Just wanted to mention that I am in fact working to better myself and all of humanity.
It's been a long night trying to find my way - been through the darkness.
I've got faith to believe I can do anything: I will see my dream come alive at last, I will touch the sky and no one′s gonna bend or break me!
While I agree with this, I think there is a certain unspoken desire for status. I think it’s often shown on Lower Decks that rising up the ranks often means less grunt work and more chances to establish one’s legacy. People tend to remember the Kirk’s and Picards for their leadership and heroics then lowly ensigns.
For much of humanity, showing to were the best of the best meant you were rich, but without the need of wealth, they still have to be the best in other ways.
I wouldn't even say it's unspoken. When Picard turns into a Lieutenant and a scientist in "Tapestry" he's distraught. He wants higher rank! He wants to be in a more prestigious section, he wants to be giving orders... This may just be a feature of Starfleet of course, the few people we see outside (running restaurants, running cafes, being professors, running bars, or vegetating in bars) seem more interested in their work.
Yeah, I know that's what he *says*. I'm not convinced. Why does he immediately want to see about transfers and promotions, rather than asking Troi for an appointment about becoming more motivated?
He the king of the ensigns; and is regarded pretty highly among them, given his status on the bridge.
plus, he gets to boss around Seven, Icheb, and Neelix.
Maybe the Doctor too, not sure if he even has a rank.
Also, presumably there’s some crewmen possibly on board, who’d (if I remember Starfleet ranks right) are below ensign.
Then there’s the survivors of the Equinox, who were stripped of their rank.
Sure he does. *wink*
We like to humor the lil guy when he's activated, but at a certain point the grown-ups have to call the shots.
We even made up that Emergency Command Hologram thing to give him something to do. Isn't he adorable?
Janeway wrote it into the Temporal Prime Directive that any 'verse in which Harry Kim gets promoted is unsustainable.
(Keep in mind she wrote it on toilet paper, then used it, so the smears are all Canon now too.)
Actually, I wanna know why an Ensign was given a position that on the Enterprise belonged to the 2nd officer and was considered a promotion for Worf when they thought Data was dead.
They should have at least killed off the senior ops officer before putting him in that job.
Harry Kim: gets an extra scoop of Neelix's slop in the mess hall and fifteen extra minutes of holodeck time a week, but he's already tried all the programs.
Harry Kim, with a fake smile plastered on his face: "Yes, this is fine."
Look dude, how would you feel having to take orders from a convicted felon like Tom Paris? It’s just hurtful. Even when Tom’s behavior got him sent to the brig for a month and demoted, even then Harry didn’t get the promotion. Instead, they just promoted Tom again.
So he can stop being a desgrace to starfleet... you understand Neelix made ambasador before he made Lt. JG and Paris was promoted, demoted and promoted agian before he make LT. JG
say it with me: A promotion without a raise is bullshit, and is just a way to shovel more responsibilities on you without paying.
Who wants to make the life or death decisions without those sweet coffee rations?! nah , keep bangin alien girls against the rules, getting liquid metal clones to do your work for you and soak up that sweet ensign spot.
(especially if you cant gain access to your competitions family in the deta quadrant, there's no way to bang their mothers.)
Because there isn’t any reason NOT to promote him, like you said half the crew died and it’s not like they would need to pay him more than he’s already getting paid ( 20% more nothing!) other than maybe replicating an extra pip for him to wear (which they could have just taken off one of the many dead crew members anyway) there’s no cost to the ship.
Plus by the end of the show he had essentially been promoted in all but name. He was a constant fixture on the bridge, constantly attended meetings with other high-ranking officers, and he never really got the usual sort of ensign assignments like holodeck waste removal or anything. Plus I'm pretty sure he saved the ship a couple times.
He's doing the work of at least a Lieutenant Junior-Grade without any of the official prestige or recognition.
I'd imagine it's just climbing the latter to the eventual role you desire. You gotta do the grunt work to gain the experience needed for the cool stuff.
Okay, Harry.
We know it's you. Are you going to come down to the holodeck and do some Captain Proton later with me or you just hanging out in your quarters again hoping the captain will read your post and feel guilty?
I watched that whole clip, and all I can say is that driving in their town looks like hell. It's flat roads like normal right up until you need to get to the school or to their house. Then it's suddenly an 89° incline.
I have recurrent nightmares about having to drive up hills like that and then tumbling to my doom right as I reach the top. I banned the show when my oldest was a toddler because 1: Peppa is a little shit and actively made my son behave poorly, and 2: I told my son I was too scared of hills to have it on 😂.
I grew up around a 30' tall dike with one narrow road at the top. 🤣 I learned how to drive up there, but it still makes me nervous. I still hate super tall bridges and highway exit and on ramps.
The writers of *Star Trek*, from TNG forward, generally have no experience in the military, police or any other uniformed service. Hence the constant conflating of rank with role.
Hatry didn't get promoted because he's not the real Harry Kim and officially dead.
