Saga Popular support for the Empire

In ROTS, the Senate cheers for the Empire, implying that the public supports the Empire. I'm wondering if that has changed by the time of ANH.

 

When the Empire was created, the Republic was crumbling under corruption, the war had Devastated worlds and the Jedi, who were suppose to be the guardians of peace and justice, were traitors. People wanted change and Palpatine promised them this with a sovereign ruler chosen for life. Almost immediatly, Palpatine showed his true intentions and changed everything dramatically, People were executed in an instant, told how to think and feel, Wookies and other species were enslaved for the building of the Death Star, also as we saw, Alderaan was blown up with out the Empire shedding tears. There were even members of the Empire that switched over to the Rebel Alliance in favor of a peaceful transaction. So I would gather it was within the same time frame it was created that people regretted it.

 

I was actually wondering if the public's views ever changed, but if so, when is good to know.

 

The opinion of the Empire was divided from the start. Some applauded it because of the corruption the Republic was infected with, while some were against it from the start, bring in the founders of the Rebel Alliance. So the public never truly embraced it as a whole and this was the reason Palpatine wanted a tight hold on everything, so to prevent Civil War without end, but I gather it would have been a few years into it that some people started seeing the Empire wasn't what they thought it would be

 

I think they were happy that the war was over. Even though Palpatine branded the Jedi organization as traitors. People were tired of the fighting. There were no aliens in the imperial Navy. Palpatine favored humans over nonhumans & droids. By the time of ROTJ I think Palpatine was hated by many & how did Palpatine justify the Alderaan situation? How was that explained to the rest of the galactic empire?

 

I think Tenn Graneet could have answered that.

 

probably after Alderaan was destroyed. The rest of the empire had to know that it happened. It had to create a lot of resentment from some systems. Destroying Alderaan I think made the rebelion grow. The Rebel Alliance was always based on undeveloped systems. Not all systems report or are connected to the galactic government. Kamino & Tatooine
are examples. During the clone wars the sepretist were systems who left the galactic government. So the public opinion would be based on that. It would depend on what species you were & what planet you were from. Han Solo didn't hate the empire, he seemed to respect the empire. Then after the Deathstar battle no way could he be an independant smuggler anymore. He needed the rebels as protection.

 

Paardon me?

 

He was master chief gunnery officer aboard the Death Star who had a guilty conscience after the destruction of Alderaan and Despayre, which was were the Death Star was built. He ordered his crew to "Stand by" during the Rebel attack, hoping something or someone would relieve him from the duty of taking more lives.

 

by the beginning of ANH we are made to think the empire is the bad guys, but in truth the Empire is just the government structure. The only think Anakin wanted to do was
Get the deathstar plans back from rebel possesion. Was that evil? Was is bad to secure info that couldcost the empire their investment? The Deathstar was a precautionary tool, up until it was randomly used without debate or trial. After that I'm sure less systems supported Palpatine.

 

Didn't they say that it was an accident?

 

If the entire clone and stormtrooper army decided to obey Palpatine's orders after he was elected emperor, then he definitely had at least some support. It proves they were loyal. If not, the empire never would've existed.

 

Some supported. Some didn't.
I have the impression that for some, the Empire was the only way out. For example, farmboy Luke wanted to become an Imperial pilot. Better than staying a water-vapor gatherer for the rest of your life on freakin' Tattooine. Similar situation with early Kyle Katarn.
You should check out COMPNOR.

 

Alderaan shot first.

 

Greedo shot first.

 

The galactic empire didn't seem like real villains to me. They did bad things because the rebels provoked them. They were definitely evil, but, they didn't do anything that bad that justified the rebels.

 

Onscreen, yes (though a case could be made that Bail Organa was in the know about Palpatine's ordering the massacre of the Jedi, from his meetings with Obi-Wan and Yoda before he adopted Leia- and that was the first outrage that set him on the path to rebellion).

In the EU there's rather more evidence. Starting right from the first novelization prologue:

"Having exterminated through treachery and deception the Jedi Knights, guardians of justice in the galaxy, the Imperial governors and bureaucrats prepared to institute a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Many used the imperial forces and the name of the increasingly isolated Emperor to further their own ambitions.

But a small number of systems rebelled at these new outrages. Declaring themselves opposed to the New Order they began the great battle to restore the Old Republic."

Biggs says to Luke, in a scene that's in the novel but was cut from the movie:

"You should have heard some of the stories I've heard, Luke, learned some of the outrages I've learned about. The Empire may have been great and beautiful once, but the people in charge now-" (He shook his head sharply) "It's rotten, Luke, rotten."

 

I find it ironic that Biggs' words aptly described the Republic even before Palpatine became Chancellor.

 

Which Palpatine, and all the Sith before him, probably bear a deal of responsibility for.

Republic goes from "great and beautiful" to "corrupt" over 1000 years (since it was founded, or rather, reformed)- Empire goes from "great and beautiful" to "rotten" in less than 20.

 

I don't think I can completely agree. I feel that the Galatic Senate, Chancellor Valorum and many of whom preceded him, and the Jedi bear a good deal of responsibility for gradual decline of the Republic. As for the Empire, I think it was rotten from the beginning, considering the circumstances that led to its origins.

 

The Jedi helped lead to the decline of the Republic?? Prior to Palpatine? I don't think so; what do you base this on?

 

Darth Vader/anakin skywalker is the person/cause ultimately responsible for the downfall of the Republic and the existence of the Galactic empire, regardless of Palpatine starting wars and manipulating people to get power and a loyal army. If anakin wasn't so afraid of losing padme from her pregnancy with luke and leia, if he hadn't cut off Mace windu's hand, then Mace windu would have killed Palpatine right there, Palpatine never would've gotten a loyal army of soldiers and officers and imperial officials who supported him, and the empire never would've existed, and the republic never would have had a downfall. Talk about once decision changing everything.

 

Obi-Wan says in the ANH novel that the Jedi failed to realize the Republic was becoming corrupt:

"In many ways they were too good, too trusting for their own health. They put too much trust in the stability of the Republic, failing to realize that while the body might be sound, the head was growing diseased and feeble, leaving it open to manipulation by the Emperor."

 

Maybe. Then again I thought it was a mistake for the Jedi Order, which is basically a religious order, to make themselves the arm of a political body. I have a deep suspicion that after years of blinding themselves to the presence of the Sith under their noses, the Jedi - namely most or all members of the Council - were willing to corrupt themselves in order to maintain their position with the Senate and within the Republic.

 

Why was the empire evil, other than the Death Star? Because they got rid of the galactic republic? Not convincing. I don't care if the rebels are revolutionaries, politics should be irrelevant in a good vs evil space adventure story.