Starfleet Jedi

So when I was importing the Saxtonite article into the Open Database initially, I did a bit of reading on the discussion page, then wandered over to the Fandalorian article, and it occurred to me.

The folks identified as saxtonites, at least in the article, seem to hate fandalorians. For one thing, fandalorians like Karen Traviss, and saxtonites loathe Traviss with a blazing passion, but when you look at them, that's not what they seem to be concentrating on. No, it's the devotion to Mandalorian culture that ticks them off, and the cosplay, and most especially the Mando'a language.

As those interested in the VS debate know, saxtonites seem to by and large dislike ... well... Trekkies. And the ultimate stereotypical epitome of the Trek fan is That Guy Who Wants to be a Klingon. He loves Klingon culture, he dresses like a Klingon, and he speaks Klingon. Parallel? Is this the true cause of fiction between devotees of Saxton and devotees of Traviss?

Cosplaying in Star Wars fandom is nothing new, it's been around since the first movie came out in 1977. I think what bothers the Saxtonites (versus debators in some cases), is that the appearence in their own fandom of a group that has gone to slavish lengths to create their own culture and language ala the Star Trek fandom Klingon groups ticks them off to no end. Why? Because for years many of them denied that such a thing would ever happen in SW fandom. It was a source of delight for certain versus debators to point out how geeky and stupid it was for Trek fans to engage in such activities. Now, the wheel has turned and they are faced with the fandalorians, who engage in a very similar thing to that which they made fun of all those years. To add insult to injury, they don't like that Karen Traviss' depiction of certain aspects of SW technology and the universe as a whole does not coincide with their own and Saxton's.
-Mike

Very true, lots of Star Wars fans do love cosplay, and even SDN likes the 501st.

Actually, I'am glad you brought up the 501st. That's a borderline example of Star Wars fans engaging in behavior similar to the Star Trek Klingon language and culture fandom, except that the 501st is more about making costumes than going around make-believing they are Stormtroopers, and they have no language to speak, either. But I would say that the foundations for the Mando'a culture phenomena in SW fandom were laid down in that kind of sophisticated cosplay.
-Mike