Star Wars Meme Sums Up Republic's Biggest Problem We All Ignored
The Confederacy of Independent Systems had its own reasons for opposing Galactic Authority.
All Star Wars fans are used to seeing the Confederacy of Independent Systems, commonly known as the Separatists, as one-dimensional villains who oppose the great Galactic Republic with their army of soulless droids.
But we often overlook that no matter how evil the Separatist leaders are portrayed, the common people of the CIS had their own reasons for fighting against Republic rule, as this Reddit meme suggests.
Evil is everywhere.
by u/Pascal5207 in PrequelMemes
It is especially odd, given how everyone is rooting for the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Galactic Empire, when the Separatists are doing almost the same thing.
Of course, the Republic is much less of a tyrannical government than the Empire, but it still has its own flaws.
Yes, both the CIS and the Republic were manipulated into the conflict by Darth Sidious, with his apprentice Count Dooku as the de facto leader of the Confederacy.
But what about the average CIS citizen? They just wanted independence from what they perceived as a deeply flawed and corrupt government, which actually makes a lot of sense.
The theme of political corruption within the Republic has been explored in various Star Wars media, from the movies to the cartoons.
Also, the Outer Rim was made into a tax haven for the corporations, so it is obvious that they were not happy when their authority was challenged.
In addition, their representation in the Galactic Senate was minimal, and the Republic had little ability to protect planets from pirates beyond the Core Worlds.
So... why should they like the Republic?
"It always annoyed me how the separatists get demonized in Star Wars and how rarely it was shown to be a legitimate course like most rebel worlds would have been separatists beforehand (yes I know Palpatine made the CIS evil as possible to scare people away from rebelling from the empire)," Reddit user Wittyhistoricalfact said.
One of the few instances of departing from the villain trope came in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In episode 10 of the third season, viewers are introduced to Mina Bonteri, a former senator from the planet Onderon and friend of Padme Amidala who joined the Confederacy during the Clone Wars.
It was a great insight into the point of view of a civilian who lost her husband in that senseless war.
Unfortunately, the plot returned to the usual evil schemes of Count Dooku, but it was surprisingly fresh to see beyond the annoying cliché.