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Redemption is an important theme in Star Wars for sure and it’s important to allow people the chance to grow and learn from mistakes. But when someone is showing an unwillingness to do that, no one is obligated to give that person the benefit of redemption.
Bear with me as I can’t stop thinking about this and so strap in. This is going to be a thread now.
Anakin Skywalker’s redemption is beautiful. I find it moving. The sad way he says “Tell your sister you were right about me” is heart wrenchingly tragic in the sense of a monster begging for some merciful understanding he knows he doesn’t deserve and probably won’t get.
But let’s not sugarcoat it. Anakin’s redemption works because Star Wars is a fairy tale and we give its moral lessons a wide berth when it comes to suspension of disbelief. If this was real life, few of us would support the redemption of Anakin Skywalker.
He used a white hot laser blade to murder children. I would never accept his redemption IRL. Having been raised Southern Baptist, I’m well acquainted with the concept in Christianity that anyone can be saved no matter their sins.
But in both cases—Star Wars, and that particular tenet of Christianity— it’s important not to confuse redemption with absolution. Redemption is not a Get Out of Consequence Free Card. While sitting in judgment of others can be problematic, communities have an obligation.
That obligation includes making sure the fandom is safe for all fans. It’s not judgment. It’s establishing a no tolerance policy for harassment.
