One of the most clear-headed and consistent critics of the growing criminality of the American right isn’t a journalist for a paper of record or well-regarded news organization, but former Star Trek star George Takei. The actor has not been shying away from raising his voice on a number of pressing political issues, whether it is boycotting Marjorie Taylor Greene’s controversial TV appearance or schooling bigots spewing their non-sensical anti-LGBTQ+ views. The latest subject of Takei’s brutally honest takes is Justice Clarence Thomas who is currently facing a wave of corruption allegations.
Takei has previously commented on the unsurprising news that Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t disclose a number of incredibly expensive gifts from Republican donor and billionaire Harlan Crow. These presents included rides on Crow’s private jet, exotic holidays worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even a bronze statue of one of Thomas’s favorite teachers. So, just regular judge stuff.
While the allegations against Thomas are being debated, Takei has subtly taunted what future would have awaited the judge had he been living in the world of Star Trek.
While Takei has posted more serious takes about all of this corruption, and the well-founded accusations against Thomas are incredibly troubling, the man who played Sulu has also put his criticisms into more tongue and cheek terms, making them more relevant to the show that made him famous. Of course, the Star Trek universe has always had a moral and progressive soul, from Uhura and Kirk’s famous interracial kiss to the introduction of a non-binary character in the third season of Star Trek: Discovery, so it makes sense that it works well as a framework to criticize the current state of American politics, which is growing more polarized, hateful, and driven by dark money by the day.
Obviously, those in the comments couldn’t help seconding and even adding to the actor’s justified musings.
Fans have responded well to this reframing of the issue, chiming in with their own opinions about what would happen to someone with as much power as Thomas if they behaved this way in Star Trek. And, frankly, it’s very hard to disagree with what they’re saying.
Some fans advocated sending the corrupt judge to Rura Penthe, the famous Klingon penal colony also sometimes known as “the alien’s graveyard.” Others went for more humorous suggestions, including sending Thomas to the pleasure planet Risa just to get him out of our collective hair — something Judge Thomas probably wouldn’t argue against based on the allegations leveled against him by his ex-girlfriend.
A few fans even compared Thomas unfavorably to the Ferengi, who were famously misogynistic, profit-driven, and completely shameless. A pretty relevant criticism, all things considered.
While we’re yet to see if Thomas will actually face any censuring for his blatantly unethical behavior, we can at least hope that in a strange new world somewhere, conservatives would have gone where no conservative has gone before and put integrity over party politics. Maybe one day it will happen here, too.