I always thought that was weird, given that the thing he (and Tuvok to one of the Maquis crewman on Voyager) was having her remove is a religious thing. I would figure Starfleet would have specific exceptions for such articles in the uniform code. And as the meme points out, we see Worf’s sash all the time and that’s a special exception deal.
- Worf had already gotten permission to wear his alteration years ago on file. Ro didn’t have permission yet.
- Deanna works with civilians, who may not be as open with her if she is wearing a uniform. Again, nothing a little off screen paperwork would clear up
- Riker takes a risk to assert his authority with an easy to find infraction to bust her with to let her know he means business.
And Ensigns don’t get the privilege of dress code exemptions.
This and a couple other comments in this thread point to an aspect of Star Trek’s world building that hasn’t sat right with me for a long time. It’s supposed to be an utopianistic, egalitarian future. There’s no scarcity or need on Earth so everyone is supposed to be here because they want to be, out of a love of exploration and scientific advancement. So why is there such a disparity in treatment based on rank? Why does an ensign get stuck with a bunk in a hallway while Captain Picard gets a cushy executive suite? O’Brien at least had real quarters to raise his family in, but they were a comparative closet next to the bachelor Captain’s. Doesn’t seem right to me.
All to say that, in my mind, if an ensign needs to stick to a manner of dress, so should an officer of rank. They’re all part of the same fleet and deserving of the same respect.
As far as Riker knew, this ensign basically killed the 8 other members of her away team. She was only pardoned because Starfleet needed her. She informed Riker and Picard that she didn’t want to be there, and the only reason she accepted the assignment was because it was better than prison.
He threw the book at her because, as far as he knew, she was a despicable person deserving of far worse.
It was later discovered that the deaths were not her fault, and Picard and Riker both treated her with tolerance and respect.
And when she does actually ask Picard about the earring at the end, they don’t even give Patrick Stewart a line, because it’s obvious she’s going to be allowed to wear it
Why does an ensign get stuck with a bunk in a hallway
Because space is the final frontier, there just isn’t enough on a ship.
But actually I found the bunk in a hallway stuff weird. The ship at any given time is full of civilians, children, people preparing to colonize new worlds, etc. It seemed clear to me that everyone/every family had a nice little apartment they lived in.
I know this was different in the Lower Decks animated show, but was this true in live action?
I also think we see Ro Laren’s quarters at some point and she has standard quarters.
The interior space inside a Galaxy class is immense. A standard US aircraft carrier has a crew of some 3000 sailors. It is utterly dwarfed by the Enterprise-D. Forget the official crew manifest. The real world designers thought too small. 642m in length, 463m wide, 195 height, and 42 decks total. That saucer section alone could house 10k people easy, and probably 50k in an emergency. With only 3k aboard, they all ought to have a respectable living quarters to themselves.
I always thought the hallway bunks were for on-call positions to get rest in between work, not meant as personal bunks.
Took a damned long time for me to like Riker again after this.
“Ah yes, a refugee from an occupied and dispossessed people. First thing i need to break her is that religious item she wears”
You have to remember Ro’s back story:
One of Ro’s early assignments was aboard the USS Wellington. During that assignment in the mid-2360s, Ro was a member of the disastrous away team mission to Garon II. During the mission, Ro disobeyed direct orders, causing the eight other members of the away team to die. Ro was court martialed for her actions and refused to speak in her own defense. With little alternative, the court found Ro guilty and sentenced her to imprisonment in the stockade on Jaros II.
As far as Riker knew, she was directly responsible for the deaths of 8 crewmates.
To put this into perspective: Derek Chauvin was a member of the US Army Reserve from 1996 through 2004. As a cop, he killed George Floyd in 2020. Imagine Donald Trump granting him a pardon, reinstating him into the Army, and assigning him to a Special Operations unit to handle an important mission. That’s what Riker was dealing with.
Picard held the same opinion of her, until Guinan vouched for her.
That makes her a troublemaker , sure. Still bullshit for him to attack her religious iconography when there’s literal bridge officers flouting uniform regs.
Picard addressed her as “Ensign Laren”, her given name, rather than "Ensign Ro’, her surname. This indicates that even command level officers were not aware of Bajoran customs.
We were not aware the earring was religious iconography either: AFAIK, she was the first Bajoran we had seen on screen, and she only had one line before Riker ordered her to remove the earring. All we knew about her was that she was criminally responsible for the deaths of 8 Starfleet officers, and she appeared in the transporter room wearing an ostentatious earring.
Given his knowledge at the time, Riker’s actions were not unreasonable in these specific circumstances.
Watson and doyle are not the same person my bean. The in-universe ignorance from multiple officers just compounds the issues.
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Bajor was not a federation member - hell, not even an independent planet at that point, certainly not before her comission which meaning special dispensation and that usually comes with a shitload of cultural information.
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Picard literally states he read about Bajor as a child, the naming convention was a huge gaffe.
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The federation is not supposed to be punitive. She served time for the Garon II mission, and the fact she still had any position in Starfleet means that should have been the end of it.
Cracking the shits at her after she went rogue with meeting Orta? Totally excusable. But riker was swingjng his dick around needlessly as soon as she stepped on board.
which meaning special dispensation and that usually comes with a shitload of cultural information.
