INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Dump ‘Star Wars’: White Nationalists Should Find Their ‘Safe Space’ In A Galaxy Far, Far Away From Here [Opinion]

By Bernadette Giacomazzo
Published on: 01:57 PST, Dec 9, 2016

Since Donald Trump was elected President, the alt-right — better known as the “We Need No Safe Spaces” Party, but who will, from now on, be referred to by me as the white nationalist racists that they are — has waged war on a play (Hamilton), a cereal company (Kellogg’s), and now, a bound-to-be-classic hit movie (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). With the Dump Star Wars hashtag (#DumpStarWars) currently trending on Twitter, the question we must ask is why a party that has bragged about being so much tougher than the opposing side (because having compassion and empathy for your fellow human beings, regardless of their race, while also demanding that they be treated with equality, is a bad thing in their eyes) gets so worked up over a film, a play, and a box of cereal.

According to The Independent‘s report about the Dump Star Wars trend, this all started when members of the white nationalist group started taking Chris Weitz — Rogue One‘s scriptwriter — to task for his purported “anti-white agenda.” Apparently, Chris Weitz — like many millions of others — have taken shots at the rising incidents of Islamophobia, homophobia, racism, and misogyny by putting up a safety pin in support of LGBTQ men and women.

This was all the white nationalists needed to hear, and the angry tweet onslaught started.

Fortunately, Star Wars fans — forty years in the making — took to Twitter to turn the Dump Star Wars hashtag into a promotional tool for a movie that’s already projected to break the billion dollar mark, according to Esquire Magazine.

As the outlet has noted, there is literally no evidence to support the claims that Trump supporters are making about the film, which prompted an onslaught of funny, awesome Tweets to show support both for Star Wars and for diversity in general.

And of course, this Tweet, which will certainly go down in infamy:

And what was the cause of this Dump Star Wars trend? Fake news.

And, according to The Daily Beast, this Dump Star Wars trend is pretty laughable because, after forty years, it has only now dawned on them that Star Wars has always been a film railing against homogeneous dictatorship and in favor of all-inclusive, multicultural diversity. In fact, the original Star Wars film was very anti-Nazi, and even the Stormtroopers were named after Hitler’s henchmen (The Great Jedi Purge — also known as Order 66 — was a direct reference to the Holocaust).

Just take a look at The Force Awakens, in which a black man (Finn, played by John Boyega), a British woman (Rey, played by Daisy Ridley), and a Latino man (Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac (and lest alt-righters claim him as one of “their own,” his real name is Oscar Hernandez-Estrada) come together in different capacities to take down an all-white, fascist-style government that threatens to destroy any form of dissension.

How is anyone who identifies as a “white nationalist” (or “alt-right” person) surprised that a film with these core elements doesn’t support a KKK-endorsed President and his more “ardent” supporters?

But as The Daily Beast put it, this Dump Star Wars hashtag is doing nothing but ensuring that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be a blockbuster success, if history is any indication.

“Last October, when Star Wars reboot The Force Awakens rolled out its new trailer, online racists—many of whom had Trump-supporting messages in their bios—took to Twitter to spread the hashtag #BoycottStarWarsVII, calling the inclusion of a black lead character “anti-white propaganda.” Needless to say, the hacktivism campaign was far from successful. The Force Awakens ended up grossing more than $2.06 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time after Avatar and Titanic. The same thing occurred when angry right-wingers went after Hamilton, with the play setting a new Broadway record for highest-grossing week following the online backlash.”

It sounds like white nationalists will need their safe space in a galaxy far, far away from here.

For those who aren’t afraid of a multi-cultural, diverse, all-inclusive galaxy not ruled by hegemony and white nationalism and racism, take the Dump Star Wars trend and use it to inspire you to go see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in theaters beginning December 16.

[Featured Image by Disney]

Share this article: Dump ‘Star Wars’: White Nationalists Should Find Their ‘Safe Space’ In A Galaxy Far, Far Away From Here [Opinion]
More from Inquisitr