A few years back, I got into a heated debate with some other troopers of the 501st about whether or not it’s appropriate for Stormtroopers to be in St. Patrick’s Day parades. I have always been of the mindset that no, Star Wars has no place in a cultural celebration of any kind if there doesn’t appear to be a logical reason for it. Grant it, I myself have been in a few parades over the years, but they were football related things and truth be told, I could give a damn about football and if they can have a giant fire breathing dragon in the parade, then a couple hundred Stormtroopers wouldn’t seem so out of place. That being said, I’ll take the risk of sounding hypocritical and continue to feel that Stormtroopers have no business being in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Fun fact: I’m of Irish decent, so it hits kinda home for me, and I don’t even go out for St. Patrick’s Day because it propagates a stereotype of Irish being a bunch of drunks. Grant it, this stereotype, like most others, was formed on a basis of factual observation, but still. Point is, it means something more to me than an excuse to go out, wear a silly green hat, and get shitfaced. I already have what the general public would consider a silly hat (my bucket) and I get faced in it all the time. I don’t need an excuse.
ANY-how….
I have no idea if the local 501st is going to be in the Phoenix St. Patrick’s Day parade this year, but I do know that the first two times they did it, they weren’t exactly met with open arms by the Irish community here and last year they were dropped from the list. They behaved themselves just fine, but I think that the committee that oversees the parade feels the same way I do. It just doesn’t make any sense to have a slot in the parade taken up by something that has nothing to do with Irish culture. During the heated debates I wanted to make my point by listing some other parades the 501st might as well take part in if they’re going to invade the Irish holiday… What follows is the post I wrote and was immediately removed/deleted by the webmaster back then, but I figured that since the holiday is fast approaching, I would share with you, my loyal two or three people still reading this website and since it’s my website, I can put whatever the hell I wish and poop on those who think otherwise. Besides, I thought the post was funny, as I did it all with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek and was pointedly ridiculous to illustrate how ridiculous I thought the whole idea of the 501st being in the parade was.
Enjoy…
Some Other Parades we should do…. Orignally posted in February 2008
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade
We are all dressed in black and white, and I think that’s reason enough to have Darth Vader and Stormtroopers marching down the street with Stevie Wonder’s “Ebony & Ivory” blaring out of my backpack.
Veteran’s Day Parade
Are we not all Verteran’s of the Galactic Civil War? Indeed we are, and that means we’re eligable to march in the Veteran’s Day parade! Grant it, the few remaining WWII vets might freak out a little, as the Empire was modelled after the Nazis, but so be it. They’ll be dead soon of natural causes anyway. Glory to the Empire!
“Alternate Lifestyle” Pride Parade
Now, we have many, many different costumes in the [Legion], and this reflects our diversity, and tollerence for differences. Plus, we could even have Rob Halford, who is a Arizona local, dress up as Darth Maul in assless chaps, and who doesn’t want to see that!
Any and all “protest marches”
Nevermind what they might be about, Rights of Migrant Workers, Unfair Pay Cuts to Teachers, Pro War in Iraq, Against War in Iraq, Abortion (Pro OR Con), when you get down to brass tacks, these are just Parades without marching bands and old men in tiny cars with funny hats. Well, the other thing they offer us besides a nice brisk walk surrounded by the city’s nicest fruitcakes is EXPOSURE! Imagine the press we’ll recieve after being seen at some of these fine events. Pictures in the newspaper are almost guarenteed, as well as TV time!
I am for all of these organizations, and support them fully! I also think it’s high time they paid us the due we’ve so richly deserved for too long! We DESERVE to be in their parades, no matter if they’re Star Wars, or not. They OWE us.
Author’s note: I am being rediculous to illustrate the rediculousness of our being in whatever parade we can, purely for exposure. I understand that someone in the garrison has put some work into our invading the Irish holiday and I simply wish more discussion had been made before he signed us up for that event. Yes. We CAN do it. I’m simply asking if we SHOULD be doing it at all, and asking that very question seems to be hot button topic unfit for the event planning boards. This is not a personal attack on anyone, nor on the aforementioned groups or events. I’m simply trying to illustrate something by making some extreme examples.
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