I never understand why many of the Sith have strong racism. Their philosophy pretty much set everyone else as assets or tools. Why does the race matter to them at all? I think the Galactic Empire's racism mostly came from those Moffs and human officials, Dooku's racism got little to do with him being a Sith. Not sure about the Old Republic Era. Exar Kun does show a little sign among his words, but overall he doesn't reject other races.
I really believe it's only Palpatine's Sith who is speciesist, sexist. You'll notice the Brotherhood of Darkness had so many aliens and Githany is female, arguably the second in command. Darth Plagueis is a Muun. Also, in the novel Knight Errant, the regent for the Dyarchy is an alien, the Arkadiante under Arkadia Calimondra is almost a socialist utopia with aliens, females, female aliens, male humans... Bane took on Zannah, and Zannah took on an alien for an apprentice. etc.
The TOR Sith Empire are also racists, I guess Bioware want it to be a close matchup of the Galactic Empire.
The Lost Tribe of the Sith also had a heavy dose of racism early on - though by the "present day" it had been diluted considerably - with Keshiri Sith Lords existing, even if the Keshiri population as a whole were considered second-class.
I guess the Sith believe that different species have varying levels of force potential. Maybe that's the reason for their racism.
Racism and bigotry is inherent to Sith philosophy in my opinion. Sure they let in whoever is strong enough, but they still enslave and the purebloods had tons of class warfare going on and races made for only one purpose. The Sith believe that only those with the most power deserve to be treated with respect or even as people, they are all about might makes right. That is so easily connected to systemic racism, it is in fact the basis for it in the real world. Going back to the pureblood Sith or just those with more abilities in the force. It makes sense that anyone who follows Sith doctrine will sooner or later see entire races as being inherently underneath them. One of the most interesting things about the Sith is why they have slaves. It is not only immoral but also impractical, droid labor is far easier and has less chance of rebellion, but the Sith use people because they feel that for life to function there must always be an oppressor with people challenging those who are less powerful. It is the way that philosophy goes, either you are kept in your place as a lesser being or you rise up and become the oppressor. Racism is not something Palpatine added to the Sith, not by a long shot. Any system built upon the idea of might makes right and freedom for only the strongest is inherently going to be fascist and quite racist As for why they have certain races under them when to them everyone is a tool. Well it is like the pureblood sith. If you keep the powerful breeding long enough you end up creating a "superior" race or sub-species and so thenceforth other races become lesser in their minds. Not to mention that making a race into nothing but slaves makes the whole culling the weak thing easier and will lead to more challenge which will give the Sith a better chance at getting people who have freed themselves from their oppression with pure strength. The Sith lend themselves to racism very much, not only is it bound to happen with any fascist society but also it helps them expand their ranks.
Are we talking about the Sith species or the Sith order? The Sith species did indeed have a stratified society and believed ruthless competition was the way civilization shoud function. They also believed conquest was both a sign of strength and glorious. They might have some degree of caste or classist prejudice(as classes as I recall had certain visible distinctions) but I don't think how they or anyone would define their society. The Sith Order? Depends I'd say Bane, Krayt, the brotherhood of darkness, and Revan's empire weren't discriminatory in who they admitted for Sith training at least based on species. And Palpatine wasn't speciesist(which is the more appropriate term in this case anyway) but he admitted to having exploited the prejudice of core world humans and so Human High Culture was born which served as one of the ideological pillars of the empire(during the early years). The Sith doctrine is based upon self liberation, victory over whatever holds down the individual, and achieving a sort of Nietzchean apotheosis-the abolition of restriction and one's chains. This doctrine isn't prejudiced prima facie but it does present its own moral issues.
But even back when they had pureblood Sith races people, the racism was humans towards aliens. Using that anachronistic word. Seriously, alien to what?
What? Sith doctrine isn't racist(speciesist is the proper term in-universe) they respect strength not the color of one's skin or whether a person has feathers or scales but whether the are strong enough to rise above whatever troubles them and mundane society in general. I can't imagine Sith Lords respective those who hide behind their "race" or species. Sith philosophy is oriented around the individual.
Racism doesn't have to make sense and if you try to make it make sense, you're engaging with it. Why is the Sith Empire racist against nonhumans in the Old Republic? Because aside from Red Sith, it is composed of humans, and they're EVIL. There.
