What makes the Empire in Star Wars evil?

[danp164]

As a citizen under Lord Darth Vader I felt secure under his rule. With his policy of dominion rule enforced by clones and androids I would never be conscripted to fight in a foreign war.
Now because of the political instability I am expected to attend guard duty three days in every ten because the neighbouring system keeps raiding our agricultural plantations. This would never have been allowed with the efficient threat of a superior force. I am just happy my son is in college learning Media Studies and will escape the draft for three years.

When the Rebels started their campaign did they have any adequate policies on agricultural crop rotations? Certainly not, in my community the cost of grain is astronomical. And Healthcare is now non-existent. Vader believed that a healthy population was a productive one but since the Rebellions "victory" many are now malnourished and we have had cases of rickets and polio that was thought eradicated. The sadist concern pertains to the surviving homeless Storm-troopers.

Our community is awash with these pitiful veterans begging for change. Their genetic makeup prohibits them to think for themselves and search for work, but most tragically of all, they are preyed upon by sexual deviants. Their inability to refuse orders leaves them vulnerable to sexual predators and they are routinely raped and abused. Vagrant Storm-troopers have the highest percentage of Space Aids than any other ethnic group.

To all the Rebel Fighters out there, drunkenly gloating and looking for spoils of war I just want to say that you did not fight for my freedom. And get a job.

Not to mention the sad loss of life of all the valued imperial personnel stationed on both death stars, the rebellions defense of "The empire blew up a planet" seem a little pale when you consider, the rebellion blew up two "Planet Sized" space stations, and while I'm sure some found the command level decisions taken on the death star to be morally reprehensible, I am fairly certain those decisions were not made by the thousands of support staff and janitorial staff.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

No, I think a more accurate example would be the US dropping two atomic bombs killing roughly 200 thousand people in short order as a demonstration of ungodly power in order to intimidate Japan into surrendering instead of a prolonged conventional campaign that would have drug on for years and likely resulted in deaths that would number closer to the millions.

Your comparison is inaccurate.

Japan is a separate country that was currently at war with the United States when the nuking occured.

Alderaan was not a separate country, it was part of the Empire(Leia was an Imperial Senator representing her home planet of Alderaan.) It was not at war with the Empire denoted by the repeated claim by everyone in the movies that it is/was a peaceful world.

The closest approximation of a real world version would be if Obama nuked Ohio to make sure no one thought about rising up against him.

 

[beastro]

They allow free, unrestricted trade and are only brutal to those who wish to bring back a fractious, corrupt and decaying Republic.

Alderaan was a part of the Rebellion from the very beginning. It could be argued that the Rebellion began on it since it's monarchy was was at the heart of it from the very beginning.

The Rebels had been a bug bear for too long, a demonstration was needed.

As someone once said:

Nations do not survive by setting examples for others.
Nations survive by making examples of others

 

[Josh123914]

As a citizen under Lord Darth Vader I felt secure under his rule. With his policy of dominion rule enforced by clones and androids I would never be conscripted to fight in a foreign war.
Now because of the political instability I am expected to attend guard duty three days in every ten because the neighbouring system keeps raiding our agricultural plantations. This would never have been allowed with the efficient threat of a superior force. I am just happy my son is in college learning Media Studies and will escape the draft for three years.

When the Rebels started their campaign did they have any adequate policies on agricultural crop rotations? Certainly not, in my community the cost of grain is astronomical. And Healthcare is now non-existent. Vader believed that a healthy population was a productive one but since the Rebellions "victory" many are now malnourished and we have had cases of rickets and polio that was thought eradicated. The sadist concern pertains to the surviving homeless Storm-troopers.

Our community is awash with these pitiful veterans begging for change. Their genetic makeup prohibits them to think for themselves and search for work, but most tragically of all, they are preyed upon by sexual deviants. Their inability to refuse orders leaves them vulnerable to sexual predators and they are routinely raped and abused. Vagrant Storm-troopers have the highest percentage of Space Aids than any other ethnic group.

To all the Rebel Fighters out there, drunkenly gloating and looking for spoils of war I just want to say that you did not fight for my freedom. And get a job.

that's actualy a ood point against the Republic as well, think about everything pre-clone wars. Maybe it was just that CGI costs a whole bunch but we see way more humans than we do other species on other planets (disregarding the species where said planet is their homeworld)

 

[Snotnarok]

Since everyone mentioned the planet, how about their management choking out the ones that screwed up?

