Instead we get a story where clandestine activities and imperial expansion are OK if the Federstion "good guys" do it, but evil if the Romulan "bad guys" resist the take over using the same methods.

The idea a race other than humans might likewise find Vulcan emotional repression stifling and unbearable and would be justified in saying no to it, is never shown on screen. It's not even considered for a moment.

Ambassador Spock's covert activities are framed as heroic action, the Romulan covert activities are framed as villainous pairs.

The erasure of Romulan culture by gradual conversion to Vulcan culture is implied to be a move towards freedom, the adoption of Romulan culture by Vulcans oppression.

What kind of Ambassador works in secret to strengthen a rebel group and manipulate a foreign government's legislators into accepting regime change? A secret agent sent to cause a regime change in one of the Federations adversaries into something more easily controlled by the Federation.

The equivalent counter-culture of Vulcans who adopt Romulan culture isn't shown. We are led to believe it doesn't exist by simple omission.

The plot focuses on this group of rebels because Ambassador Spock is with them. Not meeting openly with the Romulan government for negotiations.

Romulans in charge of Vulcan is framed as horror to be stopped at all costs.

It must be taken by force, because surely there are no Vulcans who would willingly adopt aspects of Romulan culture.

A counter culture of Romulans with fascination in Vulcan culture is portrayed in a sympathetic light.

I can add to this.

In Reunification, reuniting the Romulan and Vulcan peoples is seen as a good thing but only if the Romulans adopt Vulcan culture and the Vulcans and those sympathetic to them come out on top and in control of the merged political entity.

I'm noticing a pattern of middle-aged probably white, probably males, having a problem with language in otherwise fun works of entertainment, giving off suspiciously alt-right signals.

Not inclined to give any benefit of the doubt. Suspect the worst possible motives possible behind this.

So if the government rules on language in daytime television were looser back then? Would the writers of TNG, DS9, VOY used words like "fuck" at the appropriate moment?

Without a doubt.

Old trek had to abide by FCC rules of the 90s which people seem to not know about anymore. The government allowed ONLY ONE cuss word per hour of daytime television.

So the writers waited for the best moment to strike with their single allotted "damn" or "shit" per episode.

TNG struggled to find a compelling villain - Q, the Ferengi, the Romulans, the Borg, Lore - rather than just accepting itself as an episodic sci-fi that used the starship as a vehicle to go from story to story, and even into the movies - the Borg Queen, Picard's Clone.

I really feel the problem starts in early TNG when a building Romulan plot thread was aborted by a writers strike. When the writers came back they dropped that like it never happened for the Borg.

Its tempting to lay the blame at the feet of Nemesis with its whole bad guy destroys the Romulan empire in a day plot, which STO continued and Picard continued, but you make a good case treating the Romulans as "bad-guy-of-the-week" much earlier in TNG started the pattern.

I just want you to know this is the post that got my attention to your stuff. I've seen Federation fans talk about how it would work, and Klingon fans go whole hog into Klingon culture, but never a Romulan fan writing from a Romulan perspective. It's a fresh new take to me.

Why are they rigging surveys to get the answer they want if they already know the answer is going to be no? Why even bother asking if the intent is to ignore the answers?