Regressive

Regressive was a semi-derogatory term the Enarans applied to a minority of their population who rejected all but the most primitive technology. They eschewed such things as communication interlinks, microfusion generators, or radioseptics. The Regressives claimed to be passive and not harming anyone, but according to the Enarans they just pretended, and spread lies, lacking a conscience. They were also believed to cause dissent and doubt, and have a destructive influence. Furthermore, they were said to be impossible to understand.
Mainstream Enarans believed they had been tolerant of them for a very long time, although they were segregated in their own villages. They wore identification devices around their necks which other Enarans didn't have.
Ultimately even this arrangement was considered insufficient, and they were subject to a "voluntary resettlement" in a new colony. Fearmongering regarding their refusal to utilize modern hygiene instruments was utilized as an excuse, with claims that the Regressives would cause a surge in disease. Others argued that, through their rejection of technology, the luddites were holding the Enarans back. Regressive "criminals" were described as a growing threat to society.
The resettlement was a gradual effort by government troops, spread over at least two months. Lists were produced and the Regressives were rounded up. The lack of contact from resettled Regressives, an odd observation considering their aversion to technology, led to speculation that the resettlement was in fact an extermination; the transport ships utilized in the operation, some theorized, did not actually travel anywhere, and that the Regressives were incinerated with a thermal sweep. Thousands of them were claimed to have been taken by the soldiers. After all the luddites were removed, Enaran history recorded that they were the ones who wanted to leave, and that they had died due to violence and disease at their new home.
The speculation was true, as it turned out, but there was no vocal objection from the remainder of the Enaran population.
Korenna Mirell was witness to the fact that this injustice was being committed, but like most Enarans she denied the truth. Many years later, a dying Mirell transferred her memories to B'Elanna Torres, in the hope that one day the Enarans would have to own up to their actions. ()
==Known Regressives==
* Dathan Alaris
* Demalos
* Sanric
* Farran
* Fredik
== Background information ==
The Regressives were in part based upon the real-life Holocaust and the extermination of six million Jews as well as millions of other "nondesirables" throughout the course of the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945. The necklaces that the luddites wear are similar in concept to the gold-colored Jude stars that Jewish people were forced to wear, at first as citizens of Germany and its occupied territories, and later as prisoners in the network of death camps throughout Europe. They were frequently transported there by train (as the Regressives were removed in transport ships in "Remember") and their remains, after being stripped of valuables, were incinerated just as the luddites were with the thermal sweep. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 29, No. 6/7, p. 92) 
Due to the commentary made by "Remember" regarding the burden of generational guilt for such atrocities and for failing to act or intervene, this episode was cited by critics as one of the best episodes of the third season of Voyager. Jammers Review called it "sensibly written" and "wonderfully acted," with "one of Voyager's most 'mature' stories to date." Keith R.A. DeCandido noted that "for the first four acts, this is excellent," but criticized the hurried and lackluster finale.
Notably, Eugene Roche, who portrayed Jor Brel in the episode, also appeared in the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, a critical work set in the Second World War. 
==See also==
* Luddite
de:Rückständiger
Category:Groups