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

In the movies, the Imperials/Dark Side are a democratic republic, they kept the galaxy in peace, they only blew up Alderaan because the enemy was gathering there and they allowed freedom to express emotion while the light side of the force achieved none of this.

*Note that I am excluding the latest movies because they were just garbage.

The Empire wasn't a democratic republic, it was an absolute dictatorship. That is as far removed from a democratic republic as one can get and still be talking about systems of government.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Was probably said a million times by now but...

There was that one time they...umm...blew up an entire planet that had no weapons.

Granted, that's where the rebels were getting their leadership/funding, but still...millions of deaths, including civilians and kids. Not cool, bro.

 

[tmande2nd]

1) They commit Genocide on Alderan since that in NO way was a measured response
2) They torture people quite clearly.
3) They kill members of their own forces for making mistakes
4) They are incredibly racist and actively persecute aliens
5) They discriminate against droids even clearly helpful and bright ones
6) They plunder and rob from aliens and humans alike
7) They murder and imprison anyone they want
8) They are led by a war criminal who caused the deaths of BILLIONS just to get power
9) They create super weapons of unimaginable power with the full intention to use them
10)They enslave people and work them to death at will


While they dont show all this the Empire is still a bunch of monsters.

 

[Vault Citizen]

In the movies, the Imperials/Dark Side are a democratic republic, they kept the galaxy in peace, they only blew up Alderaan because the enemy was gathering there and they allowed freedom to express emotion while the light side of the force achieved none of this.

*Note that I am excluding the latest movies because they were just garbage.

1) the emperor desolated the senate in a new hope. How can it be a democratic republic with an emperor who has got rid of the main representative planet

2) Alderaan was the home planet of some of the resistance but not of the resistance itself. Plus it was peaceful and didn't have any weapons

3) Yes it has been argued that the Jedi ultimately did more harm than good by keeping a lid on their emotions but they only tried to keep a lid on the emotions of their own members. Even then it waa a policy of "beware extrene emotion' rather than 'be robots'

 

[Uncreation]

Man, look at all the people hating on the Empire. Vader should force-choke you all. Srsly though, i much prefer the Empire to that lame Republic, even though the Empire is evil.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Why_Do_We_Fight_the_Empire%3F
This is apparently the rebel Alliance's manifesto. Alderaan was only one of several hundred worlds sympathetic to their cause.

Beyond all that, the simple fact that the entire government has been ruled almost solely by a cackling hooded madman straight from Flash Gordon for twenty years having abolished any kind of term limit might give you a clue. In the original trilogy any time an Imperial Officer encounters an alien he expresses his disgust which should give you an idea of how prejudiced they are against all alien species. Also, no female Imperial officers to be found anywhere.

 

[FalloutJack]

In the movies, the Imperials/Dark Side are a democratic republic, they kept the galaxy in peace, they only blew up Alderaan because the enemy was gathering there and they allowed freedom to express emotion while the light side of the force achieved none of this.

*Note that I am excluding the latest movies because they were just garbage.

Let's not go into that 'they only' business with the blowing up of a planet. They only blew up a planet when all they had to do was blow up a base. They only had to blow up a planet when all they had to do was pay someone off to rat the Rebels out. They only had to blow up a planet because- Wait, wasn't it just Leia's home and there WASN'T a rebel gathering there?

 

[Gatx]

Because history is told by the victors, who obviously want to make themselves look good, and who are the victors and therefore the main characters of Star Wars? The Rebels.

I'm just going to say they were a big oppressive Empire, won't say anything about them being xenophobic or anything. That's actually just an extension of EU writers noticing and stretching the fact that there weren't any aliens in the Empire in the films. Hell, there weren't even any aliens in the Rebellion either (other than Chewbacca) until Return of the Jedi.

 

[JoJo]

Considering if I recall correctly the Imperial Senate was disbanded permanently by the Emperor at the beginning of IV, I wouldn't call the Empire "democratic", besides the Emperor was pretty much making most of the decisions before that point.

