Star Wars TV News: If this article is true, my original prediction about C-3PO and R2-D2 being the only "Known" characters featured extrensively on the TV series could be true. Huzzah! It wouldn't be Star Wars without the droid duo.
(Thanks DarthCharlie for pointing this out)
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Welcome to my first truly deep thinking entry (Well... There could be others. I can't be expected to remember all 100 odd of my entries!). I fully expect to contradict myself at least 5 times before we're through.

I could go off on a tangent first (perhaps a full entry) about why I think the clones should be, without doubt, considered human. If you frequent the blogs however you've already read thoughts like that several times over. So I won't waste your time with that. I'll just quote this from solsticedawn's entry which sums up my feelings.

"Even if I have modified a Mandalorian template to be more docile, the offspring is still fully human. Why? Because I'm certain there are other naturally bred individuals out there that are still more docile. Is there a point at which your German Shepherd is too docile to be deemed a German Shepherd? Too docile to be a dog? Again, clearly not. "

My thought is more focused along this line... People were taken to be trained in the Jedi ways/dogma when they were infants, toddlers at the most. For all intents and purposes clones were taken to be trained at the same age. If a clone isn't human: are Jedi even remotely human? They take children away from their families, never to return, with full knowledge of what they're doing. I also think that those Tusken Raiders over there in the blog image posess human qualities, which is important to remember for my second mini-entry.

Mind you these children are your every day normal people with the potential to grow up to be corrupt senators, smugglers, or Hutt gangsters, but noooo we're going to throw them into the heat of every major conflict in the galaxy because there blood has high miniflounder levels or some such! And don't get me started with "But they still have a choice to leave the Jedi Order" because they do... But hardly more than a clone had a choice to not execute Order 66. By the time a Jedi has any comprehension of what it is to not be a Jedi (and if we dip into the expanded universe for a moment I believe they're not allowed to even leave the Jedi Temple until they're 12. Good luck getting any perspective if you can't even see the outside world) that's what they are: a Jedi. Most people are going to have a hard time moving from being taught things like "possession is forbidden", "there is no emotion; there is peace", and that they're the sole guardians of peace, justice, and the Coruscantian way... To reentering society as a cantina barkeep or such.

So just for a little brief thought provoking thought to sum that up. Were the Jedi any less slaves to being pre-programmed for combat than the clones were?
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Now let's go into one more tangent because I don't feel this blog is quite long enough yet. Let's keep it on the subject of humanity though.

Padmé was a racist.

Some of you may have already realized that but I'm hoping at least half of you haven't.

Situation 1: Your boyfriend just slaughtered an entire village of Sandpeople on his own accord (not just the men... But the women... And the children too).

Response: To be angry is to be human, it's all going to be fine. Don't worry 'bout it.

Situation 2: Your husband just theoretically slaughtered some Jedi kids (you didn't actually see him do it... And he says he didn't... But whatever, you believe Obi-Wan).

Response: You're breaking my heart! I can't follow you! You're not the man I married! Obi-Wan was right! You've changed!

Basically I sum up Mrs. Skywalker's situation as thus

"I bought (married) a broken car (Ani). The dealer (also Ani) told me it was broken (They're dead.... Every single one of them! I hate them!). Then my friend (Obi-Wan) said it sounded like it had that gas leak problem (slaughtering innocents) the dealer (Ani) told me about about a few years back (Episode II). The gas leak problem doesn't seem much worse now (killing younglings) than it did a few years ago (destroying villages)... But I think I'll sell the car (Ani) anyway.

While I'm at it I think I'll lose the will to live (I think I'll lose the will to live). I liked that car (Ani). I suppose somebody else (Obi-Wan) can take care of the payments left on it (Luke and Leia)."
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Why was killing a few younglings who were going to die anyway so much worse than slaughtering a village of Tusken Raiders? Is a village of nomadic humanoids any less human and worthy of life than a small group of boys who are living in the lap of an elitist order of holy guardians? I don't think so...

But I was surely more shocked (and glad that Lucas decided to go that far) to even show Anakin preparing to slaughter the younglings than his actually beginning to slaughter the Tusken village... And that sort of concerns me.

I (along with many others having written blogs sympathizing with Padmé) went right along with her train of thought that he didn't truly fall until he slaughtered the younglings and such... But now I'm thinking she just bought a lousy car and never bothered to fix the gas leak. Anakin was no less human in Episode III than he was in Episode II. Tuskens are just as "human" as pre-programmed clone or a Jedi who was stolen from their possible life as a happy smuggler.

Padmé just didn't like Tuskens I suppose... She thought those little helmets the younglings had were cute though.
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So there you go. Bonus points to whoever can point out the most times I contradicted myself in the course of my ramblings! I'm sure there had to be a few.
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