Republicans Hated Leonard Nimoy? Conservative Writer Blasts ‘Appeasing, Arrogant Jerk’ Mr. Spock
The outpouring of tributes to beloved actor Leonard Nimoy has been overwhelming and heartwarming since the man best known as Star Trek‘s “Mr. Spock” passed away at age 83 on February 27. But after United States President Barack Obama joined the chorus, publicly stating his own love for Mr. Spock, at least one Republican writer suddenly decided that though he always thought he was a huge fan of Spock — he really hated him, after all.
Mark Continetti, a writer for the conservative Washington Free Beacon news site, said in a column published Friday — one week after Nimoy’s death — that he had already been trying to figure out why he didn’t care that Nimoy had succumbed to heart disease, but when Obama made his statement praising the various virtues of Nimoy’s most famous character, it suddenly all came into focus.
Apparently, Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock reminded Cantinelli of Obama himself, in the columnist’s words, “an appeasing, arrogant jerk.”
Here was Obama’s statement about the passing of Leonard Nimoy.
“Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek‘s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.
“I loved Spock.”
“As I thought more about the president’s statement, I realized he identifies with the very aspects of the Spock character that most annoy me,” he wrote. “I don’t love Spock at all.”
Going on to label Spock a “peacenik” and “an arrogant emotional basket case,” Continetti launches into a lengthy analysis of the series of Star Trek films — largely ignoring the 79 episodes of the original Star Trek TV series, not to mention the additional 20 animated Star Trek episodes in which Leonard Nimoy provided the voice of Spock.
His conclusion?
“Spock spends most of his life as a freelancing diplomat eager to negotiate with the worst enemies of Starfleet. He’s the opposite of a role model: a cautionary tale.”
Continetti seems particularly offended that Mr. Spock, despite having a human mother and Vulcan father, shows no desire to identify himself as “human.”
“Obama likes this selfish jerk? The coolness the president so appreciates in Spock is a thin veneer over a remarkably arrogant and off-putting detachment from human suffering,” Continetti declares.
Finally, Continetti concludes his anti-Spock/anti-Obama rant, saying, “It will take America some time to recover from the legacy of our Spock-loving president — though probably not as long as it will take my friends to stop laughing at me for writing this column.”
Even ardent Leonard Nimoy fans will likely agree with Continetti on that final point.
[Image: Paramount Pictures]
