GrahamKennedy wrote:The contrast with Tuvok always struck me.  Tuvok, under his emotional control... was an asshole.  Seriously, he was rude, arrogant, inflexible, and just basically a giant dick to everyone around him.  And when he lost control it was always horror and death and violence. 

He was facing the prospect of a lifetime stuck on the same ship as Neelix. 

Good point. 

Maybe Vulcans are assholes without emotions and perhaps that is why they need to repress them.  Whereas Spock's human side makes him easier to control the asshole-y-ish behavior. 

"Don't underestimate the power of technobabble: the Federation can win anything﻿ with the sheer force of bullshit"

GrahamKennedy wrote:The contrast with Tuvok always struck me.  Tuvok, under his emotional control... was an asshole.  Seriously, he was rude, arrogant, inflexible, and just basically a giant dick to everyone around him.  And when he lost control it was always horror and death and violence. 

He was facing the prospect of a lifetime stuck on the same ship as Neelix. 

I don't think anyone on the ship would have even blinked if Tuvok had just spaced Neelix.  Hell, first episode after Kes leaves, "Well now that our elven nurse is out of here there's no more reason to tolerate your continued existence." 

I think the writers in TOS had a better handle on what it meant to be a Vulcan.  Not that they're emotion less, but that they're controlled.  They have all the usual emotions, they just don't express them.  Sure, there are some Vulcans who deep down inside are just assholes, but not all of them. 

There have been Vulcan individuals who have displayed moral conscience and "good" thoughts inside them; T''Pol's mother, T'Pau, even the High Command leader that deposed V'Las for being a massive prick.  Though broadly Vulcans do seem to have been "mishandled" in later TV and film series compared to the TOS versions. 

"He was the best of us.  They struck without provocation, there was no reason.  Animals!  Brutal!  They deserve no mercy!  Strike them down, follow them back to their base and kill all of them, all of them!  No mercy!" -  Delenn

Reliant121 wrote:There have been Vulcan individuals who have displayed moral conscience and "good" thoughts inside them; T''Pol's mother, T'Pau, even the High Command leader that deposed V'Las for being a massive prick.  Though broadly Vulcans do seem to have been "mishandled" in later TV and film series compared to the TOS versions. 

Yeah, one of the nicer things that Manny Coto did was "rehabilitate" the Vulcans by having that whole three ep arc with the conclusion of "Hey, we should all stop being assholes after all!" 

Give a man a fire, and you keep him warm for a day.  SET a man on fire, and you will keep him warm for the rest of his life...