things on topic and keeping discussion civil. Both are an issue in this thread. You can call requesting people stay on topic "influencing the narrative." I would argue the topic is the narrative.
  Now, did Star Trek inspire you? If so, how?

Anything she wanted, so she became a terrible person.

I don't like her either, but that particular quote of hers is wonderful and casting her as Guinan because of it was inspired.
And she did a good job as Guinan whatever I think of her personally.
I mean Shatner is a total dick but I still love Kirk.
- I mean Shatner is a total dick but I still love Kirk.
  Meh, I think I for one can respect Shatner's "dickery."
  As in-- he's a really good actor who never wanted to be typecast as Captain Kirk, and is rightfully a bit short with ST fans on average. OTOH, it's not like he goes out of his way to stir shit up or cast aspersions. More like he's typically wanted to be left alone by Trekkies & Trekkers, and I can understand that.
  He's also taken the time to write a lot of interesting books, some of them biographical, some of them about ST, and also do an interview series.
  I would never in a million years expect that I could walk up to a big star in public and expect to be treated like some long-lost friend of a fan. Some stars are amazingly good with that, but that's on them.
Feels like her original commentary was more born out of ignorance. And while I'm not condoning her actions, I understand them. And she's since recanted and is apparently trying to educate herself on the matter, which is definitely better than some.
Then there's the power element. When you're in a position like hers, the word "no" will be repeated less and less, and that will definitely skew how you approach the world. Her getting backlash and a suspension could be the "no" she's needed for years.
Let's hope she grows from this.
- She doesn’t need to fucking grow. She does more for charities Than you will do in ten lifetimes.
So for me, making an insensitive comment as she did, is long way from being a “terrible person” as you put it. Maybe I’m old fashioned . IDK.

I wanted to share a link about this and her actually joining star trek but it was behind a cookie wall

We value your privacy
ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE PARTNERS
- We evaluated your privacy and it means some bucks
- In a row?
- They put the value of privacy on the invoice when they sold it.

A world where deeds mattered more than wealth

Ironic really, because later on she'd appear on Trek as a bartender.

Not the same, matey, not the same
She appeared there because she really wanted to.
There's a neat bit of two-part history hidden there:
Part 1:
(Taken from an interview with Michelle Nichols)
Sometime during the original run of ST TOS, Michelle Nichols wanted to step back from playing Uhura. Roddenberry asked her to think about it on the weekend.
During that weekend, she happened to be at some fundraiser, where the host asked her if she could spare a minute for "her biggest fan".
She said "of course... but hold on, there's MLK right over there, I've got to take the opportunity to talk to him first."
Host: "Yeah... um, that is your biggest fan. He wants to talk with you."
MLK told her how much of an impact her role had (for pretty much the same reasons Goldberg mentioned later).
Monday, she rescinded her resignation.
Part 2:
When the staff of TNG heard that Whoopie Goldberg wanted had asked for a minor role, they thought it was joke.
(TNG wasn't yet the juggernaut it'd become and Goldberg was a top tier Hollywood star.)
But she told them explicitly that she'd been inspired by the Role of Uhura from the start and just wanted to be part of ST.
So they tailored that minor role to her.
To me, she always looks happy as a clam on screen with that.
Bartenders are equals, sometimes even superiors.

We-ell, it inspired me to respect Star Wars more. Hard to take seriously people laughing about midichlorians and space wizards, and at the same time being serious about transporters and creating matter from nothing and all that "post-scarcity" stuff.

Also Star Trek: Bridge Commander is an awesome game, simpler than something like Battlecruiser Millennium, but still cool. It's the Star Wars game I'd like to see minus Star Wars.

