How should of the Tusken Raiders been punished?

*One last post...Now, why do people say that Anakin destroying that group of Tusken Raiders is genocide? That doesn't make sense, because there was still some Tusken Raiders in A New Hope. If it were really genocide, I think there would be no Tusken Raiders left in A New Hope, because last time I checked genocide is wiping out a race of people which is not what Anakin did. When he said "I killed them all" he didn't mean that he killed every single Tusken Raider on Tatooine.

And when he said he slaughtered them like animals, he wasn't being prejudiced. He called them animals not because they were non-humans, but because he thought their evil crimes against his mother by some of their hands made them monsters. Also, I don't think the women were innocent. While they most likely didn't hurt Shmi because they were not said to be agressive, the fact that they sat back and let the Tusken Warriors(or men, if you will) continually beat and abuse Shmi to death makes them accessories to murder.

However, that does not justify Anakin murdering them. That group of Tusken Raiders did not deserve to be mowed down by Anakin's lightsaber, especially not the children. However, the Tusken Raider men who participated in Shmi's torture deserved to be sentenced for doing that, and the Tusken Raider women deserved some type of punishment for letting Shmi get tortured, unless the Tusken Raider men forced the Tusken Raider women into submission. If that was the case, then I guess they don't deserve any punishments. The children, of course, don't deserve any punishments.

As for Anakin, there's not much that could be done as I've said before. The Jedi Order could have expelled him, but I don't think that would help him learn from his crimes at all. If anything, it would have been productive to get Anakin anger management classes or something like that. I'm still not sure how Anakin could be punished, especially with the war coming though.

P.S: I'd like to point out that Anakin did not hate the Tusken Raiders previous to them kidnapping Shmi. In fact, he helped heal a injured Tusken Raider in The Phantom of Menace novelization and thought they were misunderstood by humans. So, no, what Anakin did was not a hate crime. In fact, here is a passage from the novelization:

Anakin had not yet made up his mind about them. The stories were chilling, but he knew enough of life to know there were two sides to every story and mostly only one being told. He was intrigued by the wild, free nature of the Tuskens, of a life without responsibility or boundaries, of a community in which everyone was considered equal.

 

Whacking an entire camp of indigenous people is at least, small-scale genocide.

Who are we to say that the Tuskens were NOT like the Native American tribes? Ie: The Apaches were different from the Cheyenne, Seminole and Lakota but all are still called Native Americans to this day. Wiping out ONLY the Apache was/is genocide, even though the Cheyenne Seminole and Lakota remain(ed). Just saying.

 

Well, there is also the fact that Anakin did not kill the tribe for prejudicial reasons. He may have killed innocents in the camp, but he wouldn't have done so if he weren't so enraged. When he killed the women(though I question their innocence) and the children, I don't think he killed them just because they were Tusken Raiders, but rather because he was so furious he thought they were guilty by association, or was so blind with rage that he didn't notice how they weren't Tusken Warrior men. So, I'm still not sure if it counts as genocide. I guess that's what separates the destruction of that Tusken Raider tribe from the murder of Native American tribes. Last time I checked, those were wiped out because of prejudices against Indians, whereas Anakin most likely wouldn't have harmed the Tusken Raiders if his mother hadn't been tortured to death. While that doesn't excuse or justify Anakin's actions, I think Anakin's motivations makes it somewhat different from Native Americans getting killed simply because of what race they were.

P.S: I agree with what PiettsHat said about how the Tusken Raiders should have been punished. While murdering the whole tribe of them was morally wrong, the Tusken Raider tribe shouldn't have gotten off scot-free for torturing an innocent women for a month. The Tusken Raiders who participated in the torture should have been sentenced for torture, while the Tusken Raider women, who probably let Shmi get tortured should have been tried for being accessories to murder unless the Tusken Raider men forced them into submission. If that's the case, then the women are indeed innocent. As for the children, they should of been put in social services or something like that.

