Anakin, the Tusken Raiders, and justice

[extrapenguin]

I came across some complaints about a trend in fic tagged as Anakin/Consequences where Anakin gets punished for his misdeeds by all his friends kicking him to the curb in an OOC fashion and started thinking about fics where Anakin faced actual, constructive consequences that include some restitution to the Tuskens. There's a lot of fic where his Fall is averted by a time-traveling Obi-Wan determined to do right by him this time, or in general someone else saving him, with a few fics where he himself wises up and reforms himself (mandatory plug for In Fire here), but I don't think I've ever come across a fic involving restitution to the Tuskens in the wild. I mean, I wrote one (though the Tuskens themselves are more of a side note), and one of the commenters outright said Also you’re the first author I’ve seen actually take a stab at having Anakin offer reparations to the Tusken people and then spell out what those reparations were, so kudos to you I at least thought that was really well done so I assume it's not a case of me being in a fic bubble of my own making wrt filtering and all the people writing justice for the Tuskens fic being, idk, Anidala OTPers.

(FTR, the official novelization states Anakin went personally lightsabering all the warriors/adult men, then came out of his murder fugue to discover he'd created a Force sandstorm or something that killed the women and children as well.) (ETA: This was the junior novelization. I have been lied to.)

Then I started thinking about what restitution the Tuskens could possibly be offered. Sing Dead the Dark (linked above) had Anakin vaccinate the Tuskens' banthas against a settler-brought virus. Parts 2b and 3 of the series of my current WIP of doom, All That is Solid Melts into Air, will have him negotiate some sort of peace treaty/land usage settlement so as to break the cycle of Tuskens and settlers killing each other out of vengeance. What else could he offer? Help rebuilding for the survivors of the clan he massacred, even if all the adults were at best complicit in torturing his mother to death? He might also go OTT in his personal penance out of guilt and, idk, shroud Tatooine in a perpetual sandstorm to get the Hutts and the moisture farmers and the like to evacuate the planet and leave it just to the Tuskens.

But the Tuskens also seem to have a completely different moral code to the rest of the GFFA. What if Anakin turns up on Tatooine, ready to make what amends he can and atone for his crimes, only for the general Tusken opinion to be "Oh, they were torturing your mother to death? Massacring them was 100% the right thing to do, gj on succeeding with it! Honestly you're an inspiration." Like, what does he do then? How does one make amends if the people one needs to make amends to see your severe crime as no big deal? At what point does wanting to make restitution become more about one's own comfort than morality and justice?

Comments

[atamascolily]

ow does one make amends if the people one needs to make amends to see your severe crime as no big deal? At what point does wanting to make restitution become more about one's own comfort than morality and justice?

These are fascinating questions! I think that in some ways that would be so much harder for Anakin to take, in part because it means he has to question his own assumptions and seriously self-examine. I would love to see that explored in fic; it's not something I've ever come across in fanfic, either.

I've written two fics with Tusken characters, and one thing I've always tried to do is give them a radically different worldview than the mainstream GFFA, and dig into the heart of the conflicts that inevitable arise beyond an overly simplistic "our side is good and their side is bad" dichotomy. One reason I like the character of Sharad Hett and his son A'Sharad so much is that they have one foot in each world, and can thus narratively serve as a bridge between the two--I don't know if you have plans to use them in a fic, but either one might be interesting foil to Anakin if you did.

[annathecrow]

Sharad and A'Sharad Hett are really interesting characters to consider for this specific question. I admit I don't like the Tusken worldbuilding done in those stories (I'm allergic to what Bret Deveraux of ACOUP calls "the Femen mirage"), but especially A'Sharad would have been the perfect person to help negotiate any kind of reparation.

[atamascolily]

Yes, I agree, there is definitely a lot of poorly done and questionable, "what-were-they-thinking?" worldbuilding in canon re: the Tuskens, but I think these characters in particular are a good jumping off point for fanfic--I was excited to learn about their existence because it meant that I didn't have to invent an OC with a similar backstory myself for a fic I wanted to write!

