The war on "Whatever"

Can we talk about something? I need all the people in this world who handle their responsibilities on a daily basis to do me a favor. I'm talking about those of us who pay our bills, pay our taxes, stop at red lights, drive the speed limit, don't litter, say thank-you when someone holds the door open for you, actually hold doors open for people, say excuse me when necessary, take care of your children, show people common courtesy, etc. If that is something you can relate with then I'm talking to you.

The next time you hear somebody who is not being responsible for their actions say "Whatever." I want you to verbally kick their ass. I don't want you to physically kick their ass (that could lead to lawsuits), but I do want you to lay in on them with a tirade like they have never heard before. Basically, I want you to act like this guy (warning EXPLICIT LANGUAGE!!!).

We need to take a stand against this behavior!! We the responsible people in the world need to sort this out once and for all. It's the only chance this country is gonna survive in a global economy.

There are times when I see really stupid behavior go by unchecked because we are forced to say "whatever" to those who live in a "whatever" world. This has been happening far too often and I hold one person responsible for this.

George Lucas.

That's right, Mr. Star Wars himself. You know why I hold him responsible? After he butchered my favorite childhood memories, with those pathetic sequels to Star Wars, his response was basically "whatever." He was like "These movies have made hundreds of millions so all those people couldn't have hated it. If people didn't like it, it wouldn't have done so well"

Hey dude, up yours!! I went to see those crappy movies because I had to. It was like I had no choice - my biological clock would never have forgiven me if I didn't go see pieces those of poo. The original trilogy owned a part of my life for like about 17 years, I had to pay my respects. The prequels were the most anticipated moments of my life.

I figured something out though. We all agree that Empire Strikes Back was the best of the original trilogy right? I mean, if you disagree with me than your opinion on movies is crap anyways so suck it! Did you know that George Lucas didn't even write the screenplay or direct the movie? Granted, he did write the original storyline, but for those of us who have seen it over a hundred times, we all know that the beauty of that movie is the witty dialogue, the amazing action sequences and the depth of character development (not to forget the brilliant score by John Williams). Empire Strikes Back was what made the original trilogy so great.

Instead of George "I ruined Star Wars for everybody" Lucas directing Empire it was Irvin Kershner who directed the film and Leigh Brackett who wrote the screenplay. Ain't that something? I mean, this guy Lucas takes all the credit for making my entire winter break in1981 manageable (my sister worked at Cinema East in Nyack, N.Y. at the time and got me into the theatre every day that week, thanks Jen) and yet he hardly had as much to do with making that film so brilliant as he likes to take credit for. What a dick.

So when The Phantom Menace came out in 1999, it was I who stood in line, along with millions of other superfans, waiting with anticipation for what would become the biggest letdown of our lives. That movie was ca ca poo poo pee pee. I could write a manifesto about how much that movie sucked, but we all know what I'm talking about.

The critics agreed with me that this movie was horrible and not just because of Jar Jar Binks (dammit! I promised myself to never speak that name). It was horrible for the poor acting, the crappy story, and the fact that the only cool character (Darth Maul) was in it for like 10 minutes. I blame all of this on one man.

So what does George Lucas do when it's time to make the next two movies? Does he put his enormous ego aside for the greater good? Does he say, "hey, maybe someone else should direct these next two and I'll just focus on special effects and counting my money." No. Instead he says "whatever" and just goes about his way ruining a franchise. Hey, at least he got his money. Doodie-brain.

So if you see someone at work or at home or at the strip club who is not pulling their weight and you call them out for it - if their response is "whatever," I want you to think about all the times "We" the hard working people of America get stepped on. Think about all the times "We" the responsible ones have been screwed by greed and ego and I want you to respond like this .