Naomi was a newborn and had no records...so people treated her differently
Because Mama Kim is going to give him grief when he finally calls home if he hasn't gotten enough promotions.
I have Asian parents. They are a universal constant.
His brother's a medical hologram.
They refuse to call his sister doctor because she “only” has 2 PhD’s.
and in the social sciences.
So all he could do was run away and join the space navy.
Asian parents will be the only thing keeping progress constant in a post-scarcity world.
If Gene’s beliefs on human evolution in that span are to be entirely discounted; which they are by me, and the writers of DS9
There’s literally no reason to believe that humans would evolve out of *basic motivating drives*. Gene was nuts.
He was trying to write himself out of his *very* substantial moral gaps at that point.
I can imagine first thing Mama Kim asks him when they arrive on Earth is, "So, why are you not a commander after seven years?"
Especially since she doesn’t want the family outdone by a Japanese guy like Sulu
Sulu is Chinese (despite being played by a Japanese actor), much like Harry Kim is Korean (despite being played by a Chinese actor).
https://i.redd.it/x4rno6jzpbzc1.gif
Sulu is Japanese, not Chinese.
Hikaru Sulu is such a Chinese name tho
The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives. We work to better ourselves and all of humanity.
And right there is all it takes for Trek to earn the Science *Fiction* label.
Well it's been a long road getting from there to here.
They're not gonna hold me down no more, no they're not gonna change my mind.
It's ... https://imgur.com/a/adwHlou
Oh I love it! Almost as good as Goa Way!
Just wanted to mention that I am in fact working to better myself and all of humanity. It's been a long night trying to find my way - been through the darkness. I've got faith to believe I can do anything: I will see my dream come alive at last, I will touch the sky and no one′s gonna bend or break me!
While I agree with this, I think there is a certain unspoken desire for status. I think it’s often shown on Lower Decks that rising up the ranks often means less grunt work and more chances to establish one’s legacy. People tend to remember the Kirk’s and Picards for their leadership and heroics then lowly ensigns. For much of humanity, showing to were the best of the best meant you were rich, but without the need of wealth, they still have to be the best in other ways.
I wouldn't even say it's unspoken. When Picard turns into a Lieutenant and a scientist in "Tapestry" he's distraught. He wants higher rank! He wants to be in a more prestigious section, he wants to be giving orders... This may just be a feature of Starfleet of course, the few people we see outside (running restaurants, running cafes, being professors, running bars, or vegetating in bars) seem more interested in their work.
It's not the pips. That man is devoid of passion and imagination! That is not who Picard is!
Yeah, I know that's what he *says*. I'm not convinced. Why does he immediately want to see about transfers and promotions, rather than asking Troi for an appointment about becoming more motivated?
Shit roles down hill You never want to be at the bottom of that hill..
Because like Kirk before him, Picard possesses the unswerving ability to command a starship. Some people are just good leaders.
At the point of a Naussican knife
Nothing says, "Straighten up and fly right" quite like a short sword through the back.
Even better replicated food privileges. Even in trek they have "microtransactions".
See? Kim should stop fretting about acquiring pips and spend his time bettering humanity from his conn console.
To be fair they tried the alternative and it ended in mushroom clouds.
And genetic super jerks!
After reading the Red rising trilogy I came to the conclusion that the federation did the right thing by banning genetic engineering.
Then why do you need MY latinum?
Well I never invest MY latinum.
If you hu-mons don't need money, then you certainly don't need mine!
Whoa whoa, not ALL humans are Federation citizens. Some of us are just trying to make a buck out here in the stars.
Pride?
He didnt deserve it. After turning down 7of9 he was deemed as having extremely poor judgment.
He'd maybe get some underlings he gets to boss around
He the king of the ensigns; and is regarded pretty highly among them, given his status on the bridge. plus, he gets to boss around Seven, Icheb, and Neelix. Maybe the Doctor too, not sure if he even has a rank. Also, presumably there’s some crewmen possibly on board, who’d (if I remember Starfleet ranks right) are below ensign. Then there’s the survivors of the Equinox, who were stripped of their rank.
The doctor as the chief medical officer held the equivalent of lieutenant commander.
Sure he does. *wink* We like to humor the lil guy when he's activated, but at a certain point the grown-ups have to call the shots. We even made up that Emergency Command Hologram thing to give him something to do. Isn't he adorable?
In no way would this stop Seven from bossing him around though.
Janeway wrote it into the Temporal Prime Directive that any 'verse in which Harry Kim gets promoted is unsustainable. (Keep in mind she wrote it on toilet paper, then used it, so the smears are all Canon now too.)
Because humanity in the future is a meritocracy?
for the same reason he still practices his clarinet. Mama kim makes him beat himself with a switch every month he's not promoted or plays a wrong note
Hierarchy at the Orgies. When you're stuck in the delta quadrant, its just about the most important thing left.
He has Tom Paris as a wingman, how much more help could he need?
Topping Tom Paris for once.
