Quinneapolis
today youtube is recommending me a video called "the empire was right in star wars"
Quinneapolis
I'm obviously not gonna watch it but like
Quinneapolis
right about... fascism???
Quinneapolis
cool
A Grinning DM
yeah this shit has been gaining steam since about 2012
Rama
I mean it was always around
A Grinning DM
right but "gaining steam"
Quinneapolis
the empire was right about obliterating entire planets
Rama
It's just now fascism is acceptable irl again
Quinneapolis
those poors needed to die
Rama
So the people who previously only discussed their fascist beliefs in fictional terms can be a lot more open about it
Quinneapolis
I kind of want to know what he thinks they were so right about but I don't want to give in to the clickbat
Quinneapolis
clickbait
Quinneapolis
so I'll just assume, correctly, that it's really stupid and also fascist
Quinneapolis
and calls the rebels terrorists at some point
A Grinning DM
like I used to be fine with Imp/Sith SW fans because it usually was tongue in cheek. Lik 501st cosplayers didn't actually think fascism was good, for the most part, I don't think. But then most of the mandos and imp fans started getting real creepy
Gabiluzbad
Luke was the real monster for blowing up the Death Star when it was full of innocent soldiers just doing their job
Rama
Only a complete bastard would destroy a celestial object full of innocent civilians
Rama
Everyone involved in such an enterprise would surely be considered war criminals
Gabiluzbad
Exactly!
Gabiluzbad
I challenge you to name one other person in Star Wars who decided to kill that many people
A Grinning DM
What’s really weird is that I’ve had Imp fans cite sections of Star Wars novels where Luke frequently was wracked with guilt and had quasi PTSD about all the people that he “killed” on the Death Star as evidence that he’s a monster war criminal
kamikasei
Many of the criticisms of the Republic made by the Empire were probably valid, but that's about it
kamikasei
(And realistically, they probably picked things the Republic could be criticized on, scapegoated the wrong parties for them, and kept the worst aspects themselves)
Rama
The main problems of the Republic were that it was an ossified bureaucracy that favored corporate interests over its member worlds
Rama
The Empire was the same fucking thing except it nationalized the corporate interests to hand their resources directly to the military-industrial complex, then did the same thing with the Senate and legislative powers.
Princess Emily
im struggling to even remember if the Empire had any points to be right about other than "we rule because we're strong and blow up any who oppose us"
Cold XC
this is what happens when your ruler is a pasty evil raisin
Rama
The Empire
Rama
's point was "the Republic is a bloated inefficient bureaucracy that can't defend itself."
Rama
"I proved this by literally attacking the Republic and playing both sides to gradually accumulate more power into the hands of myself and my military underlings"
Rama
"So you see, democracy bad"
A Grinning DM
I don’t think Palpatine or his subordinates were really trying to make a point, they were just seizing power
Cold XC
well not his direct subordinates. a lot of officers were just like 'finally, a strong leader who won't let politics bog him down!'
Cold XC
some of the eventual cracks in the Empire were from people realizing he was just pitting them against each other, bogging them down in politics anyways