How the HUAC Almost Killed Star Trek

As promised, it's story time, kiddos.

The House Unamerican Activities Committee was a special committee to try and ferret out communist influence in America during the early years of the Cold War. It was supposed to look for spies and saboteurs.

Mostly, it went after artists, actors, writers, and film directors for not toeing a certain line when it came to their output. That line, of course, was borderline nationalistic and very pro-business, racist, and misogynist.

We won't go into all the lives the HUAC ruined with their shennanigans. We'll just look at one they tried to ruin. You may have heard of her. A comedian named Lucille Ball.

It's not an understatement to say that if you watched television anytime in the past 50 years, you have been influenced by her and her husband, Desi Arnaz's, work. I Love Lucy almost literally invented the modern television business model. Because Lucy and Desi lived on the west coast while most television broadcasting occurred on the east coast, they were forced to use a little trick to allow them to perform at reasonable hours: they recorded their show on film.

Shows, prior to that, if they were recorded at all, were recorded on a format called kinetoscope. These deteriorated quickly had low fidelity. But being filmed, I Love Lucy was one of the first television shows to last, as they say, for the ages. It also allowed other features that are now a staple of television: re-runs and flashback episodes. One year, during Lucy's pregnancy, they re-aired several episodes with wrap-around segments where the other characters starting off: "Remember that time when Lucy..." Not to mention that just about every sitcom since then has been using recordings of the I Love Lucy audience for their own laugh track!

So why did the HUAC come after America's favorite red-head? Probably a lot of reasons. The fact that the narrative focus of her show was the female character probably helped. The fact that she was openly an happily married to a Cuban immigrant probably contributed. But their ultimate excuse was that during the 30s, her grandfather joined the Communist Party and pressured her to join, too.

So, she was still technically a Communist. Of course, she wasn't spying or sabotaging anything. Public pressure and the support of her husband caused the HUAC to cave in this one instance and let her go. So she was free to continue changing television history.

Here's a lesser known story. Lucy owned a television studio, Deslilu in the 60s, and a script for a show pitched as "Wagon Train to the stars" came across her desk. She didn't understand it, but she somehow knew it had the potential to be great. So she gave the writer the go ahead to make it. Twice! That writer's name: Gene Roddenberry.

So, all you macho Kirk fans, you have a woman to thank for your franchise seeing the light of day. You also need to thank another woman, B-Jo Trimble, and her dedicated letter writing campaign, for keeping it on the air as long as it did.

There are lessons to learn from this story. I trust you, my audience to piece them together. But one I always take from it is going to be the most important as we go forward, and it's the basic message of Trek: Hope.

Draining the Swamp?

As I promised, I'm going to keep an eye on Trump.

News about his transition team and people he's meeting with is changing almost daily at the moment. For example: he recently met with critics and opponents like Tulsi Gabbard and Mitt Romney. Almost as if he's trying to appear reasonable. This should frighten people far more than if he was keeping up the vitriolic rhetoric that many of his followers are still partaking in.

For now, let's look at some close supporters, who, even if they don't get a cabinet post, are going to have some influence. That article is pretty old for the ridiculous 24/7 news cycle we're on these days, but let's look at some: Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, and Newt Gingrich.

Chris Christie. Some of you may know him as the Governor of New Jersey that got outed as a Dallas Cowboys fan. Bear in mind that people in New Jersey, depending on what part of the state they're from, tend to follow the New York teams or the Philadelphia teams. Those of you who pay attention to more substantial news may remember the time he just decided to quarantine a nurse in a parking lot during the Ebola scare. That first point just illustrates the contempt he has for his constituents in his own native state. That second bit should scare anyone who's ever uttered "executive over-reach." Last but not least, bear in mind, Rangers (this blog's term for the rural poor), this is a backeast politician from a highly urbanized state. Do you really think he has your best interests in mind?

Let's move on to another politician from that same mold: Rudy Giuliani. Former Mayor of New York City. "Cleaned up" Times Square. Just happened to be Mayor on 9/11/2001. Here is talking about how he'd make a great Attorney General. He is an experienced attorney, kind of pre-requisite for being an Attorney General. I don't know about you, but it is a little disturbing when he mentions wanting to persecute Hillary Clinton (give up on the fucking, e-mails, assholes!), then backpedals, slightly, when he realizes how dangerous it would be to politicize the job like that. Once again, rich, back east big shot. Do you really think he has your best interests in mind?

Another thing about Rudy, there has been a lot of abuse by law enforcement lately, a lot of it clearly racially motivated, and he sides with law enforcement. I'm not linking to any particular incident. There'll be a new one a day or a week right after I post this. Now, I prefer to believe the best in people. I trust law enforcement officials and advocates when they say, "This is not representative. This is the work of one or two bad apples." What bothers me, as it should bother any reasonable person, is that rather than disciplining or blacklisting these few bad apples, the other officers close ranks around them and protect them. Put a pin in that idea! I plan on coming back to it in a later post.

