Star Wars: 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Empire
7. Xeonophobia Was Actually Not Allowed In The Empire (But Happened Anyway)
A quick look at the Galactic Empire's officers and troops throughout the original trilogy and in various other forms of media, and the way the dictatorship generally acted towards non-human species, tells the story of a quite xenophobic organisation.
It is worth mentioning that the Inquisitorius group the Empire used to hunt down the last remnants of the Jedi Order boasted a whole host of alien personalities, and the legendary Grand Admiral Thrawn was obviously a Chiss male. But they were exceptions, generally speaking. The Empire was mostly human-composed.
You'll likely be shocked to learn, then, that being xenophobic wasn't something that Imperial personnel were officially allowed to do. That's according to Imperial General Orders found in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn canon novel anyway. (The vast majority of the Empire's forces and employees just opted to ignore that rule, clearly.)
So, despite what it may look like when watching the poor way the Empire typically treats alien species across this galaxy, those putting on stormtrooper suits and officer caps were actually officially instructed not to be xenophobes.
Most of them just didn't listen, though.