Uh, spoilers I guess for TNG season 2 generally and TMoaM specifically.

We're watching TNG for the first time (not counting seeing random out of order episodes when my aunt was watching me decades ago) and so far season 2 is definitely better, but the dehumanization of Data has been driving me up a wall.

This fuckin doctor who isn't Beverly Crusher consistently treating him like a thing and even being smug about it as she learns that she's wrong was bad enough to start with

But now we have this asshole calling him "it" repeatedly and saying that he's Starfleet property, doing the "well if one of Data's best friends doesn't make a sincere argument that he's a nonperson, I'll just immediately declare that he's a nonperson" etc.

Just unreal "justice system" brain worms. Oh is the question of whether this individual, who clearly has feelings and desires, deserves to have literally any personal rights more fitting for "saints and philosophers" you dumb lawyer hog

And finally the smug science nerd space fascist right here.

This guy's insistence that in spite of not understanding Data's construction at all basically, he should be allowed to vivisect him and poke around in his brain was absurd. Like, once people start asking him any questions about his plans for the experiment he immediately makes it clear that he doesn't know shit and hasn't considered the dangers to Data at all. The moment during the trial when Picard demands that he distinguish the traits that Picard demands has and Data lacks that makes only Picard sentient and he whines that the question is "difficult" holy shit I was funing. He loses the court case obviously but frankly I am mad that (and I know that TNG isn't this show) nobody shot him in the head with a phaser.