system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] Where does the Rebel Alliance get its ships and weapons?

Are they buying them from the galactic arms industry? I have trouble imagining Boeing and Colt selling huge quantities of fighter jets and assault rifles to American militias in open revolt. At least, not without the federal government falling on them like a ton of durasteel.

Are they stealing all their equipment from Imperial army depots? But then why don't we see the Empire using X-wings or Rebels wearing Stormtrooper armor?

Or are they just cobbling together hyperdrive-capable battle cruisers and blaster rifles in their space garages?

For that matter, how do they pay for well...everything? Did they Kickstart an Occupy protest into a Taliban insurgency into the US Fifth Fleet?!
gpt
* Wealthy sympathizers, either private or sovereign would support the rebellion. For example Alderaan.
* Not everyone joins the rebellion empty handed.
* Much of the galactic weapons industry is impartial and morally bankrupt. Even if they can't sell to the rebellion above the table, it's not that hard to use a couple of go betweens.
* Theft, much of the rebellion was fought as a guerilla style hit and run war. Avoiding the empire's strengths while hitting weak targets and stealing what they could.
* The rebellion had plenty of dealings with organized crime. Let's face it, the empire was bad for business. Plenty of gunrunners, smugglers and crime lords hand no problem in dealing with the rebels. Vice versa, the rebels had no problems financing or otherwise supporting criminal enterprises who made themselves a thorn in the empire's side.
* On occasion entire planets or sovereign nations would join the rebellion, bringing along what military might they can. Many of the capital ships seen in the movies belong to the Mon Calamari for instance, who joined the rebellion wholesale after an imperial star destroyer wiped out several of their cities.

It's also worth noting that the original star wars trilogy deals with the rebellion's end game. Most of the rebellion was fought by isolated cells. Many, many small hit and run fights. Many last stands. Many isolated splinter factions.

Remember how small the Yavin base was? Only a few dozen pilots involved in the death star strike. It was just a central command post for coordinating all these separate cells.

Hoth was a lot bigger, a desperate hidden base to consolidate forces after the massive backlash they got after destroying the first death star.

Return of the Jedi was pretty much the biggest fleet they could must. It was the first time we saw their best fighters and their biggest capital ships. And it was dwarfed by just a fraction of the empire's space navy. Who spend most of the battle doing nothing because the emperor just wanted to keep the rebels contained for the death star to pick them off.