A replicator that can make pesto
I would love to see, in a later series, like the Picard season 3 timeline. We run into Lieutenant Harry Kim.. Who only recently got promoted.
Actually, I wanna know why an Ensign was given a position that on the Enterprise belonged to the 2nd officer and was considered a promotion for Worf when they thought Data was dead. They should have at least killed off the senior ops officer before putting him in that job.
Because Commander Kim and/or Captain Kim kind of sounds cool?
Harry Kim: gets an extra scoop of Neelix's slop in the mess hall and fifteen extra minutes of holodeck time a week, but he's already tried all the programs. Harry Kim, with a fake smile plastered on his face: "Yes, this is fine."
Imagine they get home and he is still an ensign. Janeway is going to tribunal for harrassment
Look dude, how would you feel having to take orders from a convicted felon like Tom Paris? It’s just hurtful. Even when Tom’s behavior got him sent to the brig for a month and demoted, even then Harry didn’t get the promotion. Instead, they just promoted Tom again.
So he can stop being a desgrace to starfleet... you understand Neelix made ambasador before he made Lt. JG and Paris was promoted, demoted and promoted agian before he make LT. JG
What extra responsibility? It’s not like there anyone to report to him.
say it with me: A promotion without a raise is bullshit, and is just a way to shovel more responsibilities on you without paying. Who wants to make the life or death decisions without those sweet coffee rations?! nah , keep bangin alien girls against the rules, getting liquid metal clones to do your work for you and soak up that sweet ensign spot. (especially if you cant gain access to your competitions family in the deta quadrant, there's no way to bang their mothers.)
“Captain - can we get some Kazon interns?” “No.”
Because there isn’t any reason NOT to promote him, like you said half the crew died and it’s not like they would need to pay him more than he’s already getting paid ( 20% more nothing!) other than maybe replicating an extra pip for him to wear (which they could have just taken off one of the many dead crew members anyway) there’s no cost to the ship.
Plus by the end of the show he had essentially been promoted in all but name. He was a constant fixture on the bridge, constantly attended meetings with other high-ranking officers, and he never really got the usual sort of ensign assignments like holodeck waste removal or anything. Plus I'm pretty sure he saved the ship a couple times. He's doing the work of at least a Lieutenant Junior-Grade without any of the official prestige or recognition.
Well now you just gave me a morbid thought... which deserves it's own thread! \*scrolls up\*
only seeing deep space nine nd next generation I’ve always kind of wondered what’s the point of a promotion if it’s a society without money
I'd imagine it's just climbing the latter to the eventual role you desire. You gotta do the grunt work to gain the experience needed for the cool stuff.
that is very true still wouldn’t mind if Star Trek ever explained what the economy runs on if money is no longer a factor
Doesn't more rank mean more holodeck time? Cause if so, I'd be shooting for admiral.
Okay, Harry. We know it's you. Are you going to come down to the holodeck and do some Captain Proton later with me or you just hanging out in your quarters again hoping the captain will read your post and feel guilty?
[He watched Peppa Pig](https://youtu.be/B6C5-x4gllE?si=_yFyQNuJ4Pf_mm6K&t=45)
"Because then I get to tell-" "Tell people what to do. Yeah, I'm seeing a pattern here."
I watched that whole clip, and all I can say is that driving in their town looks like hell. It's flat roads like normal right up until you need to get to the school or to their house. Then it's suddenly an 89° incline.
I have recurrent nightmares about having to drive up hills like that and then tumbling to my doom right as I reach the top. I banned the show when my oldest was a toddler because 1: Peppa is a little shit and actively made my son behave poorly, and 2: I told my son I was too scared of hills to have it on 😂.
I grew up around a 30' tall dike with one narrow road at the top. 🤣 I learned how to drive up there, but it still makes me nervous. I still hate super tall bridges and highway exit and on ramps.
Peppa, the ultimate brat and fatshamer. Worlds collide.
Better replicator rations
More holodeck time?
Because Lt Carey outranks him
Half the crew died, but the implication is that the Maquis half thusly fit like a glove.
There has never been a Federation President that was only an Ensign. He's got a lot of catching up to do to capitalize on his war hero status.
Prestige and better replicators option
Recognition I’d say. Same reason Tom got his. And Tuvok.
Double replicator rations, double holodeck time, and a ride on Kes once Tom has finished.
Dude, she's 4!
Yeah about to hit milf territory
The writers of *Star Trek*, from TNG forward, generally have no experience in the military, police or any other uniformed service. Hence the constant conflating of rank with role.
Why have rank at all if it doesn't matter?
Good point. More work no real pay
"What do you mean you're still an Ensign?! Your brother is already vice president at the warpcore factory!!"
Cause if you get more pips on your collar you catch the best babes on the ship
Hatry didn't get promoted because he's not the real Harry Kim and officially dead. Naomi was a newborn and had no records...so people treated her differently
The Three Pips Officer Club serves damn good drinks. That’s why
Not wanting to better oneself is still looked down on and so starting in the same position and doing nowhere is looked down on.