Assignment 22: Fictional Character, Fictional Life Tora Sellers

Last Saturday, I was listening to NPR and heard that Leonard Nimoy had passed away the previous day. It was during this commentary on Nimoy’s most famous character, Spock, that I realized that the pointy-eared USS Enterprise crew member was a biracial character. Because of Mr. Spock’s distinctly non-human ears and devotion to logic, I had always thought of him as a Vulcan. In reality however, Spock faces discrimination from both humans and Vulcans. All those around him can only see the differences between Spock and themselves. To me, this represented my own struggle with racial identity and discrimination because no matter where I go, I am the outsider. I’m somehow “different” to everybody despite how many similarities I have with people. If I am in the U.S., I am the skinny Asian kid that people use to copy their math homework from. If I am in Japan, I suddenly undergo a transformation and become the scary, stupid white kid. And if I am anywhere else, I am the minority of the people’s choosing. Japanese people have become the Vulcans to my Spock because they see only weakness and intellectual inferiority, and so I constantly receive unrequested handicaps from my peers. It is also nearly impossible for me to get a job because my last name is written in Katakana, so the employers would reject my application immediately no matter how low level the job is; assuming that a foreigner like me is incapable of performing any task to the satisfaction of the “superior” Japanese worker. Americans on the other hand, are like Captain Kirk. They don’t outright reject me, but they are distrustful, often judgmental, and will sometimes be prejudice when interacting with me. Although technically I am a welcome member of the crew, the traits that make me different are at the forefront of everybody’s consciousness. Mr. Spock’s ability not to be deterred by a constant racial prejudice from all sides amazes me. I wish I could forgive society for alienating me, knowing that racism is entirely illogical. Better yet, I wish I could live in a world with is so little discrimination that the idea of Spock being biracial is insignificant. Even though Leonard Nimoy is no longer with us, thanks to his portrayal of a revolutionary character, his legacy with live long and prosper.