Was Palpatine xenophobic or just plain crazy and paranoid?

Just finished re-reading Dark Lord Rise of Darth Vader and just started reading the beginning of Death Star and I have to say that Palpatine is either xenophobic or just plain crazy paranoid and thinks everyone is out to dethrone him that he has to not only have his cronies abduct someone in the middle of the night or just round up aliens like the Wookies and whatever else of species and send them to worker slave camps

 

In terms of the books, your better bet would be over in the Literature Forum.

I'm really not familiar with much of the recent EU so it is difficult to judge. From the movies, there seems to be a mix of evidence. Based on the prequels it would be difficult to label him xenophobic based on the number of alien aides he is surrounded with (or was this merely an effort to placate various alien interests?) In the original trilogy--we know that the empire is not as diverse (partly due to 20th Century budget restraints.) But even if we look at the imperial hierarchy--all officers are human males. This might imply some level of xenophobia on the part of the Empire.

-Seldon

 

Well, in ROTS, after O66, The Troopers do look like they are making repartaions for slaves - they go looking at the dead Wookiees "These Wookiees are all dead", and also it does look as if the Utapaun's (The ones like Tion Meddon) are also being placed under arrest.

From the EU, most Aliens are held/thought of by the Empire as being either 'primitives', or 'Slaves'. Thrawn is the only known case of an Alien getting anywhere in the Empire.

Daft-Vader

 

No, there's others as well; Darth Vader's aide in Coruscant Nights, and a couple of Imperial Inquisitors were aliens too.

Personally, I find the idea of Palpatine being actually xenophobic to somewhat diminish his evil; it makes him too human in my eyes. This isn't a guy who particularly distinguishes between one sentient and another, IMO; they're all expendable tools to his mind, so he plays at heightening fear, anger, and hatred between humans and aliens to make the Dark Side stronger.

 

I like the idea that Palpatine played upon the xenophobia of humans in the Core, but that he personally hated everyone equally. He enslaved the Wookiees because he knew he could get away with it, but would be fine with enslaving any other race if doing so would be an asset to him.

 

As much as I hate to say it, but Palps was just being smart and cautious. Let's face it, he's not loved all over the galaxy during the OT, and even in the PT there was the few who wanted him gone. Anyway, there's more alien species then humans in the galaxy, and by putting them in "their place" and keeping them down, he doesn't have to fear from them.

I've also noticed the alien species give him the most trouble in the EU. He was one for total punishment, where say a Bothan did something to him, the Bothan's could kiss their fur gone.

Also, by not allowing alien species into the Empire military, he doesn't risk as much sabotage. I mean, Thrawn got in under extremely special circumstances, and that's just because someone as brilliant as Thrawn is worth a little bit of scuff.

 

Palpatine was intelligent, perceptive, and extraordinarily cunning, but he was still a Sith Lord with a hunger and desire to exert his power over those he belived were lesser beings than he was. His exploitation of non-human sentient beings was just another way for him to diplay his "powah, unlimited powah" to the galaxy that he ruled.

 

I agree with this, it showed of how powerful he was - look at me, I'm am so powerful, I have vicious Wookiees as Slaves

Also, by slaving some of the non-sentient species, he could get his construction work done faster and less expensive.

 

Just because Wookiees are non-human doesn't make them the ideal candidate for slave labor. Wookiees are fiercely strong, intelligent, and industrially-oriented. They were the PERFECT candidates to work on the Death Star and the Empire's other projects BECAUSE of that fact. If humans had the stamina and strength of a Wookiee I'm sure Palpatine would have seen fit to enslave humans too. Looking at the Star Wars universe, aliens tend to have a lot of special abilities and attributes that humans don't have. Therefore, it would seem prudent that these non-humans (in Palpatine's eyes) would be perfect for heavy labor. Humans are only so strong compared to some alien species.

I tend to think Palpatine was above most non-human biases, aside from his prejudice against the Jedi. He was a Sith Lord who, despite taking Dark Side adepts, seemed to adopt many of Darth Bane's ideals. Palpatine utilized what was available, who was available, and who or what was the best of the best. Maul was a savage Jedi-killer, bred to whittle away unsuspecting Jedi Knights. In the end, that's all he was to Palpatine, a tool. Aliens, humans, near-humans...to Palpatine they're all the same. In the end, as long as Sidious ends up on top, it doesn't matter who he had to befriend to get there.

As for the xenophobic tendencies of the Empire, hasn't already been established in some literature that it was Sate Pestage and other Imperial leaders that instituted those policies?

 

That's not true. He also enslaved species such as Sullustrans, who were much smaller and weaker than human beings.

I tend to think Palpatine was above most non-human biases, aside from his prejudice against the Jedi.[/quote]

He was against women serving in the Senate, as well as rights to life and liberty for non-human sentient beings.

 

He was also for turning every last living being in the galaxy into a car battery to extend his own existence.

Assigning "speciesism" (not even a real word, ugh ) or sexism as things that Palpatine actually passionately believed in makes him the equivalent of a Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, not Satan.

 

He was against women serving in the Senate, as well as rights to life and liberty for non-human sentient beings.[/quote]

Smaller and weaker does not mean anything to one's abilities and in no way disproves what I stated. Sullustans are technologically savvy, well-known galactic spacers and crewmen, as well as having an enormous planetary corporation that, for a time, aided the Empire. It makes sense to enslave them purely for their technological abilities.

If he was against women working within the Senate and held that much distaste for them, I doubt that Emperor Palpatine, who effectively ruled the galaxy, would have allowed it. Considering many of his agents, Senators, and aides were women, I doubt Palpatine was totally against women in power.

 

Well, I know that pre-PT it was a popular idea, even used in EU, that Palpatine was anti-alien. I think this was because we never saw any non-humans in the Empire. However, after the PT I am not so sure about Palpatine being anti-alien. The vice-chancellor, Grievous and Maul were all close associates who were non-human. And after all, if ANH and ESB are any example there were very few aliens in the Rebellion, either. Granted ROTJ changed that, but I think you get the idea.

 

Palpatine's whole reason for being is power. Whatever he can do to get more of it, he does. He's simply playing off pre-existing prejudices to make himself more pwerful; Palpatine doesn't distinguish enough from one being or another to really think of them as different from another, if you ask me.

For him, there is Palpatine, and then there is everyone else.

 

Palpatine's not a bigot. He hates everybody equally.

 

I think that petty prejudices are beneath him and he has a more rational purpose.

For example, if doing "bad" things strengthens the Darkside and thus himself, he would do it. And if he is the Greatest Sith Lord ever, then he would do it in clinical fashion.

I like to think of him on a higher level than other beings in the GFFA.

 

In terms of plotting and planning, I like to. However ultimately Sidious, like all Sith, is a rather pathetic man.

 

OK... I'm not too fond of them either.

In terms of being pathetic though, sidious is Great.

 

^^^ What M_S said.

 

Pathetic in terms of what? He was certainly able to manipulate the demise of the entire galaxy without hardly any use of the Force.

 

"Demise" is too strong a word there. "Subjugation" is better.

 

You're right. But the subjugation led to the demise of the Republic as it was known at that time.