 

That is a good point. Last time I checked, the Apaches tribe did not go around torturing innocent women. And I also agree that Anakin may have killed all the members of Tuskens in the camp, but not the whole tribe. Like you said, the Tusken tribe may have been spread about on Tatooine.

And yes, Anakin didn't kill the Tuskens for racial reasons like the people who wiped out the Native American tribes. He killed them out of pure revenge. Even when Anakin said "They are animals, and I slaughtered them like animals!" he wasn't being racist. He wasn't hating on the Tuskens because they weren't human---he was calling them animals because some of them participated in his mother's torture. It's similar to how the settlers called the Tusken Raiders monsters. When they said that, they were angry at the Tusken Raiders because the Tuskens had kidnapped Shmi, murdered a large group of farmers, and brutally cut off Cliegg's leg.

I don't see why people make such a big deal out of the Tusken Raiders being called "monsters" or "animals" anyways. It's human nature to dehumanize murderers, child molesters, abusers, torturers, and sadists. I think the reason why people freak out over the Tusken Raiders being called "animals" or "monsters" is because the Tusken Raiders are not human. If the Tusken Raiders were human, people would not see any problem with the Tusken Raiders being dehumanized.

And although revenge was Anakin's motivation, I think part of the reason why Anakin reacted to Shmi's death so badly is because as a Jedi, he has most likely been suppressing his emotions for a decade. So one could argue that he was already full of anger and was about to blow up, and that Shmi dying was simply the last straw. Having visions of Shmi getting tortured probably didn't help either.

Yet another reason why Anakin was probably so angry may have been because he felt betrayed by the Tusken Raiders. In TPM, Anakin helped a injured Tusken Raider. Yet, the Tusken Raiders still tortured Shmi a decade later. If Shmi hadn't been tortured, I'm sure that Anakin would still like Tusken Raiders as he did in TPM. The same thing happened with the Jedi---when Mace Windu tried killing Palpatine, he was both killing someone Anakin perceived to be a friend and indirectly killing Padme by killing Palpatine because Palpatine was the key to saving Padme. That's partially why Anakin felt personally betrayed by the Jedi. Overall, Anakin is a very loyal person, but when he thinks he has been betrayed by someone or a group of people, he betrays them back.

Now that I think about it, chopping off the arms of the Tuskens who gleefully tortured Shmi would actually be a good punishment. Not having arms would also prevent them from torturing and killing more people, which would make Tatooine more safe for the settlers.

 

In my view, a less dark side approach would have been for him to allow the Tusken Raiders to come to him. He could physically confront only those that dared attack him as he was in their camp, and make it abundantly clear that he was more than capable of wiping them all out without wiping them all out. If Anakin invades their camp, the Tuskens are likely to attack him. By defending himself, he could find a degree of justice while showing the Tuskens that the humans were not so helpless after all. He should not have been the aggressor against them.

Actually, since he wiped out the whole tribe, there was nobody left alive to express to the other tribes the might of the humans when adequately pissed off.

I think trying a legal/judicial approach wouldn't work on a largely lawless planet. The Jedi would say that he should let his anger go through the Force, but Anakin wasn't yet emotionally mature enough to do that in my opinion. But really, killing them all was just a disturbingly evil act.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

 

I don't see why people make such a big deal out of the Tusken Raiders being called "monsters" or "animals" anyways. It's human nature to dehumanize murderers, child molesters, abusers, torturers, and sadists. I think the reason why people freak out over the Tusken Raiders being called "animals" or "monsters" is because the Tusken Raiders are not human. If the Tusken Raiders were human, people would not see any problem with the Tusken Raiders being dehumanized.

Personally, I think dehumanizing "others" is both very human - and very wrong. It leads to an "top this" eye for an eye mentality.

