Dancing With Myself

[Julie Lei]

"Well, where I come from... Cardassia never lost Bajor and the Federation didn't exist, not as you know it." Julie shrugged her shoulders. "But I do agree, humans even in this century claim to be 'evolved' and 'enlightened' but in reality they're just better at hiding their xenophobia. Especially if you don't look like them. Vulcans, some Romulans, Trill, Betazoids, Deltans they can look human enough with the right hair style. But when you start getting... into more alien biology like Klingons, Andorians, Cardassians, Ferengi... then it's far easier to start going 'us vs them'." Julie gestured with her hand. "In the end every single one of you manage to piss someone off and it's soooo easy to hate and get intolerant. Even among us Terrans. Hell, can even be the same color, race and ethnic origin, but just simply what splot of land you grew up on makes you enviable of hate. This universe's Julie used to live in a place called Chicago and her husband grew up in Wisconsin and apparently there was a centuries old bitter rivalry between the two states which are literally across from each other, like barely an hour's car ride and yet one side calls the other F.I.B's... Fuckin' Illinois Bastards or 'Flatlanders' since that state is so flat. And then others as beer swilling Cheeseheads. Packers versus the Bears. Yet another reason why Julie's father never quite liked Nicholas. Because NIcholas is a cheesehead and thus deserving of some modicum of hate. Which we all think IS incredibly stupid. Even for Terrans."