The Force is Not Strong with Lego

Look, I get it, okay? I get that there are people and cultures that get sensitive about things. I get that perhaps we should at least take care not to be blatantly in-your-face offensive when we know it might cause hurt or harm.

But we're talking about Legos, here.

A $20 $150 Star Wars lego set.

From the article:

Lego will cease production of a popular “Star Wars” toy set after Muslim communities complained about the product as the company says the criticism played no part in the decision to do so.

The Independent reports that several Muslim groups in Austria claimed “Jabba’s Palace” was anti-Muslim as it showed popular “Star Wars” character Jabba the Hut in a mosque-like lair with a hookah, guns and an imprisoned Chewbacca.

“This sort of thing does not belong in a child’s bedroom,” Melissa Gunes, spokeswoman for Austria’s Turkish Cultural Association, told The Independent. “The game is pedagogical dynamite. It depicts Muslims as terrorists.”

It's true that Lego has a rotation on its playsets (heaven knows there are sets I've tried in vain to look for over the years near birthdays and Christmas). But the timing provides an awfully convenient cover that is nevertheless ridiculously transparent. It is no secret that some in the Arab and Turkish world hate what they perceive as the George Lucas caricatures of their cultures in the Star Wars movies. But this is a toy - a $150 toy on Amazon (a bit pricy for most people) - based on a movie. Last I checked, there were no Muslims on Tatooine. For that matter, there aren't any Christians there either.

I suppose we should be grateful that Lego still provides blasters and light sabers with their Star Wars playsets. For now.