Which threat would be greate in a fictional setting: human suprematics or militaristic aliens?

[BohandiAnsoid]

Assume that humanity made contact with militaristic, expansionist species that are not outright hostile to humans, but the contact caused a rise of a powerful political faction/organization that is human supremacist and tells that all resources, on Earth and otherwise, should belong to humans. Which threat, aliens or human, would the governments consider greater and which more immediate?

Assume that we do have slightly more advanced technology than today, maybe better energy generation (stable fusion generators with positive net energy) and maybe primitive FTL drives that warp space (so it takes about a week to get to Alpha Centauri. And we make a contact with some aliens that have a colony there (on Alpha Centauri). Aliens are militaristic and expansionist, but do not want to attack humans and are happy to trade. However, their presence do cause a rise of an ideological organization that is human supremacist. Said organization has both criminal and political connection and, although no connections can be proven, is suspected of helping in organized crime and even terrorist attacks. And their rhetorics do sway many humans. Which one of them do you thin kis a greater threat, and which one is a more immediate one? Human supremacists or these aliens? In this fictional setting, I mean.

 

[Dee1891]

Considering the aggressive nature of humanity, I think the latter should be portrayed as militaristic and expansionist. Are there any other sci-fi stories that portray Humans as aggressive and a threat, aside from "Avatar"?

 

[WarpTenLizard]

I've been planning to use human supremacists as the main villains of a scifi story for decades, but I should absolutely not be the only one to do so.

The mere existence of the alien invasion genre shows our true nature. We fear genocide and enslavement from aliens because we know it's what we'd do in their place. Add to that the "Humans are speshul!" trope in scifi, where humans are just the most unique and admirable species in the universe. We're a violently egotistical species.

Sorry to sound like a misanthrope here. I don't think all humans are evil. But I do think humans should be portrayed as the militant tyrants far more in scifi.

 

[Mudd]

But I do think humans should be portrayed as the militant tyrants far more in scifi.

Because aliens represent so much of the book-buying public?

 

[Dee1891]

Because aliens represent so much of the book-buying public?

Because I believe it would be more faithful to human nature.

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

Well, there may be alines that think at least least somehat like humans. And expansionistic and militanristic doesn;t nessesaryli mean viollent (especially to each other) or genocidal.

 

[Set Harth]

Because aliens represent so much of the book-buying public?

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

I do portray my humans as militant...

 

[FredH]

Realistically, any aliens we run into are statistically likely to be far older than us (because we’re so young, compared to the age of the galaxy), and therefore technologically undefeatable, the movies notwithstanding. So it’s technically true that militaristic aliens are the greater threat if they exist (because THEY WIN), but it makes more sense to talk about human supremacists as a threat, because that’s something you can actually fight against with a hope of defeating it.

EDIT: In the case of the OP, if I’m understanding it correctly, if the aliens aren’t interested in attacking us, then the human supremacists are the greater threat. But if the aliens are expansionist, why don’t they want to take our system, along with whomever else they’re conquering?

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

I have a feeling human supremacists may be a greater threat since they can cause aliens to become a threat, don't you think?

 

[Nerys Myk]

I have a feeling human supremacists may be a greater threat since they can cause aliens to become a threat, don't you think?

Depends on the story. Write it the way you want. It's your story,

 

[BohandiAnsoid]

I've been "doing what I want" for such a long time that it is no fun anymore. I want to discuss it.

 

[SoullessMinion]

Well, my first question is: a greater threat to whom? The government? Humanity as a whole? The aliens? The galactic community? Is there a galactic community that can be destabilized?

Questions that I don't need the answer to, but might help you figure this out: What is your story about? I don't mean a plot summary or a character list. What are you trying to say? Is it about critiquing supremacy, or expansionism or militarism? Are your protaganists facing an existential threat or a philosophical one (or both)?

I wish you the best of luck in writing your story.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Because aliens represent so much of the book-buying public?

Fiction doesnt have to stroke the reader's ego. Scifi least of all.

 

[theenglish]

Considering the aggressive nature of humanity, I think the latter should be portrayed as militaristic and expansionist. Are there any other sci-fi stories that portray Humans as aggressive and a threat, aside from "Avatar"?

Dune.

More recently, Some Desperate Glory recently won the Hugo.

 

[Set Harth]

Dune.

That's mainly humans being aggressive and a threat to each other. There are no sapient alien races to be conquered in Dune, so it's really not the same kind of thing.