Which would have been known to her commander in a normal assignment, sure. But the very beginning of this episode made it clear that Riker and Picard were not aware she was coming aboard until she requested to beam aboard.
Picard literally states he read about Bajor as a child, the naming convention was a huge gaffe.
My grandfathet fought in Korea, and told me stories when I was a child. I watched MASH into my teens. Yet, I didn’t learn about Korea’s surname-first naming convention until I was 18. This was not at all a gaffe.
The federation is not supposed to be punitive. She served time for the Garon II mission, and the fact she still had any position in Starfleet means that should have been the end of it.
She didn’t complete her sentence. She received a conditional pardon, ostensibly contingent on her assistance in tracking down “terrorists”. Her return to duty was supposed to be temporary. The only reason she was out of the stockade was because Starfleet supposedly needed her.
I feel like you ignored my Derek Chauvin analogy when you referred to Ro as a “troublemaker”. Riker wouldn’t refer to Chauvin as a “troublemaker”. Riker would call Chauvin a complete bastard. Justifiably.
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He was ever likable?
Well, he was a… friend to non-binary and very binary folks. So, that’s something.
Ok so I respect that but the dudes still a greasy disco salamander without the mutton chops
Put on pajamas, check!
That outfit somehow both covers everything and is yet barely decent at the same time.
The costume designers knew what they were doing:-).
Any shorter and we would’ve seen Picard’s Lieutenant
I dont know what happened but while I was watching that clip all of my clothes fell off and Sir Patrick Stewart saw everything
Well now I’ve seen everything…
Longer cut:
The essence of sexy.
That’s just sexy though.
That does look like a pretty comfy outfit though…
When grandpa comes out of his bedroom in his underoos.
Another reason Jellico was a great captain. Made Deanna put on a real uniform (which looked great on her btw).
Yeah, way sexier than the weird, awkward, cleavage onesie.
I was 10 or so when tng aired and I always thought it was a special councilor’s uniform. Something to set her apart and make her appear more approachable, less military. Similarly to Bones’s shortsleeved uniform and nurse chapel’s dress.
But it doesn’t. There are other ways one can look approachable and professional than… That.
In the US Army Sikh soldiers can wear their turbans, beards, and kirpan due to those things being part of their religious beliefs. The soldier does have to get permission and a uniform waiver first but that’s never an issue.
I would bet Laren’s earring is the same type of thing. She’s a contrarian so she probably just never put in the paperwork to get a uniform chit allowing her to wear her earring and the others did.
She was reinstated to active duty after being pardoned for getting 8 people killed. There was a little more to it than never applying for an earring chit.
I half remember Worf getting permission on screen. What episode was that?
I’m pretty sure he was wearing the sash from his first scene in Encounter at Farpoint.
You might be right. I was imaging it showed up during the episodes with his brother.
Who says they aren’t to code? Maybe they are allowed to implement accents from their native cultures? I mean we are talking about the “woke” starfleet here.
In Worf’s case, that is actually true. His sash is a culturally significant item for Klingons, displaying his house sigil for example. The same is true for Ro’s earrings though. And since Worf got an allowance, Ro should get it, too (which Picard eventually grants. But Worf never got that remark from Riker).
Deanna however just wears civil garments.Does nobody remember Ro’s backstory? I feel like I’m losing my mind here.
There also was a bunch of selectivisim going on: by allowing the only klingon in Starfleet, a son of a major house, wearing the sash, and then having him posted prominently on board the bridge of their flagship, was a power move.
Also: officers. Not only officers, but bridge crew officers. Captain + 1. There’s more leeway after you’ve fought your way up the ranks.
I bet Harry Kim was always violating the dress code off screen, and that’s why he’s the perpetual ensign.
Cptn Janeway: “Ensign Kim, what the hell are you wearing?”
Kim: “Oh these! Tom was telling me about them. They were all the rage in 1900’s America and were worn by people seen as both tough and cool. They’re called ‘Assless Chaps.’ I have to admit it was a little weird sitting down at first but I’m a huge fan of the cooling factor!”
Janeway turns to Lt. Paris
Tom’s barely contained laughter waters his eyes trying not to lose it
I would like to subscribe to your fanfic
🤣 tbcl 🤣
Ensign is an officer rank.
Low ranking officers. OCS cadets are officers. Technically, a staff sergeant with 15 years of career experience has to salute a pimply teen-ager who’s still in school. There’s a difference; rank and experience means more than whether you have a pip or not.
Nog got to wear Ferengi headgear also
Suprised nobody’s mentioned it yet but Troi’s uniform isn’t up to code and Jellico made her wear a regulation uniform.
I could see Tori being allowed to wear more casual attire as a way to help put the crew at ease during sessions. But as a bridge officer and member of senior staff, yeah she should be in uniform
This might be right. I mean, Migleemo also doesn’t wear a standard uniform:
Ro is just a terrible officer is why
I love Ro. She’s a great character with based politics.
Terrible officer.
Makes it all the more frustrating they brought her back a second time.
Let’s get Captain Ronnie Cox on board, he’ll straighten Deanna out
Riker was a Cardasian sympathizer
Ironic considering Tom Riker was Marquis.
I can’t blame Tom Riker. He must have had a serious identity crisis on top of feeling that his promotion and life were robbed from him. I’d be bitter too.