Last, we come to Newt Gingrich. While the evolving story seems to be that he doesn't really want a cabinet post, he is a close adviser to Trump. So let's look a little at his history. Career Washington politician infamous for partisanship and gridlock. Anyone that remembers the 90s will remember the story of Monica Lewinski. I'd rather not reopen any decades old wounds about it, but it was, at the heart of it all, a show trial about a President's sexual proclivities.

With that show trial in mind, don't think too hard about how he wants to form a new House Unamerican Activities Committee. Those were a dark chapter in our history. Some people think getting banned from Twitter or Facebook are violations of First Amendment rights. Those are junior league. (Especially considering that Twitter and Facebook are privately owned platforms; they can ban anyone they want.) The House Unamerican Activities Committee killed careers and, arguably, any shred of creativity or integrity Hollywood and the press had at that time.

I'm leaving you there, because when I come back, I plan to tell you the secret story of how the HUAC almost killed something near and dear to the heart of every geek and nerd out there: Star Trek.

Before I sign off, all progressives out there: meet Elizabeth Warren. Everything I've read and heard about her is encouraging.

Mission Statement

I have a table-top gaming blog. Last Wednesday, I wrote on there that I don't think geeking and politics should mix. I'm officially retracting that.

Why? Because last Tuesday a narcissistic pathological liar won the highest office in the United States of America on a platform of open racism and sexism. That's not 21st century America. It's 1930s Germany.

John Oliver told his audience before signing off on Sunday is that the worst thing we can let happen is to let that seem normal. I can't, and I won't.

This is a message to the poor, mostly rural whites that are mostly conservative but not as malicious as Trump's rhetoric makes you appear. It's also a message to urban liberals that aren't as condescending as the celebrities on TV make you look.

No More Bubbles

I'm white and well educated. I also live in a poor, rural community. I know the anger on both sides. Benson's job options are a few no-tell motels along the freeway, the city government, a hospital, a mental health facility, and a Walmart. So I know that anger.

But what has my college degree and secondary training in a writing and research intensive field gotten me? Jack all so far. Jobs at call centers? Fuck those. I'd rather work retail customer service and be able to look people in the eye. Either way, I have some expensive pieces of paper that say "Yay! I Did It!" and not a whole lot else. I know that anger.

And for those of you lucky enough to have never experienced it, or better yet, lucky enough to have moved on to a better place in your life and are forgetting that feeling, the anger is bone deep. A Rage, if you will. Something that wants to project outward to make enemies and tear down everything they hold dear. Especially since projecting it inward only tears you apart inside and only makes it harder to find a way to move on.

I'm tired of enemies. I can't alienate the rural poor people I work with. I can't alienate the literate, more urban circles that I'm a part of. I want to understand the anger both feel and channel it.

No More Lies

I lie to myself. I say that because I don't put on a white robe and burn crosses on peoples' lawns, I'm not a racist. I say that because I don't grope women or chant "No means yes. Yes means anal" I'm not sexist. I tell myself that because I'm not part of the problem, that I'm the solution. That's a lie.

Not being part of the problem matters, yes. But it's the first step. It's to say something when I see someone being racist, sexist, anti-semitic, or Islamaphobic. Even someone just passively accepting a line of thinking that's flawed. I've passively accepted it when I've seen it for too long. I can't anymore. The more I tell myself, "It'll change eventually," the more I forget that change needs to be fought for.

And I'm not just going to stop lying to myself. I will strive to research what the politicians on both sides of the aisle, local and national, are saying and catch them in lies. And not just politicians. Business leaders. NGO leaders. Media pundits. Anybody.

No More Dismissal

I know the anger. I know the lies. I can't dismiss the people for believing lies or feeling anger.

So I'm gonna do the best research I can. I have an agenda. Yeah, it's a socially and economically liberal one. I also have a particular voice. Since I started with blogging about table-top role-playing, I'll be couching this one in my familiar language. But if you have a problem with the agenda, if you have a problem with the voice, take a deep breath and CONSTRUCTIVELY tell me what you think and why. I don't want to dismiss you. Please return the favor.

I have a long slog ahead of me. We have a long slog ahead of us.

So the plan going forward?

First, I'm going to keep track of our President Elect as best I can and post as much of the truth about what he is doing as I can.

Second, sometimes I will dig into history and discuss times when politics and geekery mixed, and the tragedies and triumphs that came out of those.

And I'm going to conclude this post with a simple declaration:

Blacks, Hispanics, LGBTQ, Women, Jewish people, Muslims, anyone who isn't a white, Christian male: if the worst happens, and they come for you, they'll have to take me, too. Because I will be standing with you.