The Jedi Response to Genocide

 

The Rebel Starbird in the colors of the Palestinian Flag

 

 

Many years ago, I wrote an essay “The Jedi Response to Oppression.” It was my first attempt to draw a line in the sand and plant a flag on what side of a debate that was happening in the Jedi community at the time. I came down firmly on the side of being a “Social Justice Jedi”. The environment in which this essay was written in 2016 was one of great division in the Jedi community, which was a microcosm of what was happening in the society of the United States. It didn’t start in 2016, but that year marked a turn where the divide became clear for most Americans and has continued through 3 presidential election cycles, with the division growing wider each year.

 

At the time some circles saw the essay as radical, though today it seems really mild to me. Why Jedi oppose oppression can be derived from the simple moral lesson of George Lucas’ Star Wars films. A fairy tale for the children of the 1970s and 80s that teaches a simple truth; “other people exist, and we should care for them.”

 

This speaks to what I think is a central tenant of the Jedi Path, that being, compassion. Both in attitude and in action, compassion is a driving force for what we practice as Jedi. We can only act within our sphere of influence, and sometimes it seems that large issues or crises far off are beyond our reach, but this is not the case at all. We can work in our own communities to create change outside of it. We can cooperate with larger efforts by doing our part in solidarity for just causes, and in so doing have an impact larger than ourselves.

 

One of the largest issues as I write this in the midpoint of the year 2024 is genocide. There are many definitions as to what constitutes genocide. The word was coined in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent to describe a new kind of crime that occurred in the 20th century. The word was constructed with the Greek word genos (race, tribe) and the Latin suffix cide (killing). In 1946, the United Nations defined genocide in part as “Genocide is a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings…” And I think this succinct passage gets to the heart of the issue.

 

It should be emphasized that genocide takes many forms against human groups. It often consists of violence and killing but not exclusively so. The United Nations outlines the following five methods through which genocide can be perpetuated:

 

a. Killing members of the group;

b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

 

 

Right now as I write this in the summer of 2024, there are several ongoing genocides or potential genocides of different human groups around the world. Genocide is perpetuated on human groups by those who hold power over these groups. We define power as the ability to make meaningful decisions about one’s life. Exercising power over a group is limiting the ability for them to make meaningful decisions about their lives. This can be a government power, the power of another state, the power of an occupying force, the power of a paramilitary, or any other construct that can be used to limit the life and liberty of human groups.

Genocide doesn’t begin and end with the extermination of human groups. There are many kinds of genocidal violence besides physical violence. There is also political violence. There are many steps leading up to extinction. First there is the division of the dominant group and those they wish to oppress. The victims of oppression are subjected to othering and seen as distinct from the oppressors. In the most simple terms, society is divided between “us” and “them”. Later, comes discrimination. The power of government is used to deny an oppressed group civil rights that are enjoyed by others, or even deny citizenship. This usually goes hand in hand with dehumanization. Casting groups of people as something less than human. Examples of this include how the Nazis called Jews “vermin”, and how members of the Israeli government have called Palestinians “human animals”. These attitudes are spread through the use of propaganda. The society becomes polarized, with messaging that gets accepted widely engendering a tacit approval for what is to come. That is the removing of human groups from society. They can do this through legislation and policy or by physical separation, occupation, or physical violence and killing.

 

Every genocide that has been perpetrated and is going on currently has been cast by those carrying it out as an act of “self-defense”. That these human groups are such a threat that they must be eradicated from the face of the Earth. Don’t allow yourself to fall for this propaganda and false justification. Often genocides are carried out by actors that have the ability with overwhelming force or state action against human groups that are marginalized. The power imbalance is striking. In a modern example, a state with overwhelming military force backed by the world’s largest military power is bombing people including women, children, and non-combatants who have had their entire infrastructure destroyed and are experiencing famine. A completely out-of-proportion conflict. Such is the case for all genocides. The powerful oppresses a human group that often lacks the ability to fight back meaningfully, and if they do, it further justifies the genocide from the perpetrators.

 

I have often said that Jedi do not react, they respond. And what is a Jedi response? A Jedi response must always be founded on compassion. It is the thinking of others and putting into action steps to lessen unnecessary suffering. So in the face of genocide, we must find collective action that is compassionate for those suffering or under the threat of genocide.

 

If you live in a democracy, there are many avenues to pursue. First is to resist if your government is conducting or supporting a genocide. Using the democratic processes to hold government accountable through voting and more direct action, as well as bringing awareness to the issues at hand. Recent interactions have shown me that there are those that will deny genocide is even happening in the face of it. So education and putting out a counter-narrative to the propaganda supporting genocidal actions is paramount. The campus protests of demanding Universities divest from Israel have both created visibility and real results with some Universities indeed divesting. It has also attracted some out-of-proportion responses from counter-protesters and law enforcement. The University protests are part of a larger movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) which is working to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.

 

Another action you can take is to support refugees. This can take many forms, from sending financial assistance to opening your home or even smuggling and hiding someone who is in danger. Other actions can be making their plight more widely known, by sharing stories either in your offline communities or online however you can.

 

It may seem that our individual spheres of influence are very limited in what we can do. In some ways, they are, which is why no one individual Jedi can do much, but together, collectively, in a movement we are much, much stronger. Jedi do not need to make a movement out of whole cloth. There are already many in the world, perhaps in your own local community that are already doing the work. Seek them out and ask how you can help or join them. We are not in this battle alone. Already many voices are being raised and bodies are being present. Do something. Remember if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. The path is political. Jedi are not bystanders, we are called to take action in the face of injustice. Will you heed the call?

 

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