I've had this one stored up for a while. It's been said before by many people and will be said again; hell, many of you have probably heard me rant about this before. I'm just here to point out the flaws in logic for those who keep acting like Anakin was an innocent little lamb who would have never have harmed a fly if Mace, Yoda, Obi-Wan, etc hadn't been so meeeeeeen to him, omg. I would like to know why so many fans who excuse Anakin's actions by saying he had PTSD and that the Clone Wars were hard on him, and really he's a misunderstood woobie, act like Mace Windu and Yoda are the bad guys.

I get that they hate them. Fine, whatever. I don't care about which characters they hate or love. But what I want to know is how they can say Anakin has PTSD and how he suffered in the Clone Wars, and then blatantly act like none of the other Jedi suffered at all. I mean, Anakin wasn't fighting the Clone Wars by himself. You know Obi-Wan? The guy who trained him? He was there with Anakin, suffering from PTSD and the effects of war, too. So was Mace. So was Yoda. So was every single Jedi. They're all empaths. Sure, Anakin was the most sensitive, but that doesn't cheapen the fact that Jedi were being decimated by war, weren't made to fight wars, and were all being horribly affected by it.

Sure, I feel bad for Anakin, but the argument doesn't hold water against Mace, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi crew. Believe it or not, they were the good guys. They were on Anakin's side, too, until Anakin, all on his very own with some nudging from dear old Uncle Palpatine, chose to betray them.

I'm not saying the Jedi Council, Mace, Yoda, or anyone else is perfect. Sure, they made mistakes, could have done things differently, etc. I don't even agree with all their beliefs and practices, though I think they have a solid foundation. I'm just saying they were suffering, too. And if you're gonna excuse Anakin for murdering an entire religious order along with the babies and then subsequently tyrannizing the galaxy, then we can excuse Mace Windu for being a distrustful hard ass. If it's okay for Anakin to run around lopping four-year-olds' heads off and watching a Temple full of Jedi burn, it's okay for Obi-Wan, in turn, to lop off his arm and legs and then watch him burn. If it's okay for Anakin to oppress a galaxy, it's okay for Yoda to tell him to suck it up during meditation. See where I'm going with this?

Seriously? I love Anakin Skywalker. I love Darth Vader. I love his dark side, I love his redemption. I love that he's a complete idiot who made a wrong choice. I can forgive him for what he did, even if I find it reprehensible. I even find it somewhat understandable. I mean, honestly, if someone I loved could be saved by me killing a bunch of people, even my friends, I would have to stop and think, too. I can understand the man's reasoning. I only hope if I was to be placed in a decision like that, I'd make the right choice and hack up the Sith Lord, not the Jedi Master standing over him. So, yes, I do have sympathy for Anakin. But when he got his ass kicked on Mustafar? He deserved it -- George Lucas clearly says in an interview that the plot device was intentionally done to punish his character. So he had to walk around in a lifesuit ever after? Given his crimes, both past and future, I think he got off easy.

And for the record, though my favorite character is Obi-Wan, I don't agree with his choice to leave Anakin there on Mustafar. Given how much he claimed (and seemed) to love Anakin, that was pretty fucking cold. But I can understand it, much like I can understand Anakin's decision. Obi-Wan was hurt, angry, and had given up all hope. He's not perfect, either. I won't deny it, why would I? I love Obi-Wan for his flaws as much as his strengths. But why do you want to condemn him and not Anakin? Wtf.

In other words, let's condemn the whole cast of characters for their various degrees of crimes. Otherwise, if you're going to forgive a villain who stomped across four films murdering people out of turn, I think you can forgive the Jedi Council for being hard on Anakin or assuming an inexperienced Jedi Knight could train him okay. No, really. Compare the grievances there for a little perspective.

Every time people blame the Jedi Council for Anakin's actions, I'm hearing fundamentalists yapping about how videogames and rock music made the kids put on black trenchcoats and go to school and shoot people. Yeah, that's what it sounds like to me. The videogames and rock music may not exactly have been good influences on these already disturbed kids, but they didn't make them carry AK-47s to school and pop a cap in the class clown's head. Hence, the Jedi Council, whatever its imperfections (and yes it has them), did not make Anakin become a Sith Lord. I believe he did that himself. After all, Palpatine did offer him a choice.

So, sure this is all my opinion and interpretation, but every time I hear the Anakin fangirls blame the Jedi Council, I'm hearing, "MACE/YODA/OBI-WAN/*INSERT JEDI OF CHOICE HERE* WAS MEEEEEEEN TO ANAKIN AND I HAAAAAAATE HIM BECAUSE IT'S ALL HIS FAULT ANAKIN KILLED TEH BABIEZZZZZZZZZ!!11!!" It makes my blood pressure rise. It's not that simple, nor is it black-and-white. Whatever mistakes the Jedi Council made, none of them deserved what Anakin did to them. None of them forced Anakin's hand. He had a clear choice the whole way and he made the wrong one. Understandable and sad for Anakin? Oh, yes. Even more sad for Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi.

If someone claims to be an Anakin fangirl, they'd better be prepared to accept that he's not perfect, otherwise they don't really like the character. They just like an idealized version of him. And what I've always liked about Star Wars is that the characters aren't perfect and make lots of mistakes. You don't have to take a character's side to love them. It sounds like they're arguing that Anakin could have been saved if Obi-Wan had given him more hugs as a child or if Mace bonded with him over videogames. Which makes me go: O.o

So basically, I don't care if people are hating Mace, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the rest of the Jedi. Seriously, loathe them, making a dart board from Samuel L. Jackson's promo photos for all I care. Just don't start blaming them for Anakin's actions, all while excusing him by virtue of something they were all suffering from. That's liked "hypocritical" squared. At least use Earth logic in your reasoning or something. Everybody fucked up somewhere in the SW saga, but Anakin still made his choice -- and people seem to be forgetting that he still had that choice, as hard as it was. Not all choices are simple and clear-cut. I mean, really, choosing between fries or onion rings with my burger can lock me up at times, so I can only imagine how hard something involving life and death would be.

Man, am I the only person in this fandom who is both Anakin's AND Mace's fangirl? When did liking these two characters become mutually exclusive? WHY ARE WE TAKING THE SIDES OF IMAGINARY CHARACTERS, ANYWAY?

Here's your standard rant disclaimer, because otherwise someone will get their knickers in a twist: this is all my opinion, this isn't at anyone or anything specific (except said idiot friend of my sister -- where does she dig these people up?), yadda yadda yadda. Of course it's just my opinion. What the fuck else would I post in my LJ?

*offers cookies and love to those who don't wish to listen to me rant*