>>212379636 (OP)If memory serves correctly, the only place with a high concentration of Jedi was the temple on Coruscant. I’m not sure if they gave public tours, if not then yeah there’s a low chance any citizen not living on the top level of Coruscant would even meet a Jedi. Maybe one out of thousands but even the likelihood they witnessed force powers being used would be even less.
That’s for the planet where there were hundreds if not a few thousand Jedi, among a population in the trillions. Jedi who went on missions across the galaxy were in very small groups, they were likely to meet important figures (political, military, economic, etc) but for the vast majority of people living on those planets the they probably only heard of those Jedi through second-hand accounts.
That being said there were a few planets that had inherent connections to the force, people living there would be much more likely to meet a Jedi in their lifetime. However, as the Clone Wars raged, it increased the chances a civilian would at least see a Jedi in battle, but they’d have to be at one of those planets at the right time and right place.
Our perspective as the audience follows the Jedi heavily so it seems like we see them all the time but to the average person in the galaxy they are but battle-monk legends. Conflicting stories, descriptions, etc would make it hard to distinguish truth from fiction, unless you were one of those few lucky people who came across them.
During the Empires reign? Very, very low chance of ever meeting one, and because of Imperial influence, we can assume even speaking of the Jedi was enough to be sent in for reeducation. Anyone who had firsthand knowledge of them probably kept it to themselves for the most part. By the time someone like Han spoke of them they were equivalent to superstition. Maybe battle monks were a thing before, but the force? That’s just hocus pocus.
