Handman said:
"So what is the best course of action to erase the prequels from our minds and replace them with something better?"
Simple. Don't bother thinking about them. But it's hard when they keep being brought up in normal conversation.
It's really hard not to get constantly reminded of Episode I-III as a Star Wars fan. And it's not just in conversation with other fans. The problem is that every commercial new Star Wars product, be it a game, book or film, will be based on a canon that includes the prequels and therefore most likely contains "prequelisms", as DuracellEnergizer put it in another thread.
Handman said:
Hey, I'm a part of this new generation of Star Wars fans! Sure, I might sometimes be called a grumpy old man, but physically, I'm far from it.
I was over-generalizing - sorry if I offended you. Judging from my discussions with friends, acquaintances, and the schoolchildren I work with, I think it's safe to say that MOST Star Wars fans in their teens (and possibly even in their early 20s) prefer the prequels. It's always nice to see exceptions to the rule!
What I find really weird are people in their 30s or 40s who claim that they've been long-time fans of the OT, but still love the prequels. I considered signing up on theforce.net until I discovered a whole thread full of these people complaining about "prequel haters".
In general, I feel that OT "purists" are the minority nowadays.