My point is that their entire belief system revolves around the powerful being worthy and everyone who is weak being lesser. That is inherently a fascist way of thinking and over any given amount of time will inevitably lead to sects and different parties which itself lends itself to speciesist, racism, and classicism. As we see with most every Sith order, they become territorial and create some form of a "superior" group be it race or class, as we saw with the Purebloods that led to only force sensatives breeding thus creative one race to be above the others with every other race being seen as lesser. The original sith literally did eugenics dude, they created the Massasi for the purpose of being nothing but a slave army. The Sith code is tied so much to the kinds of societal ideas that create systemic racism in the first place. Also Sith being oriented around the individual does not even remotely factor out racism. The entire idea of the Sith is exclusionary, yes the individual is important to them but ONLY if said individual is strong enough and then they are welcome to the Sith. That forms an elite class (or in the case of the og Sith empire and the TOR one, race) with inherently creates the notion of the other. The Sith having this emphasis on individuality is only there for certain types of individuals which in turn means you are going to have created a divide societally. As we have seen before both in the lore and our real world, that always leads to the strongest favoring their race and in doing so putting them above others. As we saw with the Purebloods, they almost instantly culled those without force sensitivity cause they where seen as weak or "other". My point is not that the sith handbook says "hey be racist" my point is that the Sith code by its very nature creates the very foundations of systemic racism and almost always leads to it. Them being individuals does not deter them from being speciest and seclusionary any more than the constitutions talk of all men being born equal stopped them from seeing others as lesser beings. They are still forming societies that favor certain attributes over others and allow the enslavement and destruction of those who do not meet those standards. While it might not always take the form of a certain race being discriminated against, the very idea still is the basis for bigotry. Every society creates social norms and categorizes people, the Sith are very open about those who do not fit their preferred categories being lesser, like I said while not always about race it often becomes that way cause it is one of the easiest categories to make. The Sith form socially constructed degrees of privileged which is inherent to racism and like I said leads to that kind of a society inevitably. The lore supports this with almost every Sith order forming some kind of race it is favoring be it human like the TOR (kinda), revan's, and Palpatine's or Red Sith based like the TOR and ancient sith. I think this video breaks down the idea of the other and how even if the other is not such due to race, the same ideas and basic social constructs form and perpetuate the ostracization of both and often lead to some form of racism. That is a given with any society that bases itself around such ideas, even our own, and this is especially on display with the Sith who are incredibly focused on the idea of culling the weak via division and creating social norms the strongest of which is almost always that of race. ......Also my good friend made the video and it is a fantastically put together discussion of the overall idea we are talking about. Mutants may be hated for going against things such as social constructs of beauty or what is natural but it always ends up coming down to race. I feel the same is always bound to happen with the Sith There was racism within the Sith races though. They still had formed certain norms of power and class based around race. They had a cast system which was driven by race, such a thing is inherently racist. There is really no denying that fact. Also as for alien, I think Charlemagne19 hit the nail on the head. They hate anything that is alien to them ie that which is different, be it races they bred for being slaves or be it bloodlines that are not force sensitive or just races that are not at the height of untied power they are. The Sith in TOR enslaved Zabrak and the like because they wanted to oppress them and show them that they where lesser. That is racism and even when it has more to do with power it is still creating a social norm and ostracizing that which does not fit it which is the foundation of any bigotry
One thing to also note is most Sith are actually BAD at their religion. It's actually done well in the Jedi Council comic book. "Might makes right is a philosophy abandoned when you are no longer the strongest."
Good points though I would still say that it is prejudiced cause it creates a certain type of being that is to be heralded as better than others. In some cases strength like the Banite sith or in other cases race like the ancient Sith and Vitiate Sith. I feel the Sith code and the entire self liberation thing (at least the way they do it) is inherently prejudiced, they are essentially basing their freedom and liberation upon might makes right and creating an exclusive group that is worthy and in their culture as the moral right to enslave those they deem unworthy. Even if it is not a genetic race divide they are still forming one in terms of their newfound culture of FS people who are strong being in their minds better than all others.
The short version is most Sith don't care about actually making sure the strongest people rule over the weakest. They want to BE the ones who rule over the weakest. It's also a religion which causes them no end of distress because the Jedi exist. In a Nietzschean philosophical way, the Jedi pretty much expose the Sith's beliefs to be worthless because the Jedi are every bit as strong as the Sith and CHOOSE to protect the weak/serve the multitude. The Sith HAVE to make the Jedi hypocrites, or deluded, or fools because if they ARE people who are strong but choose to use their abilities to help others it means the Sith's philosophy of using power to dominate others because it's what nature/The Force intended is just a delusion on their part. Without the Jedi, the Sith undoubtedly make any excuse they can as to why they're superior. Which is why racism exists. It exists to explain why you are entitled to hurt other people when the real reason is usually "because it makes my life easier."
