r/TNG

Man of the people- Episode

Why/why not

This has been bugging me bad for a few weeks now, and I know if I try to even hint at this in any of the Trek facebook groups, it won't get approved. Figured I'd give it a shot with the more open minded community here on Reddit, because I really need to know how to process this.

Quick update for those of you who might be out of the loop: Tracee Coco (Lt. Jae on TNG, famous for dozens of appearances but never(?) speaking) has been strugging for a while with the bank vs her mother's estate. A little over a week ago, she lost the case, and is now literally facing homelessness. She's been sharing a gofundme for the past week on her own page and in a few groups.

So here's my conundrum:

There are 5 members of the TNG cast who have a combined total net worth of about 300 million. I am 99% certain (maybe with the exception of Patrick Stewart) that all of these guys have seen her situation evolve, and heard the most recent news either directly through social media or their own personal networks.

I'm not wealthy by any means. It's all I can do to keep up the energy to support my family and shoehorn in a budget for anything other than basic necessities ... but if my net worth surpassed 7 digits, and I had worked with her on that show, toured with her for decades of conventions etc ... none of us would even be hearing about her troubles right now. If I had 10 million dollars in any form, she'd be set for at least 6 months with my f**king pocket change.

Instead, crickets. No podcast mentions, no "thoughts and prayers" from fellow TNG vets, literally nothing. Frakes and Spiner are paying her rent times 5 every time they do a podcast, and it hits their wallet the literal exact same way that a few gallons of gas hits the average person. For me, "WTF?" is not sufficient.

This isn't a rant. This is me pleading for my inner Trekkie's life. I've always loved Trek, but in the last 10 years I've really dove into the community. I've met so many cast members, watched so many podcasts, attended conventions all over the country, and really have bought into the vibe that there's something different about Trekkie culture. It's not just a bunch of nerds lining up for autographs. It's a massive safe space for so many people to express themselves and their enthusiasm for the franchise, and I've always felt such a strong sense of support and good faith between everyone, cast and fans alike. I've never felt treated like just a fan, or just someone else in costume. There seems to be a lot of mutual respect. It seemed like a place where what we're seeing with Coco simply wouldn't happen. But here we are, and with this the emotional and social foundations of what the fan culture of Trek has meant to me is cracking.

So please, anyone who can honestly offer some information I may not understand because I'm not stinking rich enough, or something about the dynamic between Coco and the rest of the cast that causes this blind eye scenario ... ANYTHING that explains this, please drop a comment, because the bad taste of this whole situation has one of my feet out the door.

TL;DR: While a handful of TNG actors have net worth in the 10s of millions, one of their beloved co-stars is facing homelessness and has hardly raised 8k in 2 weeks on gofundme. How do I maintain faith in the entire "specialness" of the Trek fan/cast culture that I've loved for years after seeing such a heartless, confusing scenario amongst them play out in real time?

Thanks in advance.