Do not make the mistake of thinking I am excusing the Tuskens for what they did; I do not think or wish they "get off scot-free." But that does not give Anakin the right (even if we understand it) to be judge, jury & executioner of the entire tribe. As a Jedi, he should have found another way.

Like this:

In my view, a less dark side approach would have been for him to allow the Tusken Raiders to come to him. He could physically confront only those that dared attack him as he was in their camp, and make it abundantly clear that he was more than capable of wiping them all out without wiping them all out. If Anakin invades their camp, the Tuskens are likely to attack him. By defending himself, he could find a degree of justice while showing the Tuskens that the humans were not so helpless after all. He should not have been the aggressor against them.

 

I wonder how Anakin viewed the Tuskens. Obviously he would have had encounters with them when he was a child on Tatooine. But its no doubt he was blinded by hatred when he killed them; its not like he was on Coruscant though. Question is; how do we think Obi Wan would have handled it? What would a well trained Jedi do in his situation??

How civilized are the Tuskans? Do they understand what they have done? Hard to answere the OP`s question when we dont know anything about the Tuskans..

Maybe they are no different than regular people in the galaxy.. but they may have some strange coustum traditon that make them seem evil, even if their not.. Why did the Tuskens hurt Shmi.. Seems evil, but their not human right? so on what ground do we judge them???

 

Is ANYone, though, trying to argue Anakin's actions were worse? Both actions were horrible, though I might say as a JEDI, umm... how to phrase this - I would expect a Jedi to somehow raise above his human instincts at some point.

I do hold a trained Jedi to a higher standard than a "mere" human - with some allowance for initial human instinct.

 

I don't think anyone means to say:

...seems the least bit horrified by what happened to Shmi.

But it is true some (of us) more passionate posters sometimes go a bit too far when countering another passionate post, but I would argue in THIS case if anyone came across that way, it was meant as a response to what some hear as "vicious animals vs a righteously angry Anakin OR 'slaughter'em-all Anakin vs defenseless women/kids" and I would say that is inaccurate characterization of both parties.

For ex.if the Tuskens are immoral animals who deserve that label, shouldn't the "women and children" be more accurately called "females and their young or cubs"?

I don't want to reignite an old argument, but some 150 yrs ago many "civilized" people truly believed Native Americans were "wild savages."

Now many think the Tuskens deserve the same label.

I prefer to label actions, not a group of people. Same reason I don't label Anakin as a baby-murderer. It is his actions, not him I question.

 

Thank you! I don't like how Anakin called the Tuskens animals either, but I don't believe he was being speciest when he said that. He called them animals because they tortured his mother to death, killed those who tried rescuing her, and chopped off Cliegg's leg. Same thing goes for the settlers.

 

If Obi-Wan had visions of someone he met long ago being tortured, he'd do the best he can to ignore it.

However, if he responded to it and that someone died in his arms, I think he'd just gather the person up, walk with haste out of the cut-out hole. He wouldn't kill any Tusken if he could help it.

I'm not saying that what Anakin did was right or wrong. I'm just explaining how Obi-Wan could've done it.

 

I don't know if Obi-Wan would have just left, though. He got quite (justifiably) angry at Darth Maul and unleashed a good deal rage at the guy for killing his mentor and father-figure. The only reason he didn't strike him down right then and there was because Maul could fight back. If he'd unleashed that sort of attack on the Tuskens, then I'm pretty sure we would have seen quite a few dead bodies. Don't forget, also, that Obi-Wan didn't calm down until he was thrown into the pit, which allowed him to gather his bearings.

I'm not saying that Obi-Wan would have reacted exactly the same as Anakin to the Tuskens, but I do think their responses would have had a great deal in common and the major difference would be that Obi-Wan may have spared the children.

 

They should have made Jar Jar the Chief of that particular tribe for life.

Punishment fits the crime.

 

Yes! This. Gungan tribal "death by Roo-Roo" ritual execution!

 

Maybe. But more than likely: Kenobi would just cut off their arms and legs, then leave them in the sand to die....

