Reva Sevander (also known as the Third Sister) is an Imperial Inquisitor who appears in the Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi (on Disney Plus). She is played by Moses Ingram, and there was a lot of mixed hype about this series, but the drama started when the promotional material made it look like Obi Wan was going to be a side character in his own show, second banana to The Third Sister, played by a black woman. Apparently the drama got so intense that some people started to send hateful comments to Moses Ingram on social media, including RACIST comments. Today we look into this media frenzy about Ingram receiving HATE… on the INTERNET?!?!

Examples (for once) Are Hard To Find

I’ve not been able to find any examples of any of the hundreds of these hateful, racist comments online, so all I have to go on is those two examples given by Newsweek. According to Newsweek, Moses Ingram shared screenshots of the messages she’s received in her Instagram inbox since joining the franchise. Some of the hateful comments included: “You’re days are numbered [sic]” and “You suck loser. You’re a diversity hire and you won’t be loved or remembered for this acting role.” Neither of those are ACTUALLY racist, but, if you take them both the right way, they certainly are… not very nice. Which is sort of like racism in the way Adam Sandler movies are sort of like funny.

The article goes on to report that Ingram said this about the issue, “Long story short, there are hundreds of those, hundreds. And I also see those of you out there who put on a cape for me and that really does mean the world to me, because there’s nothing anybody can do about this.”

Remember that she said “There’s nothing that anybody can do about this,” because in just a moment I’m going to show you how all kinds of people decided that this was somehow Disney’s Fault.

According to CNN, Ingram posted multiple examples of racist messages and comments on Instagram, noting that she has received hundreds of messages, some of which included the N-word. It does not state whether those comments using “the N word” were from white authors or black ones, and so we’re left to use our imagination. But I think CNN’s official motto is, “Why should we report facts when you can use your imagination? Also, It’s TRUMP’S Fault.” Their dedication to this vision statement is admirable, as they have worked hard to avoid accidentally reporting unbiased information since the late 1980’s.

The Problem with Star Wars is the People Who Like Star Wars

Star Wars’ own social media and MANY online media outlets started cranking out, not only statements of encouraging support for Ingram, but a constant stream of articles about how HORRIBLE and TOXIC Star Wars fans are. The assumption is that, like every other part of America, Star Wars was built on the backs of slaves and driven by white racists. This is the same thing Leftists say about the White House, the constitution, Taco Bell, Baseball, fireworks, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and math tests.

NPR, put out an article called, “Racist ‘Star Wars’ fans aren’t new. Why doesn’t Disney do more to protect its actors?” Which strikes me as odd, because Ingram herself recently told The Independent that Lucasfilm executives warned her that she would likely face harassment online from racist “Star Wars” trolls as a Black woman entering the franchise in the upcoming series “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” The Today Show put out an article called “‘Obi-Wan’ star warned to prepare for racist ‘Star Wars’ trolls: Harassment ‘likely will happen’.”

“It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, ‘This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens,’” Ingram said.

If I may digress for just a moment, Lucasfilm should be telling ALL of their actors, and not just the “diverse” ones, to expect hate on the internet because there are jerks on the internet. Frankly, I think we should just be warning kids of this starting in Kindergarten. All you need to do for someone to attack you on social media is BE on social media.

Why Doesn’t Disney Do More?

Lucasfilm is owned by Disney. They apparently told Ingram that this could happen and that they have her back. But NPR is demanding to know why Disney doesn’t do more. But the racist harassment they are all raging about happened on social media, which (as of the writing of this article) Disney doesn’t own. So, short of purchasing those social media platforms and controlling the freedom of speech of the users (which no doubt they will do very soon) what else could Disney have done?

Let me break it down point by point so you can see my confusion:

Disney hires a black woman to play a central role on a highly anticipated Star Wars project.

Lucasfilm tells her, “The Internet is full of jerks, but we have your back.”

The internet, being full of jerks, sent her some unkind messages, and hypothetically racist ones too.

NPR DEMANDS to know why Disney didn’t do more? More than hiring her and letting her know there are jerks on the internet and they would side with her against those jerks? What else could they actually do?

In all sincerity, I had no idea what NPR and friends wanted, so I read on and found this answer from the author of that NPR article: “Let’s see prominent executives talk about the racism among fans before actors of color have to go public with their trauma. Let’s see an advertising campaign directed specifically at calling out racists and uplifting non-white performers. How about social media events with fans aimed at celebrating franchise diversity before a new TV show or film even debuts?”

This is actually a perfect description of the media frenzy around Ingram due to her participation in Obi Wan. There were all KINDS of articles and social media posts and news stories calling out “racists” and praising Ingram and celebrating HOW GREAT it is that there is FINALLY a black person in Star Wars (as long as you ignore Lando, Poe, Saul Guererra, etc.). But just think for a second about HOW STUPID this idea is. The executives- people in charge of the companies that make this content- should take to media and attack the fans for being racist and make “advertising campaigns directed specifically at calling out racists.” Can you imagine what that would look like?

“Hello, I’m Disney CEO Bob Chapek and I want to introduce you to the new series premiering on Disney Plus, Obi Wan! We’ve decided to cast a talented black actress for a central role in this show, and since so many of you Star Wars fans are seething racists, we wanted to say we hate you guys and we hope you don’t watch this show.

“We didn’t make it for you racist Star Wars fans. We made it for an audience who has never enjoyed Star Wars before- black people! Finally, they’ll have a reason to watch Star Wars, and we hope it gets under your skin that your precious all-white adventure story in space has been taken by a black audience. You’ll start seeing non-whites at Star Wars conventions for the first time, and we hope it keeps you away. We hope you never buy any Star Wars merch ever again.

“We don’t need your money. We don’t even WANT your money. Sure, the first seven or eight movies were for a racist, white audience, but we’ve turned over a new leaf. Now we hate you people who made Star Wars the global, white pride phenomenon it has been for 40 years. We hate you all and we love diversity now.”

I’m not going to lie. I’d watch that. I’d watch that like I’d watch a train wreck.

What We Learned Today!

Because I am a teacher, I need to spoon-feed you the points I hope you take away. It’s a compulsion. We can’t help it.

1. Hate aimed toward a person who is not white is NOT automatically “racist.” It might just be garden variety, regular, run of the mill normal hate that has NOTHING to do with the fact that they are not a “white” person. Which, when you think about it, is a form of equality.

2. The internet is full of jerks. If you are on line, someone will say something mean to you even if you never get cast in a Disney + show. Though, at the rate they are cranking out those shows, you will probably be cast sooner or later. There are only so many actors in the world.

3. I find it offensive that, every time Disney casts a black actor, we’re all expected to completely ignore all of the black actors who came before and pretend that this is the first time it’s happened. I mean, technically the character under the mask was light skinned, but Darth Vadar was voiced by James Earl Jones for the entire original trilogy. Does that not count as “diversity” in Star Wars? In case you haven’t seen it, Dark Vadar is a rather important character in that series.

4. Black Americans have enjoyed Star Wars, Star Trek, county music, hockey, bass fishing, NASCAR, and all of the other allegedly “white” things that the Left hates. Anytime someone goes on about how something has “become diverse” just assume that they’re ignorant of the past 150 years of American history. It’s a safe bet.

5. Lando blew up the second Death Star. HE SAVED THE GALAXY with his courage and piloting skills. How does that NOT COUNT??!?!