I’m still pondering the common argument that “Jedi do nothing about slavery” and I’m honestly just… confused. Where are we ever shown that the Jedi Order is doing nothing about slavery? We aren’t shown them explicitly doing things about slavery either, but given the values of the Order and their role in the galaxy, I think it’s safer to assume they ARE doing something. Eliminating slavery is more complicated than just swooping in, stabbing a slave owner, and running off with a slave.
So, who’s to say that there isn’t a Jedi Knight somewhere helping a leader draft legislation to give women more access to education? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping solve a planet’s problems with income inequality? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping dismantle a planet’s institutionalized racism? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping dismantle a planet’s institutionalized sexism? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere working with survivors of human trafficking? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping design programs to give survivors skills that they can use in a career? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping an organization find ways to house survivors while they recover? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping design therapy programs for survivors? Who’s to say there isn’t a Knight somewhere helping with prison reform?
There are so, so many things that go into solving this complex issue. Who’s to say the Jedi aren’t involved?
so your answer to “why dont the jedi do something about slavery” is… “maybe there’s someone offscreen doing something”?
jedi arent real, you know. like any characters in a story, they only exist to tell the story that we the audience are watching. the only things that matter are the things we’re shown, and what the creators are trying to tell us by showing us the things that they’re showing us. characters arent real people, they’re devices for telling a story. idk if you are aware of that or not
it doesnt matter what some character might be doing if we arent shown it. this isnt real life, this is a story. it’s meant to have a point. a narrative. a plot. and in star wars, the plot doesnt seem very concerned with doing anything about slavery. i wonder why that is? it’s not because of any jedi politics, no, it’s because of the creators’ politics. you know, the people who write the story? surely you know that people write the story, right?
I’m going to assume the best and figure that you’re interested in a genuine discussion about this, since you did come read my thoughts on the issue. I’m not fond of the insults thrown in there though, so if you ARE interested in a genuine discussion, please keep it civil.
the plot doesnt seem very concerned with doing anything about slavery. i wonder why that is? it’s not because of any jedi politics, no, it’s because of the creators’ politics.
Yes, I agree, which is why I don’t understand the “Jedi are evil for not ending slavery” argument. From an out-of-universe standpoint, the first 6 movies were created to tell a story, and the story it’s trying to tell wasn’t focused on slavery. We see only a little bit of what any of the characters do, and only the bits that are relevant to the story being told. The first 6 movies aren’t about slavery, so it doesn’t make much sense for people to call the Jedi evil for not ending slavery any more than calling literally any other group in Star Wars evil for the same thing. We don’t see any Mandalorians ending slavery in the first 6 movies, nor Nubians, etc. and yet no one argues that any other group is evil for it.
If we look at what the Jedi believe and how they are shown to behave, it makes a lot more sense to assume that they ARE doing something about slavery rather than that they aren’t. That’s where the “off-screen” bit comes in, because in saying “the Jedi do nothing about slavery” people typically aren’t arguing “the Jedi aren’t shown to do anything about slavery on-screen” they are very literally arguing that the Jedi don’t do anything about slavery. “Jedi don’t do this on-screen because it wasn’t relevant to the story being told” and “the Jedi don’t do this thing at all and are therefore evil” are two very different arguments.
i’m sorry i insulted the nice space wizards in your favorite movies. they dont mean any harm and theyre definitely very real, you are correct. can you ever forgive me
