Working as a 911 call taker, I had a call from a woman who said, "my friend done fell out". I almost asked, "fell out of what??" When I figured she's need EMS either way and let them take over the call.
God okay I'm just. So fucking tired. So here's a list of resources to educate yourself on issues within Star Wars. In light of the Bad Batch Finale and the announcement of the second season, it's vital that you educate yourself about the racism and other issues present.
Reminder that you cannot be in the middle. You are either racist or anti-racist. If you do not practice anti-racism and choose to stay "neutral", you are only supporting a system that constantly perpetuates racism and harms people.
And if for some reason, you think I'm overreacting; for some reason, you think I'm sensitive; for some reason, your first instinct is to get defensive and lash out; you really need to do some thinking as to why you want to scream at POC who just want the right to be recognized and seen. Who just want the right to not be erased.
And if you think this is "not good enough" because they're "just blog posts" or whatever - don't bullshit me. Even if I posted a shit ton of scholarly articles you wouldn't have read them anyway if you're coming at me with excuses for why you think the discrimination is okay. These posts are accessible, and well-written, and straight from the lived experiences of the many minorities and the allies that want to amplify their voices. I'm not asking you to take everything at face value. I'm asking you to do your own research and engage in some critical thinking instead of blindly accepting what you're given.
*Disclaimer: while I have read these sources, i read some a while ago and if there's an issue you have with some of them let me know!
(If your post is listed and you want me to take it off the list please dm me and let me know!)
The Bad Batch
#unwhitewashtbb carrd - with extensive resources here that speak about the Māori people, their culture, and the current issues they face. If you care about them, then read these resources and amplify their voices.
Petition to #unwhitewashtbb
Why you're actively supporting racism if you decide not to support anti-racist movements because you "have beef with someone" who's an anti-racist
The importance of speaking about #unwhitewashtbb, from a Polynesian fan (With another post by them!)
How Kanan is whitewashed
Clone Whitewashing #1 - how the SW crew most definitely knows how to animate dark-skinned clones with proper facial features yet chose not to
Clone Whitewashing #2 - with really clear pictures of the whitewashing
Clone Whitewashing #3 - with an extensive Temura Morrison reference sheet
Issues with Echo's design
Reasons why the take that "Omega is light-skinned because she's based on Temura Morrison's sister" and the take that "Polynesian people can be light-skinned too you're just being racist" are absolute shit takes (similar post, #2)
How Fennec Shand is whitewashed - the intricacies of her design
Fixed Fennec Shand design
How Temura Morrison has previously also been whitewashed in SW media
The Clone Wars
Islamophobia in Barriss Offee's portrayal, from a muslim woman.
How Barriss is muslim-coded, from a muslim woman.
The Mandalorian
"Bleaching" Temura Morrison
General Resources Around Star Wars
Orientalism in Star Wars
The Islamic Origins Of The Jedi
Ableism in Star Wars
Sinophobia in Star Wars, from me, a Chinese woman.
Resources about AO3 and racism
POC are not a monolith: why it's not ok to say "light-skinned minorities exist" in response to calls to stop whitewashing
How whitewashing has affected SW as a whole
John Boyega and Racism
Orientalism in SW Music
Feel free to add further resources in reblogs or just send them straight to me and I'll add them!
Oh, and by the way, if you think "it's just fiction you're just overreacting this doesn't hurt anyone": news flash: it sure does.
CBC News: Anti-Asian Racism in the media
Role of Media in anti-asian racism
NPR: Hollywood colorism
How the media fuels anti-black racism
Ways anti-indigenous racism is expressed in media and in other ways
NBC News: Rise in anti-asian racism
Resources on anti-black racism
What I've listed above is only a single drop in a massive ocean. There are so, so many other minority groups who are also suffering that I haven't listed. I haven't even touched on homophobia, on transphobia, and I've barely touched on ableism, not to mention that there's so many other issues out there. I haven't talked about the issues with how the Tuskens are portrayed, or how Watto is portrayed, or how Jar Jar Binks was portrayed, or how Kelly Marie Tran was treated, or how Trace and Rafa Martez were treated, or how the fandom hates Mace Windu, or how Poe's backstory was butchered, or much, much more. If you have more resources, please please please share them in the reblogs. It is impossible to encompass everything in a single post, but we sure as hell can try.
Alright. I've given you the resources. I've given you my time and energy. It's up to you now to educate yourself. It's ok to make mistakes - we're constantly learning and unlearning. It's ok to need to take breaks, and to save this for later because you're tired and the world is going to shit. We are human.
But it's not okay to stay willfully ignorant. It's not okay to constantly try and belittle the trauma and struggles of minorities just because you've been okay living in a system that's built on oppression. Educate yourself.
One more tip: when reblogging or sharing your own resources, flood your tags with everything to do with Star Wars. Flood the Crosshair tag. Flood the Hunter and Omega tag. Flood the tags, because this is relevant to their characters and to the entire saga, and fans need to know.
Including tags of the people I posted resources from under the cut!
I used to think of myself as a pacifist. For more than 20 years I practiced "peace". I sat binging on one of Hosier's songs, "Power" for about an hour when it sunk in. There are things you can't be pacifist about. Like bullying. And racism. Not encouraging it (racism, bullying, harming others) and not taking part in it isn't enough. We have to stand up against it.
can we finally destroy the idea that people don't have emotional needs once they're not kids anymore. becoming an adult doesn't turn you into an unfeeling robot or something. we still need hugs, pep talks, soothing words, someone checking up on us when we're sick and bringing us soup. maybe we don't cry when we scrape our knees anymore but we're still human. we still feel pain. we still need comfort.
there’s literally nothing more fun than being kind????? like? making someone feel loved and appreciated and seeing them smile and hearing them giggle?? sign me the fuck up
people are like "if you put crabs in a bucket they can't escape because they keep pulling each other back in, this is called crab bucket mentality and describes why people don't help each other" and never acknowledge that crabs do not naturally occur in buckets, a human with more power had to put them there
ALSO the crabs arent acting with any kind of malicious intent, theyre not thinking "oh no youre coming down with me" theyre thinking "pinch pinch pinch whats going on right now" its insane to extrapolate a moral point about humans from their behavior
Please remember that almost everyone around you is traumatized. I didn’t understand this when I was younger. I wondered why people acted so strangely and irrationally. Maybe all children wonder this. The author Robert Anton Wilson said (paraphrasing), “We have never seen a completely sane adult human.” No one makes it out of this life alive. It’s not their fault. Mercy, kindness, forgiving — these are what makes one human. They are other names for love. People break in the strangest of ways.
“Under the present brutal and primitive conditions on this planet, every person you meet should be regarded as one of the walking wounded. we have never seen a man or woman not slightly deranged by either anxiety or grief. we have never seen a totally sane human being." — Robert Anton Wilson
the worst feeling about trying to draw is being a mediocre artist. You realize you’re not terrible and family and friends who can’t draw at all tell you all the time how amazing you are, but you, as the artist, have seen what amazing really is and you realize that it isn’t you.
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