Humm....OK...
1) I never said anyone should lose their Freedom of Speech. And to be clear the First Amendment actually states the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." All that guarantees is that the Government can't make laws to prohibit or constrain speech. Broader interpretations and Judicial rulings have expanded the use of the Amendment, but essentially all it guarantees is the Uncle Sam can't throw you in jail for saying what you think. 2) I am not "blindly" defending George Lucas. I am staunchly defending his right to do what ever the hell he wants to with his creation. Just as I would defend your right to do what you will with your original work. And, I was playing Devil's Advocate. There are many things about the SE that I dislike, tbh...I just don't endlessly argue about them. 3) Do you know George personally? No? Then perhaps you should reserve value judgments on his motivations. Again...Devil's Advocate. 4) I too have spent far more than anyone probably should on Star Wars merchandise. That said, I have the choice to spend money on future purchases or not. Again, you want to get George's attention...stop buying stuff. Don't buy into the mega-merchandising. I didn't hear nearly as many of you bitching about how much money you were spending on cracked plastic action figures from EBay from 1980 or on the ump-teenth release of the Original Trilogy in the new shiny black snazzy box, before the SE when it was just re-released for no particular reason. I stood in line with some of you for hours waiting to see the Original Trilogy re-released in the theaters as the SE...all the way thru to Jedi. If you were so mortally offended by the SE, then why go see Empire and Jedi too?? Why spend the extra ticket price if you hated ANH so much? I seem to remember record sales on movie tickets for every single movie, including the SE and the Prequels. Again...hit 'em in the pocket book and they'll stop. I promise. 5) Haven't you ever done something you spent hours of blood, sweat and tears trying to make come out like you see in your head only to have someone come along and tell you it was total crap? Surely there are people out there who don't like your fan edits who have been so shy and un-retiring as to let you know in now uncertain terms that they don't appreciate your efforts. Possibly bringing your questionable parentage and possible mental status to the mix? Even if that hasn't happened, can't you imagine how bitter that would make you feel? To the point of saying "Fine, screw you, I'll do what I damn please and forget you all!" 6) I wasn't trying to convert anyone. On either side. I was merely stating that we DO all need to just agree to disagree and appreciate the fact that all of us Sci-Fi loving, outcast, computer geeks still have a reason to come together and find common ground. Even if we disagree on the details, we can all agree that Star Wars has and continues to effect our lives greatly. 7) And…I understand that this place is a place for those who do disagree with what they dislike about the direction of their favorite movie. That said, why can’t it stay in places like this. Why does SW/Lucas bashing have to permeate every possible geek friendly place out there? What is so darn polarizing about a series of movies that has caused the subject to come up even in something, for example, like a video game review of a 1st Person Shooter which has nothing sci-fi about it and wasn’t even made by Lucasarts? Again I say…why can’t we all just agree to disagree? vbangle said: This thread is pure SPAM bullshit. If you Lucas lovers want to come in here and spread your shit everywhere at least do it in the general forum. Dam fucking kids....
Oh and for the record, I am neither SPAM’ing nor am I a “damn fucking kid” as I am 37 years old and happen to have children I’m trying to teach tolerance to. If you’re beliefs/opinions are so fragile that your only recourse to an attempt at genuine debate is to respond with such anger and assumptions, perhaps this is the wrong place to have a civil discussion… For those of you who can appreciate a heated yet civil debate…I apologize. Lesson learned.