It is difficult to form an opinion on Ensign Ro Laren that feels right, in the moral sense. What to do with a character that has undergone years of unimaginable abuse throughout her developing years due to a race war. Her fluctuating loyalties and motives, buried and muddled by anger towards both the Cardassians and Federation alike, make her an entirely unpredictable character. In the end, however, Ro Laren is not admirable or groundbreaking. She has so much potential which was only utilized during her last episode on The Next Generation. The other episodes she appeared on portrayed Ro as a passive being despite her anger and impulsiveness, and glazed over the impacts of her time in Cardassian work camps.

Ro Laren is first introduced to the Next Gen cast as a dangerous, untrustworthy officer whose anger lead to the death of eight members of her team in a previous assignment and earned her a court martial then subsequently jail. The episode “Ensign Ro” is dedicated to Ro’s background, culture, and source of her aggression; it is the one and only success regarding her character until her last appearance. Ro is moody and closed off at first, with most of the conflict surrounding her coming from other characters. She repeatedly is forced to defend her culture and prove that she is not a villain. Ro wears a particular piece of jewelry, typically not allowed by the Federation: a traditional Bajoran earring. Additionally, her name is traditionally ordered with the family name first and given name last. She explains that this is an unusual decision for Bajorans off-world and that it shows her pride in her heritage. This is the point of where the morality of her character becomes twisted. Bajor, Ro’s home world, had been occupied by the ambitious Cardassian race. Conditions on Bajor when Ro grew up were horrendous with the Cardassians attempting genocide of the Bajorans through false political statements to the Federation, planet-wide food shortages, and deadly work camps (“Preemptive Strike”). Because of the Federation’s non-interference policy, nothing was done about the occupation until the Cardassians reluctantly abandoned the planet due to internal problems. It was only then that the Federation arrive on Bajor and set themselves up as “savior” of the Bajoran people, assimilating the traumatized population into their ranks and discouraging displays of Bajoran culture (“Emissary”). Understandably, Ro Laren harbors a literally violent hatred for Cardassians and the Federation, particularly Humans. This means that her seemingly admirable and defiant show of Bajoran traditions is racist* in a Federation setting such as service on the Enterprise D.

Is Ro allowed to display racism towards Humans even though she chose to serve in the Federation which requires assimilation? Can the Federation’s labeling of Ro as dangerous and insubordinate be trusted if it is trying to “save” her people through suppressing their culture? Are Ro’s mysterious and violent actions while in the Federation, which had previously cause the death of 8 member of her mission team, in any way justifiable? Can Ro be expected to separate herself from her trauma? Is her racism excusable?

Ro’s complicated character has earned her sympathy despite her blatant hatred of Humans and outright violence towards Cardassians. Weaponizing Bajoran traditions to be a method of insubordination and clear display of aggression towards the Federation has, in many cases, earned Ro the title of “strong female character”. Her questionable morality and unrestrained anger cannot be denied, however. Her potential to be a catalyst for questions of race in Gene Roddenberry’s utopia vision of the future was clearly established in the first episode she appeared in, as discussed. Unfortunately, Ro fades to nothing more than an abrasive background character until her last appearance on the show which allows Ro to act out on her racially based anger by joining a Bajoran terrorist organization (“Preemptive Strike”)

*Racism in this context shifts in meaning. Currently, on Earth, racism is systematic oppression. Racism in Star Trek is the generalization of a species that leads to prejudice and antagonism. While on Earth at this time people disenfranchised by systematic racism cannot be “reverse racist” towards the people who stand to benefit from the system, in Star Trek those who are victimized, such as the Bajorans, can still be guilty of prejudiced and discriminatory generalization of species.