NERD CRIMINALS OF THE WEEK: FIGHT OVER BEST SCI FI
by Hazed
Which is best – Star Wars or Star Trek? That’s the kind of pointless argument science fiction fans have been enjoying for years, but no matter how passionate the participants get, it’s usually all a bit of fun. But a recent dispute that centred on this decades-long conflict turned violent, and almost became deadly.
Jerome Whyte from Oklahoma started arguing with a friend, Bradley Burk, about which series was better. The friend decided he’d had enough so walked back to his room in the apartment. But Whyte followed him and shoved him to the ground, then started to choke him. As Burk started to pass out he pulled out a pocket knife, which lead Whyte to let go; when Whyte grabbed for the knife he cut himself so he stopped attacking Burk and left the room.
Whyte was later arrested for assault and battery as well as possession of marijuana and outstanding warrants.
In case you are interested, Whyte was the Star Trek fan while Burk favoured Star Wars.
That goes against what William Shatner said when he heard about the dispute: “My guess is that both were Star Wars fans. Here’s my reasoning: What Star Trek fan carries a pocket knife? and Star Trek fans are nice – they don’t go after someone and try to choke them. Choke hold is a Darth Vader move. Therefore it was probably two Star Wars fans arguing over how great Star Trek is,” he said.
I love the fact that The Register illustrates this story with a picture not of Star Wars, or Star Trek, but of Babylon 5 (which is, of course, better than Star Trek and Star Wars).
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/07/men_argue_over_star_trek_v_star_wars/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/man-arrested-after-star-wars-vs-star-trek-feud-became-a-1796712809