Divide and Destroy: The Illogical Engine of Bigotry
We launch the “Classic TV” arc with Star Trek: TOS and the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." We analyze Lokai and Bele to show how arbitrary bigotry is constructed. Hatred is engineered by the powerful to keep the masses divided and fighting horizontally over meaningless differences, distracting us from the real (vertical) problems. We discuss why refusing to participate in the dumb binary of hate is the highest form of civic courage.
Key Takeaways: Hatred is not born from logic; it is engineered. The highest act of resistance is refusing to play the zero-sum game of hate.
Next Week: The Twilight Zone - The Monster on My Block.
If you want the deeper analysis, the bonus content, and the high-level tools, join our community now! When you become a member, you get two crucial things:
Access to our weekly deep-dive newsletter—which gives you the articles, history, and tools to protect your sanity every Thursday.
Access to all member-exclusive bonus episodes (more deep dives, more context, more hope!).
Support the mission (Patreon/Substack) by visiting the link below:
DIVE DEEPER: The Word to the Wise Bookshelf
Want the full reading list and historical context for the issues discussed on the show? Support independent bookstores and the show by checking out Tasha's curated bookshelf on Bookshop.org. Visit the link below to dive deeper!
CONNECT WITH US
Keep the conversation going! Follow Tasha and join the discussion:
@culturefirstalways on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram.
A NOTE ON OUR SCHEDULE
To maintain the high quality of research and analysis you've come to expect, I build a planned break into the schedule once each major arc is complete. This pause allows me to get ahead on writing and research for the next deep-dive series. I always return in two weeks with a brand-new arc and fresh content!
Members only experience a one week break because of the BONUS episode.
Music: www.purple-planet.com
Sound Effect by https://pixabay.com/users/coffeebagaudiolab-45379767/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=231471">Sakshamm Dhingraa from https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=231471">Pixabay
Transcript:Divide and Destroy- The Illogical Engine of Bigotry
Latasha Pierce What's up friends? And welcome back to Culture First Democracy Always and we are back and refreshed from that short planned pause that we had. We're kicking off a brand new arc of episodes. This one is classic TV deep dives. We're talking about finding timeless political lessons in the shows that shaped our childhoods, or at least mine, at least my childhood. Today, we're launching straight into one of the sharpest, most unapologetic political allegories ever put on TV the Star Trek Original Series episode Let that Be your last Battlefield. Now, this episode gives us a direct, uncompromising look at how bigotry works. It shows us how a system of hatred is built on differences that are so arbitrary they're downright silly, but they fuel a lifetime of destructive conflict. We're talking about how racism is designed to be illogical, yet completely all consuming. And of course, I got a roadmap. This is where we're going today. First, we'll meet Lokai and Biel and analyze their conflict, a perfect chilling allegory for why identity politics and deep seated bigotry make no rational sense. Next, we'll look at how this hatred paralyzes progress and isolates communities, forcing them to remain focused on the fight instead of the future. Then we'll connect this fictional fight to real world political strategies that thrive on racial division and us versus them beefs. Finally, we're going to talk about how we find a way to step outside the absurd binary and refuse to let the past destroy our future. Part one, The Allegory of Arbitrary Hatred. Okay, let's set the scene. The enterprise rescues two aliens, Lokai and Biel, from the planet Cheron. They look identical to the enterprise crew, but they belong to two different sides of an age old civil war, a conflict that has destroyed their entire civilization. Now, uh, spoiler alert. The only difference between them is the color pattern on their skin. See, Loki's face is black on the right side and white on the left. Bill's face is white on the right side and black on the left. That's it. That's the entire difference.
