• boatswain@infosec.pub
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    15 days ago

    I actually have met a concerning number of people who idolize The Empire in the original Star Wars trilogy. The one who was always loudest about it willingly moved to Florida recently and is turning sadly right wing. He used to be a super smart punk rocker, too.

    • jettrscga@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      That’s strange since the movies don’t really try to give The Empire any redeeming values. It’s pretty literally and figuratively black and white.

      But The Empire has a better costume department. …Man I guess I’m in.

        • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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          15 days ago

          If Star Wars was indeed a long, long time ago, that brand has some serious staying power.

      • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        Better costumes, better toys, no restrictions on the use of force power (can choke out anyone you like).

        Let’s face it, Darth Vader is one of the coolest villains of all time. Tons and tons of kids who grew up on Star Wars fantasized about being powerful like him and choking out their enemies in the schoolyard.

      • Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works
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        15 days ago

        Ever since I was young, you know, I hated dissension.

        Among my peer group, it caused a whole lot of tension.

        When the other kids were slouching, I would stand at attention.

        And I’ve always looked so good in white.

    • dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net
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      15 days ago

      My best read on that phenomenon is that a few people took the discussion from Clerks a little further and started arguing as a joke that the empire were just trying to establish order as. They started r/EmpireDidNothingWrong, where irony-poisoned kids began taking the joke seriously, just like the people who legitimately believe the whole “birds aren’t real” theory.

    • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      Unfortunately anti establishment scenes always attracts right wingers. Like how the Skinhead subculture, which was started by British working class leftist teens, was co-opted by Nazis. Or how those wellness moms and hippies became virulent antivax right wingers.

      These people often don’t even know they are right wingers until these oblivious right wingers form critical mass. Not very surprising that a punk rocker became a right wing idiot.

    • Cheesus@lemmy.ca
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      15 days ago

      Through victory my chains are broken. For the Empire! In all seriousness though, it’s fictional space fantasy. When I was a kid, watching the OG trilogy, I always supported the rebels, but as I got older I slowly became way more into the empire. Sometimes it’s just fun to root for the bad guys. Also the dogmatic nature of the Jedi becomes glaringly more obvious as you get older.

    • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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      15 days ago

      The Republic turned on and tried to assassinate the democratically elected leader because of his religion, and because they didn’t want to stop all the wars Republic was constantly fighting, supporting crime syndicates etc.