[extrapenguin]

Oh, thank you for reminding me of ACOUP! I think I'm now headcanoning that the Tusken tribes work on the basis of asabiyah, as described by Ibn Khaldun (brought up in pt IIIb).

[extrapenguin]

I think that in some ways that would be so much harder for Anakin to take, in part because it means he has to question his own assumptions and seriously self-examine.
Yeah! There he is, having finally admitted externally that he did the wrong thing and needs to atone, and the people he needs to atone to are just shrugging it off. So he's left in this state of knowing he did wrong, wanting to make amends, and simultaneously not being able to. It'd definitely fuck him up.

I haven't read all the A'Sharad Hett canon, but in the Republic comics (Legends continuity, so Anakin was a padawan through most of the war), he does actually find out about the massacre through (IIRC) Anakin's leaking feelings in the Force ... and tells Anakin he won't tell the Council, but Anakin should. (He was also one of the characters most sympathetic about Anakin's grief for his mother.) There are a lot of plausible interpretations for his non-reaction, but at the moment, the one I'm leaning towards is that Anakin's crimes weren't crimes by Tusken standards, so Anakin did wrong as a Jedi (and thus this is a matter for the Jedi Council) but not against the Tuskens (so A'Sharad, as a Tusken, does not feel like he can or should judge Anakin). I do not currently have plans to use him for anything, but ... he would be a useful foil and mouthpiece for the Tusken view, I agree.

[atamascolily]

Oh, I forgot to mention the other canon Tusken character who might be relevant to your fic: KkH'Oar'Rrhr, the lone survivor of the massacred tribe. He'd certainly have opinions about Anakin's repentance!

[extrapenguin]

Oh, thank you! My current idea is basically just Anakin and A'Sharad talking in the Jedi Temple, but I'll stick KkH'Oar'Rrhr behind my ear for future reference.

[annathecrow]

That's such a good point. I have never thought about restitution to the Tuskens - honestly an oversight, now that you've pointed it out. Definitely will want to ponder more.

To add to the "what if no crime was perceived" part, depending on the actual structure of the Tusken populace, it's also entirely possible there's nobody left who would have cared. Or more, that the neighboring clans are happy that the one Anakin wiped out is gone, because they were enemies. In which case, any reparation would only have meaning for Anakin or other people who care.

(Which. The legalities of Anakin's actions are also an interesting topic, but probably for its own post. Are Tuskens Republic citizens, whether they themselves recognize that or not? Did Anakin commit a crime against the law, or just against some kind of moral code?)

Considering the form of reparation... that should really be decided by the Tuskens, shouldn't it? I mean, from the outsider perspective, doing something practical and useful for the whole Tusken populace seems the best solution, but would they recognize it as such? What if, in their worldview, there simply isn't a way to atone for a murder? Or if what they asked for was something Anakin couldn't give, whether because it's impossible or because the act itself would be another crime? E.g. removing all non-Tuskens from Tatooine, removing all technology from Tatooine, killing all Great Chott settlers, killing another tribe in retaliation.

Anyway, really interesting topic! So much to chew on here.

[extrapenguin]

I guess it's due to the Tuskens not being that large a narrative presence beyond the kidnapping and torture, but yeah, them not being dealt with is an oversight. Albeit one that has no obvious solutions.

The legalities of Anakin's actions are also an interesting topic, but probably for its own post. Are Tuskens Republic citizens, whether they themselves recognize that or not? Did Anakin commit a crime against the law, or just against some kind of moral code?
Given, well, all of Tatooine, I don't think Anakin's actions were illegal according to local legal codes. The Hutts would not give a fuck, the settlers would if anything be happy, and the Tuskens don't seem to have a legal system of their own mentioned anywhere? So Anakin would have committed a crime against his own/the Jedi moral code, the Jedi code of conduct, and perhaps Republic law, if they give a singular fuck about what their citizens do outside Republic territory. (Actually, is Anakin a Republic citizen? He wasn't born one, and it's theoretically possible his status as a Jedi would give him the rights and responsibilities of a Jedi without necessitating acquisition of citizenship...) I'd argue the relevant bits are that Anakin himself goes "I'm better than this" and any sort of justice or restitution the Tuskens, as the victims, might recognize.

