The situation with jar jar and Ahmed best does not give excuse for poor treatment of Rose tico and Kelly Tran. What it does is gives us evidence of why we should not permit such behavior. Sadly for myself I was not mature enough at the time of phantom menace to realize that my actions and words could have such an impact on a person’s life and well-being.
But you weren’t making fun of the actor at the time? Even Mr. Best has made fun of his character, voicing Jar Jar on Robot Chicken and winning an Emmy award for it.
No, I didn’t even know who the actor was at that time. But it wasn’t mature behavior all the same.