 

My thoughts,

What the Tuskens did was horrible, cruel and barbaric yes.
Anakin killing every last one was also wrong but trying to say which of these is the WORST wrong is like trying to rank horrible evil actions.
"Person A killed three small children and wounded five others but person B killed 15 adults and crippled 20 etc.."

Two wrongs do not make a right.

The total time needed for Anakin to kill every last Tusken in that camp and yes I firmly belive he used his lightsaber for this, would be perhaps 20-30 min. And yes some of the Tusken would try to run away or hide. ANH shows that Tusken do have the ability to run away from danger and the avenging angel of death with a firey sword that is Anakin would most certainly qualify.
Is 20-30 min time enough for him to calm down? Possibly. But either he did not or he did but kept killing anyway.

What Anakin should have done afterwards is to seek help and tell Obi-Wan, he should have realized that he was a danger to himself and those around him if he could loose control like this.

Regards
Nordom

 

The responsible Tusken were wrong in doing what they did, Anakin was wrong in doing what he did. Don't think he's racist and I don't think he was actually caring whom he killed.

 

The Tusken's should have been forced to watch the Cow-Surfing and Fireplace scenes.
They'd all gauge their eyes out halfway through, so they'd crimp their own future raiding plans.

 

Darth_Pevra, I agree with what you said. Anyways, perhaps the Tusken Raiders responsible for Shmi's death should have been hung up crucifix style and tortured for a month, since that's what they did to Shmi. I know it sounds harsh, but perhaps being tortured themselves would teach them that torture is wrong?

 

Very simple in my eyes. He should have gone through and executed every Tusken that had taken a life (or willfully attempted to), even women and children. however, for those who had not taken a life, he should not have killed. Yet, he should use self defense. In other words, since by this point anakin was still an innocent human being, he should feel free to use lethal force if necessary to protect himself, especially against any tuskens that try to kill him. lastly, for those who didn't kill and don't attack him, he should punish them according to the crimes they committed in life. the major angle to push here would be the restitution of victims. the tuskens hurt a lot of people and should have been forced to essentially make right all the evil they did. This would apply to the tuskens that deserve to die as well. if possible, anakin should have enslaved them somehow and forced them to essentially pay off their debts to their victims before putting them down. However in such a situation I don't see that as being very likely to work.

So at the end of the day, he should have cut down any tusken that attempted (successful or not) to take an innocent life (including his own) and then harm the others in direct relation to the wrong doings they did in life up to that point. For instance, the Tuskens who tortured Shmi (and probably others) should themselves be tortured in direct relation to their involvement in the crime. the tuskens that cut off Clieg's leg should have their legs cut off and so on. Along this line of thought a simple solution would be to steal all of their supplies and possessions, sell them, and then use the money to restitute said victims, leaving the tuskens alone with no food, money or shelter. I'd say that's a fitting punishment.

Anakin however acted amorally by slaughtering everyone in the tribe I believe. It is extremely unlikely that they were all murderers. it's possible that they all were and those that weren't tried to kill anakin. But barring that somewhat unlikely circumstance, Anakin crossed the line and himself became an amoral aggressor. another key point is that anakin acted out of rage. even if his actions were justified under the above situation, his cause certainly is not. He wasn't objectively seeking justice, consequences be damned. From the brief clip of the slaughter in the movie, it's clear that he is just blinded by rage and out for blood lust. and Qui-Gon (check my posts in saga for the full explanation) is a big fan of retribution. So his screams of "anakin, NO!!!!!" seem to me to be indicative that Anakin was murdering innocent sentient beings. An unforgivable crime in my eyes.

Anakin's actions are also self defeating in their logic. He is killing innocent people because he's mad that an innocent person was killed. sadly, anakin made many bad choices, and his whole-sale slaughter of the Tusken Tribe was the first majorly life altering one. sad day!