I’ve been doing my best to brush off concerns of anti-semitism with the Ferengi. But when, in The Nagus, we see a cabal of business owners reciting the “Ferengi Rules of Acquisition” (not the Protocols of Zion) I finally had to do some google searches. After spending time on stormfront.org and other neo-nazi sites, I found myself a little sick to my stomach. And, yes, most of the people who play Ferengi (which, allegedly, is based on the Arabic word for foreigner, Al-Ferengi or something — remember, I got that tidbit on a White Supremacy site, so who knows?) have last names like Schimerman, Eisenberg etc.
A guest in The Nagus is Wallace Shawn – he is Grand Nagus Zek – the Godfather of the Ferengi Illuminati. PC concerns aside, this is a fabulous and hilarious episode. I love the Ferengi, so I enjoyed learning more about their culture in this one. Lovable Quark winds up as temporary “Nagus” and there is much amusement. Wallace Shawn will be back for more in future episodes. Good stuff.