Considering the form of reparation... that should really be decided by the Tuskens, shouldn't it? I mean, from the outsider perspective, doing something practical and useful for the whole Tusken populace seems the best solution, but would they recognize it as such? What if, in their worldview, there simply isn't a way to atone for a murder? Or if what they asked for was something Anakin couldn't give, whether because it's impossible or because the act itself would be another crime?
These are all very crunchy points! Indeed, the Tuskens should probably be the ones deciding what Anakin needs to do, but there doesn't seem to be a convenient means of communicating with them, and as you said, what if what they want is something Anakin cannot give? I imagine if Anakin were doing this under the supervision of the Jedi Council (+ possibly A'Sharad Hett), he might be redirected into doing something that would benefit all the Tuskens instead, but if he were doing it alone and unsupported out of overflowing guilt? He'd probably agree to do some unwise things, especially anything that gave him an excuse to do something he already hankered to do, like kill some Hutts.

[annathecrow]

"outside Republic territory" -- wait, I thought Tatooine is Republic?? At least I understood that much from Padmé and Shmi's exchange: that while Tatooine might technically be Republic, in practice it has no power there.

Of course, we have no idea what parameters does Republic use to define who is a citizen. If you can acquire citizenship by being born on a Republic planet, both Anakin and his victims are Republic citizens. (If it has something like formalized citizenship at all, which... I'm not sure it needs to have? I mean, this is very headcanon-y, but to me the Republic looks more like a very fucked up version of European Union, and there isn't something like EU citizenship, just citizenship of its member states. So... I guess you'd need to look to Tatooine citizenship, and, lol. Sure.)

Yeah, I think that if there was any reparation, it would most likely be Anakin doing it on his own, and then who the heck knows what would happen. I mean, lets be real, even at best of times his decision-making skills are... impaired, shall we say. :P By which I mean, 100% agreed on the Hutts, but I can also totally see him doing some theatrical, self-flagellatory bullshit like, idk, swearing servitude to the nearest relevant Tusken under some very vaguely defined terms and getting himself into some serious shit when that inevitably puts him into a bad position.

(...that would make for a good story, actually. Helloooo, new WIP folder entry!)

[extrapenguin]

wait, I thought Tatooine is Republic??
But doesn't Qui-Gon later say that if Anakin had been born in the Republic (i.e., wherever he was born, it wasn't in the Republic) he'd have been taken in by the Jedi already? It's also treated as non-Republic/neutral territory in TCW IIRC.

It's possible to see the Republic as a fucked-up EU, but lbr, it's meant to be an allegory for the US. I want to make it more into an EU-type deal, but with the powers of the Chancellor's (president's) office, the Senate isn't exactly the Europarliament.

I think it's possible (even probable) that a Jedi probation council might mandate some reparations to the Tuskens to complete the sentence. Any supervisor would stop him from doing anything too stupid, but yes, if unsupervised he'd possibly do something colossally stupid and then askfhaiodhdl his way through that, possibly with a comm call to Obi-Wan for help. He has a tendency to only really make decisions of his own when backed into a corner; otherwise he just goes along with what his favorite person of the day says.

[annathecrow]

Tatooine -- I don't know about TCW, but you're right, dammit: "Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early."

Lol, that's the second planet this month where I learn I have been misinterpreting their Republic member status! What's the meme about getting a dollar every time X happens...

For the record, this is the passage I was referencing:

PADMÉ: I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's antislavery laws...

SHMI: The Republic doesn't exist out here.

I still like the interpretation that the Republic simply doesn't have proper borders, though. I mean, borders with whom? Historically, lots of big countries would claim that places belonged to them that the places themselves would have... slightly different opinion on, or didn't care one way or another. The Hutts are portrayed as criminals, not a recognized government, which leaves enough wiggle room for my theory.

