Nonviolent Resistance, Star Wars Style
March 7th, 2008
Email this article to a friend
Image from Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Who said Gandhi didn’t wield a lightsaber? In a comment on yesterday’s post What Color Is Your Focusing Crystal?, Barbara asked about the ending to the cliffhanger video. The last we saw was Luke Skywalker cutting off Darth Vader’s hand, then realizing that he was walking down the path to the dark side.
First, a recap of the situation.
Our hero Luke Skywalker is in a terrible bind. He has set out to try to convince his father, Darth Vader, to abandon the dark side, believing that there’s still good in him. But Vader has no interest in turning, and wants Luke to join the dark side. The key to doing so is to get Luke to give in to anger.
The Emperor wants Luke to embrace his hate by killing Darth Vader. If he does, he’ll be converted to the dark side and take Vader’s place alongside the Emperor. Luke had resisted so far except for a brief loss of control (the clip in the previous post). But then he regained his composure, threw down his lightsaber, and refused to fight, saying that he’s a Jedi, and he will never join the dark side.
Then this happened (rated PG for sci-fi action violence):
It worked out well for Luke, but he had no reason to expect that a happy ending was even possible. It was a miracle that his father decided to turn good after 30 years of being the second most evil person in the galaxy. Luke was prepared to die because that was a better alternative than turning to the dark side.
Are there situations where it’s best to refuse to fight, and accept the consequences? While people usually err on the side of not fighting enough, I think sometimes it’s best to just let it go.
When someone cuts you off in traffic, don’t fight them. Don’t give in to hate, because nothing good will come of it.
When someone falsely accuses you of having ulterior motives, don’t fight them. You can’t convince them with words anyway.
When someone tells you you’re bound to fail, don’t fight them. They may be wrong and they may be right, but your fight is not with them.
By all means, fight when you have to, when the potential benefits outweigh the costs. But don’t let someone draw you into a fight that’s not worth it. A Jedi is wise enough to choose his battles.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Another form of non-violent resistance derivated from Star Wars…”Store Wars”.
) (see my link)
This is a very fun parody in which every code is embezzled!! That is delicious!!!
Have fun
[From Hunter: Alexander, thanks for this link! I moved it to the URL field, since you didn't already have a URL. Everyone, this is a great parody of Star Wars using vegetables, pretty funny if you like Star Wars. You can also go to http://www.storewars.org to bypass the French subtitles.]
March 7th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Hi Hunter,
Thanks for the link love -it reflects the topic of my post for today.
That was a pretty violent video…now I know why I didn’t watch those shows the first time. I prefer chick flicks.
To the question at hand, with some people there is no winning. In their eyes they are right, and no amount of arguing will change that. That’s when I just say, “whatever”. You do need to learn to pick your battles, and some aren’t worth the energy.
Barbara’s last blog post..Your First Line Can Sink You
March 7th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Really Barbara, you found it violent? I think it’s less violent than some chick flicks, like Thelma & Louise. At any rate, I’ve added the official rating right before the clip (rated PG for sci-fi action violence).
Arguing with stubborn people is useless if your goal is to get them to change their mind, but it could be different if your goal is to convince other people, like in a debate. But not everything is a debate, with a panel that’s going to decide a winner. Sometimes the only way to win is to just say “whatever.”