To your first point, that's fair but Trek and Wars are just different things and the same thing at the same time. The only time Star Wars tried to add hard science to it, it was mocked relentlessly (midichlorians) because that sort of hard science fiction didn't make sense or fit in the world of Star Wars. Star Wars is science fantasy, not fiction, and introducing explanations start stripping the world of its mystery and awe. It also just didn't jive with the vibe already established. It was basically someone just saying "Um actually, it's not mystical. It's just science." Star Trek on the other hand actively tries to explain everything all the time anyway.
- To your first point, that’s fair but Trek and Wars are just different things and the same thing at the same time.
  It's like Catholicism and Lutheranism, don't know which is which in this analogy.
  Star Wars has fairy tales, magic, great crusades and ancient empires, all not very openly or loudly being based on pretty rational laws, actually reminiscent of the Foundation books.
  Star Trek has some ideal world, where everything is kinda futuristic and rational, but the balance doesn't even up, and its philosophy is less rational.
  That's subjective and not to insult anybody. I think SW is much wiser than ST, and it's clear most people here think the opposite and I'm not insulted by that.
  The only time Star Wars tried to add hard science to it,
  Eh, Star Wars actually has it in more places than one. It's just very high-level about describing it, not getting into details too much, but the high-level part makes sense. I'm talking about the way hyperdrives work in Star Wars, and the computers there, and shields, and weapons, and many stuff. "Sith magic" included, yes.
  Star Wars is science fantasy, not fiction, and introducing explanations start stripping the world of its mystery and awe. It also just didn’t jive with the vibe already established. It was basically someone just saying “Um actually, it’s not mystical. It’s just science.”
  I actually agree with the guy answering you. Star Wars' problems with being SF are less fundamental than those of ST.
  And Obi-Wan says that in essence it's still "just science" in the very beginning, with it being quite a bit religious and mystical, yes.
  Which is what Star Wars is, a world of fairy-tale magic somewhere low and in philosophy not being really magic. It didn't spoil the thing for most people actually familiar with the Expanded Universe, only for those who wanted to pretend to be "old fans" TBF.
  It's actually the spirit of it.
  Star Trek on the other hand actively tries to explain everything all the time anyway.
  Well, folk medicine does that too, but at the same time ST is less hard on fundamental laws of the universe than SW.
- Star Trek is fantasy masquerading as sci-fi while Star Wars is sci-fi masquerading as fantasy. Both fandoms get really upset when the mask starts to slip on either.
  Star Trek is a fantasy in the same vein as the Odyssey. Go somewhere on a ship, encounter magical creatures, get into a problem that's resolved with a moral lesson. The magic of the creatures is never really explained in the Odyssey beyond the magic just being inherent in those creature. Same goes for the magic of various aliens in Star Trek. Vulcans can do mind melds because that's a magic only Vulcans possess. Can it be studied and reproduced by others? Nope. It's magic inherent to being a Vulcan.
  It also should be noted the resemblance between Star Trek races and classic Tokien races. Vulcans are Elves, Klingons are Orcs, Romulans are Dark Elves.
  In Star Wars people have magical abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and prescience. These abilities are present in Star Trek. But in Star Wars, these abilities aren't inherent in being a certain species. And the ramifications are explored. People might build religions around those who have these abilities. Maintaining a galaxy wide civilization would be difficult on its own, but you add in an X factor like certain people having the ability to control people's minds that have holy wars against each other, it's likely there would be a constant cycle of collapse, rebuilding, then collapsing again. So you'd expect some feudal power structures to form on some planets during the dark ages of a galaxy like this. So it makes sense that princesses, knights, wizards, pirates, gangsters would all exist in a galaxy that has holy wars between groups that have mind powers.
  But people like Star Wars to be a fantasy with mysteries about how it came about. It is set in another Galaxy and started in the middle of an ongoing story. So many people aren't going to like over-explanations, at least not in canon, because it takes away the mystery and makes it too obvious that Star Wars is actually sci-fi.
  Star Trek is fantasy, Star Wars is sci-fi. Just nobody wants to admit it.
A modern version of Bridge Commander that was voice-activated would be cool. I know there have been one or two similar games, but I'd like a Star Trek-themed one.
- Bridge Crew was pretty close to that but way more streamlined. After a year or so the voice commands were turned off though because that makes sense. Apparently they were fed through IBMs Watson and the contract ran out.
- Well, for me voice commands are not as important as the simulation of commanding a ship.
  Maybe I still want a SW-themed Battlecruiser Millennium with more intuitive controls. So that you could sit in a fighter cockpit and command your wingmen, or sit on the bridge and give orders to officers in their roles, in general take any role on that ship. And with some personnel management like in Silent Hunter.
  And with some ship selection, of course. Nebulon-B is different from a CR70, and commanding an ISD-II, eh, I guess without the ability to command that the game won't be popular among SW fans.
  Well, maybe still without taking any role. Like Sea Dogs in space.

"so I became an arsehole"

I jest, I jest. She's alright, just old and rich and opinionated.

And an asshole. She's not a pleasant woman but she did an enormous amount for black women across media in general, nevermind science fiction.
Avery Brooks also fits that bill quite well, unfortunately. He just isn't as public with his insanity
- Avery Brooks also fits that bill
  Any specifics about this? I tried a brief search but nothing obvious came up.

When I was a kid I saw Star Trek on TV and thought “if those people can get out of Yorkshire then maybe I can too!”.

I know this is meant as a more serious thread, but all I can think of is this quote from futurama...

It taught me so much. Like, how you should accept people, whether they be black, white, Klingon or even female... But most importantly, when I had no friends, it made me feel like maybe I did.

For me, I would say I just have a lifelong interest in space and a desire to know what's out there.

Star Trek inspired me to crank my hog every time Seven showed up in that skin tight outfit

Edit: Christ it’s a joke people. Relax

That's certainly what Rick Berman wanted you to do.
Jeri Ryan not so much considering she had to wear a bunch of uncomfortable shit under the costume so people like you could get their rocks off.