Now to Captain Kirk and Spock and the enterprise crew. This s**t is ridiculous, right? But to Lokai and Bill, this is an existential fundamental life or death difference. They are absolutely consumed by their hatred for each other based on which side is black and which is white for Bill. Loki's people, the other color configuration, are the inferior ones who should be enslaved for Lokai. Bill is the oppressor who must be destroyed. This, my friends, is a chillingly pure allegory for how bigotry, racism, and arbitrary hatred are constructed. The difference they are fighting over is absolutely meaningless. It's only the system, the cultural, historical, and political structure built around that That difference that gives it power. it's designed to be illogical. And if you can train people to hate someone because their skin is shaded differently, you can train them to hate someone because they wear a different hat, speak a different language, vote for a different party. the political elite don't care about the difference. They only care that the difference exists and that that difference can be exploited to keep the masses divided in fighting each other. So I guess our takeaway from this part of this episode is that hatred is not born from logic. Hatred is engineered by the powerful to make the arbitrary seem absolute. And once that framework is in place, the fighting becomes the purpose. Part two paralyzed by the past. The real tragedy of Sharon isn't just the fight, it's the paralysis. This ancient hatred has consumed everything on their planet, preventing any and all progress. Now, when Loki and Bill board the enterprise, they still can't stop fighting, even as Captain Kirk keeps trying to explain that their home planet is now entirely officially dead. They are so fixated on their grievances and their revenge that they are literally running toward the destruction of the only two people left of their civilization themselves. Their hatred is more important than their survival. Now, this is what happens when systemic bigotry is allowed to run unchecked. The fighting becomes the destination. It's not an obstacle. The system doesn't produce progress. It only produces constant conflict. When political leaders today constantly try to drag us back to historical slights, culture wars, racial divisions from decades ago, they're doing it for the same reason to paralyze the present. Think about the time. Think about the energy that goes into fighting over things that truly don't matter. While the systems that affect us all like health care, environmental policy, housing, all of those things go ignored. The focus remains on which arbitrary difference is superior, rather than on working together for a common future. You know, there are people who think that they are, by right, better than the person of another race, or they think that they are superior by right than a person of a different sexual orientation. All of that is stopping us from working on that brighter future. So this week, I'm going to ask y'all to pay attention to the news cycle. We're going to look at the issues that arise and see which ones seem designed to divide people based on some non-essential difference, which ones are just consuming our time and energy, the energy and time that could be spent solving real community problems. I'd like to hear your examples. We need to practice being able to see that distraction. Part three The real world playbook. Okay, so we talked about Loci and Bill and Sharon and the enterprise and Kirk and Spock and all of my faves. Let's connect Loci and Bill's absurd story to our own political landscape in our own world. Political strategies often rely on arbitrary hatred to maintain power. And when one side uses racial dog whistles or creates boogeyman out of immigrant groups, they are essentially telling us, hey, look at the pattern on their skin. Their difference is the cause of all of your problems. And this is a classic authoritarian tactic. Divide and conquer. If black and white working class people are busy fighting over statues, or who has the right historical grievance, they won't unite to demand fair wages, better schools, better health care from the ruling class. This strategy ensures that the anger is always misdirected toward a perceived peer. The other color pattern instead of the people in charge, the leaders on the planet of Sharon, the oppressors rely on the oppressed, focusing all their energy and anger horizontally against each other, rather than vertically against the structures of power. Imagine what we could accomplish three hundred and forty some odd million people strong, if we directed our rage towards the billionaires at the top of the food chain. Imagine. So this means we must resist the urge to let the political system define our value based on an arbitrary difference. We have to recognize when we're being pitted against a manufactured enemy, so that the real problems which are unaccountable power, corporate control, voter suppression, the billionaire class, all of that s**t is still flourishing in the shadows. The highest act of resistance is refusing to play the zero sum game of hate. Part four. Stepping outside the binary. So as we discussed, the episode ends kind of tragically, loci and Bill crashed back into the atmosphere of their dead planet, still chasing each other, consumed by their hatred, even though their fight is now meaningless. These people could not let it go. So the final, crucial lesson of let that be your last battlefield is that we have to choose to step outside the binary. We have to look at the absurdity of the conflict and decide that our shared future is more important than our historical grievance. No matter how justified that grievance may be. This is not to say that you didn't have a good reason to be upset. But at some point we have to set that aside. It takes actually immense courage to tell yourself, yes, that pain is real, but I will not let it paralyze my ability to build a coalition. That is the only way we get out of the mess that we're finding ourselves in. It means choosing the difficult path of unity and demanding accountability from the folks up top, rather than indulging in the easy satisfaction of tearing down a perceived enemy who looks slightly different. The hope always lies in the present. We cannot let the past be the battlefield that destroys our future. We have to look at the ridiculousness, acknowledge the systems that exploit it, and refuse to participate in our own destruction. Well, thank you for joining me today on this journey. If you like what you heard, please subscribe, leave a review and share this with your friends. We can grow this platform together and we can keep having these conversations. Now as a reminder, if you want a deeper dive, the historical analysis, the articles on arbitrary division and politics, the reading list. Join the community for my Thursday newsletter, drop. You can find the link to subscribe in the show notes. You can also connect with me on social media, Bluesky, Threads and Instagram at Culture First always so we can keep building this community together because per usual, it's culture first. Democracy always.