The idea of the powerful and elite being superior has existed in RL since the kings of Sumer far before the invention of modern concepts of "race." The belief that an elite is superior goes back along way.
Yeah certainly, however race is a major element of elitism in the modern day and especially in a universe with a near infinite amount of aliens. It is one of the easiest ways to divide and create social barriers. In a universe in which modern conventions of race exist, a group like Sith are bound to use it to give themselves justifications for their actions. Like Charlemagne19 said, any bigotry is just cheap excuses that allow one to get away with hurting others to make their life easier.
But many Sith are aliens themselves. Other than the pureblood, Force doesn't pick individual upon race. If you choose racism you are going to miss a lot of powerful Force sensitives with potential.
Again I am not saying that the Sith always pick one specific race. My point is that racism is something inherent to them in some form or another. It can take on different forms. The Sith are all about justifying why THEY must rule and why THEY are better. one of the most effective ways to do that is to use race as a way to put one's self up on a pedestal. I am not saying every single sith every is of one race, my point is that often times the sith create some sort of social divide in order to keep however is in charge at the top. So the Purebloods tout up their FS bloodlines, Palps his humanity, Krayt that he is the "one sith" and everyone is an extension of him, Bane that only 2 shall remain and that no one else can have power. Race is just one of those ways. Again no one is saying that the sith code says "oh and such and such race sucks" the point is that racism is something that will very often come out of a physosophy such as the Sith. Oh and look at the TOR empire. They had alien races and yet they still favored the Red Sith and Humans. The reason is that fascist societies love using races and groups they ostracize in order to make things easier. So essentially if they want slaves they will say that Zabraks are meant to be slaves, but if they need more Sith they will be like "oh umm......well um.......the slave thing is a test and you passed so yep work for us now". It is all excuse after excuse to make others subservient, it's a thing we say sadly to often IRL
The penultimate line of the Sith code is "my chains are broken". Sith philosophy is at its most admirable when it's talking about the individual achieving his or her full potential, overcoming whoever and whatever keeps them from that full potential and achieving self-actualization(in the sense death prevents this), conquering death itself, and ascending to something higher.
It's weird, too. Vitiate pretty much view everyone as his "food" before the KotFE story. Why does it matter to him at all?
Yeah but is that line ever really accurate or just the illusion of freedom and breaking the chains? I mean they say they are free and yet they still have a strict code and often have specific cultural rules. I think SF Debris made a fantastic point in his KOTOR review when he responded to that line with the Sith at the academy saying one MUST strike down their superior if they show mercy. Key word is MUST. The Sith are never really free, they actually just tell the grunts and acolytes they are achieving some great freedom and yet really they are slaves to the dark side and/or whoever is at the top. I mean how often IRL do we see societies that preach the freedom of the individual and yet really just want control? Take the constitution of the US, they say all men are born equal and yet they had slaves and even still systemic racism is as powerful as ever. It is the illusion of freedom. Tell Sith that they are free or that by letting them no longer be slaves that they are not breaking their chains when in reality you are just letting them do that cause you have need for them. It goes back to the slaves in TOR, they are welcomed in as second class citizens and only even allowed to speak cause the Sith need them. they say they are now free and that their strength is all that matters but really it is more like "once you are beneficial to us you have worth". The sith code is all lies and deceit Well like I said creating those divides means that certain groups are kept under the heel of others. He can more easily control the Sith and Human population so they get to be free but unless they are needed, the aliens are nothing but slaves and are kept out of a position of prosperity and power. Do you think Palpatine really gave a dang about humans over aliens? No he just saw and easy was to have one populace control another so that if he could control the one on top he would be king of the hill. it is evil dictator 101
Then he's going to miss a lot of powerful alien assets, which is a big part of the galactic population for him to use. Yeah Palpatine himself wasn't a racist, his moffs were, but why would Sith want to put race above power? We know in the old Republic era there were a lot of powerful non human/pureblood force users.
The Sith are also a religion, I think sometimes the fans forget that. Remember Zannah viewed Set Harth with contempt for his womanizing and partying. They do perform various rituals, and have certain histories.
