While we're at it, I hated the way Obi-Wan referred to the Amani (sp?) as "things." I've never known him to be that racist.
I would have accepted "pathetic life forms".
"What's this?"
"A local."
It could just be that unfamiliar beings are generally referred to with neutral pronouns so as not to presume, but yeah, it does come off as something of a colonial attitude.