Secondly, if you think blowing up an entire planet containing billions of innocent men, women and children because the rebels were gathering there, you may need to rethink your moral system. If you were to put it in real life terms, it'd be like the U.S. nuking the entirety of Iraq or Afghanistan because there happens to be anti-western militants somewhere in those countries.

Finally they summarily executed Luke's uncle and aunt because they bought a droid with sensitive information on, hardly sounds like a fair democratic republic to me.

Uh. I don't know where you get your information, but democracies WOULD kill people for having sensitive information.

I mean its beena long time since I watched it, but isn't it info on the death star isn't it? The biggest super weapon they have? That ensures the safety of the empire by acting as a rebel deterrent and would cost untold amounts of credits?

Why WOULDN'T they kill them? If they even got a glimpse of those schematics, its all over. Not the first time a democracy has killed someone for having sensitive information, especially if they can send it to your enemies.

Source please, I've never heard of any democracy summarily executing one of their own citizens for accidentally coming across sensitive information. The UK hacker with Aspergers who hacked U.S. military computers and got caught up in a long extradition case for example, I don't remember him and his family being summarily executed in their home, funny that.

Apart from that, so why wouldn't they kill them? Perhaps because they're random moisture farmers who would probably understand the schematics as much as you or I would understand the blueprint for a nuclear reactor, and who would have no motivation to pass on the data to the rebellion.

 

[JoJo]

Considering if I recall correctly the Imperial Senate was disbanded permanently by the Emperor at the beginning of IV, I wouldn't call the Empire "democratic", besides the Emperor was pretty much making most of the decisions before that point.

Secondly, if you think blowing up an entire planet containing billions of innocent men, women and children because the rebels were gathering there, you may need to rethink your moral system. If you were to put it in real life terms, it'd be like the U.S. nuking the entirety of Iraq or Afghanistan because there happens to be anti-western militants somewhere in those countries.

Finally they summarily executed Luke's uncle and aunt because they bought a droid with sensitive information on, hardly sounds like a fair democratic republic to me.

Uh. I don't know where you get your information, but democracies WOULD kill people for having sensitive information.

I mean its beena long time since I watched it, but isn't it info on the death star isn't it? The biggest super weapon they have? That ensures the safety of the empire by acting as a rebel deterrent and would cost untold amounts of credits?

Why WOULDN'T they kill them? If they even got a glimpse of those schematics, its all over. Not the first time a democracy has killed someone for having sensitive information, especially if they can send it to your enemies.

Source please, I've never heard of any democracy summarily executing one of their own citizens for accidentally coming across sensitive information. The UK hacker with Aspergers who hacked U.S. military computers and got caught up in a long extradition case for example, I don't remember him and his family being summarily executed in their home, funny that.

Apart from that, so why wouldn't they kill them? Perhaps because they're random moisture farmers who would probably understand the schematics as much as you or I would understand the blueprint for a nuclear reactor, and who would have no motivation to pass on the data to the rebellion.

That's normal computers. Nothing important is linked outside, its all closed circuit. Unless he walked onto a base, he couldn't steal anything.

Not understanding what they saw? Funny that America has a case like that where they assumed the same thing.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rosenberg-trial-begins

As for information, its this case that prompted America to make its military industrial complex into an arcane maze. You can't assume people won't understand it, because they don't have to other than just pass it along for monetary gain. Especially when a message tied to the data practically says "the rebellion wants this."

and when a regular old droid with no special protections to ensure the data isn't copied, would the Empire trust random people that they didn't do anything? For something so big? Having a blueprint of a weapon of mass destruction to the point it kills entire planets is kinda beyond hacking into a military computer. By a wide margin.

It makes sense the empire killed them and burnt down the house. Information like that can get you a pretty penny anywhere, especially the rebellion which was obvious.

When a rebellion exists, you need to realize that anyone could be against you. Its the reason they call it a rebellion and not regular war. You need to be that much more careful with secrets.

Your source is irrelevant because the Rosenberg's were sentenced to death in a trial for the crime of deliberately selling military secrets. They were not summarily executed by soldiers without trial and they were convicted for selling the information, not accidentally obtaining it. Unless you can provide a source of a situation that is actually equivalent, then I don't believe your claim.