I mean, yours is probably the more canon-compliant one, but ehhh, canon ;)

Republic not being a EU parallel -- oh, obviously not. I mean, simply because I don't imagine Lucas giving a shit about EU :D I don't know that much about US Senate, but I feel the actual inspiration for the Republic Senate was the UN: a huge body that pretends to care, but only squabbles and doesn't offer help when needed. Including the slightly unsavory "diverse groups of people being incredibly petty" vibe, sigh.

[extrapenguin]

By TCW they're treating Hutt Space as a separate polity, and the Council of Netural Systems seems to be both in and out of the Republic in a very odd way. I can see the Republic claiming that all spacefaring civilization is under its aegis, and young, naïve Padmé believing that, but the Hutts having always been there, a bunch of mob bosses running the lawless remnants of what was once an Empire, plus all the polities in the Unknown Regions.

[flowersforgraves]

That last paragraph especially really brings up some interesting questions. I can't say I think a lot about this part of the SW universe, but I'm very interested in any further discussion on this topic! In terms of the OTTness of the hypothetical sandstorm you mentioned -- which for me (coming from the perspective of someone who IRL both experiences systemic racism and benefits from the past and present exploitation of Indigenous peoples) echoes a lot of White guilt -- I think I can definitely see Anakin doing that, possibly without consulting any actual Tuskens to see what their thoughts were. However, I also feel like that opens up a whole 'nother can of worms in terms of parallels to real-world racism (cf. the White Savior trope), and would then, for myself, have to consider... reparations for the reparations? idk. I think the restitution you've written there works well, fwiw!

[extrapenguin]

The people who hang around in this part of the SW universe generally don't think a lot about it, either, I think. It's a situation that both does and doesn't echo RL stuff; I can see how it could be written in a White guilt or White Savior way, but I don't really think that would be the path of least resistance narratively, if that makes any sense? (In my internet experience, White guilt seems to come from feeling guilty about systemic racism rather than any prior concrete harm committed, and manifests itself as so. Much. Handwringing rather than anything concrete. IDK if the in-person version is different.)

Glad to hear the restitution worked! I think a part of it was that it was both a) obviously useful to the Tuskens and b) did not demand the Tuskens interact with Anakin at all, which can be problematic, but eliminates some problems (like any demand the Tuskens thank him for his restitution).

[yourlibrarian]

then came out of his murder fugue to discover he'd created a Force sandstorm or something that killed the women and children as well

Convenient since I doubt anyone in a murderous state would easily distinguish the sex of Tusken victims.

That is a very interesting question. However while certainly the cultural perspectives of the victim group should be considered, it should be weighed equally with the moral structure Anakin came out of. I can see how that could end up being an issue largely of feeling cleansed of the crime, but either he believes in that moral structure or he doesn't. Does he want to uphold it? If so, then that's what's relevant.

So I feel like it's still on his end a matter of restitution in a way that would benefit the culture as a whole (and presumably Tuskens have extended families). Yet it also has to be something that wouldn't create additional vulnerabilities for them. For example, creating a water source is something that access to would be contested.

Thinking about Mandalorian, what if on an annual basis he would work with others to aid different groups of Tuskens in a krayt dragon hunt? It would not only provide resources (and perhaps safety) but would also build stronger cross community ties.

[extrapenguin]

Convenient since I doubt anyone in a murderous state would easily distinguish the sex of Tusken victims.

Conveniently, they dress completely differently, making differentiating the men and women easy.

However while certainly the cultural perspectives of the victim group should be considered, it should be weighed equally with the moral structure Anakin came out of.
Should it? Are they not the victims? Should their voice not weigh heavier, as they were the ones who got wronged?

I mean, obviously Anakin needs to make some restitution and rehabilitate himself (he obviously regrets it and says he's better than it) because he wants to be a Jedi, not an example of the moral structure he came out of (I doubt anyone on Tatooine would give a fuck about Tuskens dying) – but would the Jedi be satisfied if Anakin just ignored his victims' cultural views and did them an unrelated favor?