Public perceptions of Palpatine

[Sarevok]

Anakin Skywalker is supposed to be the "posterboy" of the order. The "hero with no fear" is admired for his bravery during the clonewars.

Then you got Mr Palpatine having his prime time TV moment when he declared the Jedi as enemies of the Republic infront of a massive Senate audience. It must have been the most historic moment of the galaxy.

What some are saying about Jedi being a little known mysterious order that keeps the Republic togather makes sense. Or it would have if the prequels actually followed the sensible route. If people in prequel era reacted to the concept of the Jedi the same way as Knights Templar or Freemason conspiracies maintaining the New World Order it would have fit with OT. But as it is going from "media celebrity" to "hokey magic" in 20 years is nonsense.

[Anguirus]

Do keep in mind though, that the prequels take place mostly on Coruscant and/or in the presence of the Jedi. The OT takes place in various Outer Rim backwaters. If these regions went Separatist early in the Clone Wars, it means they've been getting anti-Jedi propaganda for a bit longer, and likely only encountered Jedi as faceless generals leading battle fleets.

The "average" Republic planet might get HoloNet broadcasts about how awesome Anakin and other Jedi were, but they likely didn't see any combat and so have no personal connection to Jedi. Jedi activities before the war were restricted by the tiny size of the order: 10,000 in a vast galaxy, and the stable planets wouldn't see any of them because if they weren't on Coruscant, they were trying to solve interplanetary disputes on the edge of the Republic.

Now, former Republic planets on the Outer Rim, Mid Rim, etc. that saw a lot of Jedi during and before the war might have a more favorable view of the Jedi. Indeed, they were much more likely to become Rebel planets. But they still have no reason to know a damn thing about the Jedi except that they use "laser swords," wear funny robes, and were once trusted warriors of the Republic. AFAIK, the HoloNet didn't go into detail on the Jedi's awesome Force powers. "Jedi" and "Sith" are referred to as "religions," as opposed to surefire paths to power.

In short, the average Imperial citizen never met a Jedi and was probably only too happy to believe Imperial propaganda that the Jedi were once trusted and skilled warriors of the Republic who betrayed Palpatine, and now the only one left is Vader. He is likely to have heard rumors of "mysterious powers" wielded by these folks, but why should he believe it without hard evidence? As far as he knows they are fanatical Special Forces with swords.

As for Han Solo, he was raised on a garbage scow by an abusive drunkard, escaped into Hutt Space, pissed off his employers, and then joined the Imperial Starfleet. I don't know at what point he would have formed an opinion of the Jedi other than Imperial propaganda, and he was never very interested in looking. In one of the Daley novels he characterizes the Jedi Knights and the Freedom's Sons as "idealists."

[PainRack]

This is especially true if you read EU and what hero Anakin was supposed to be. He was all over the freakin tv and an idol to billions. How can they all forget what Jedi are about, especially with freedom of press for so many centuries?

How many people are knowledgable about Alvin York or Jack Bartley?

The galaxy didn't utterly forget about the Jedi. What happened was that their perception of the Jedi and the source of their combat prowress changed. Given that we ALREADY have such a massive public perceptive change happen in our lifetime with regards to public personalities like Bill Clinton, Eisenhower and Carter, is it that improbable to extend it to an entire organisation?