> On Sun, 18 May 2008 23:28:41 -0400, "80 Knight" <nospam@nospam.com>
> wrote:
>
>> "SAC 441" <SAC441@webtv.net> wrote in message
>> news:24030-48306EF0-1316@storefull-3257.bay.webtv.net...
>>> 80 Knight responded to a posting:
>>> ----"Did you even watch the series? For starters,
>>> "Enterprise" was set way before Janeway, or Kirk,
>>> so there were no "tri-cobalt" devices.For seconds,
>>> Starfleet had no idea where the Xindi homeworld was."----
>>>
>>>
>>> Reply:
>>> Point taken about the timeline....in any event however,my overall thrust
>>> to the Xindi prototype
>>> probe strike was the ethos of the Federation policy towards it.They
>>> should have launched a "search and destroy" counterstrike from the
>>> outset immediately instead of wasting time trying to investigate the
>>> WHY's and the wherefore's of the attack.Sure,ultimately some other alien
>>> species was behind the misconception that Earth was going to destroy
>>> them,but with an attack like that they did NOT have the luxury to delve
>>> deeper into the mystery like they did.
>>> They should have used whatever technical means was available of that
>>> day and attempted to annihilate the Xindi before the second attempt.If I
>>> was an Earth bound politician in such circumstances,that is how I would
>>> view it.
>>
>> So, you are saying when Starfleet figured out the "Xindi" (a
>> never-before-heard-of species) sent the probe, they should have sent out a
>> starship to destroy there home planet, no questions asked? No offence, but
>> that sounds kind of foolish. I live in Canada, and if someone over here
>> decided to be dumb and blow up Rhode Island, does that mean the USA
>> government would send a bunch of nukes over here and kill us all? You need
>> to figure out the why's. You need to know exactly who did it, and why.
>> Only then can you decide what to do about it
>>
>>> Thermonuclear weapons WERE available in Archer's day.As to tri-cobalt
>>> devices,Star Trek lore does not exactly make clear at what point in the
>>> time line that tri-cobalt devices appeared.
>>> As to the second contention,*EVENTUALLY* the NX-01 **DID** discover
>>> where the Xindi homeworld was,and at that point they should have
>>> annihilated it.
>>
>> I still highly disagree. You can't blame and punish an entire race for the
>> actions of only a few.
>
> Sure you can. Ask the American Indians about that. Doesn't make it
> RIGHT, no. But it's the "Red Button" thing. Give people a box with a
> Red Button. Tell them that if they push the button, someone in the
> world they've never met and would never meet will die. They will not
> be punished or prosecuted in any way for pushing the Red Button. There
> would be no consequence whatsoever for pushing the Red Button.
>
> A surprising number of people will push the Red Button. Now imagine
> if they were told the person on the other end was named Osama bin
> Laden. Part of why "morality" works as a civilizing force is that you
> have to live with the consequences of your actions. If we nuke Russia
> they nuke us back; if you shoot your neighbor a SWAT team pays you a
> visit. If you blow up a planet on the other side of the galaxy
> because they tried (and failed) to blow you up the consequences are
> so, well, "inconsequential" that I'd be surprised it didn't happen all
> the time. Perhaps SETI has failed thusfar because only the dumb ones
> let anyone know they're there and they don't last very long.
Shit. That would be us, wouldn't it?
Kweeg
Kweeg
