The word "Whatever" is one of the worst words in the English language. It is the epitome of indifference and in some cases it carries a lot of disrespect behind it. And to make matters worse there seems to be a growing trend for people to use it. Maybe it's a generational thing, where Generation X gets a lot of credit/blame for its over usage, but no matter who is to blame, the word breeds apathy.
Have you ever been with a group of people trying to decide something? It could be as simple as where to go for lunch. "Where do you want to go?" "What are you in the mood for?" We've all asked these questions and have been asked them more times than we can count. How many times have you heard the answer "I don't care. Whatever"? In some cases that means the person really has no preference one way or another, and that's perfectly fine because if you're like me then your only real concern about food is that it's in front of you at some point. Being around people like that can be a good thing because it means there are nearly no limits to the choices that can be offered. It can also be a bad thing because in some cases it means they've given up their opinion, forcing you to choose for them. Again with something like lunch choices it's not a big deal, but if you think about it they are giving you a measure of control over their choice. The other issue that comes from those situations is where you ask what someone wants and they say "Whatever", indicating that they don't care, however, when you offer an actual option they respond with "No, I don't like that place." or "I don't care, but just not there" Suddenly "Whatever" has gone from complete indifference to impassiveness with stipulations.
Now I'm aware that people are allowed to change their mind and put limitations on various things based on however they feel at the time. That's not where the problems usually come from. It's more from the fact that people tend to not always communicate what they want or more specifically don't want. When asked a question and you respond with "Whatever" that means you're saying you don't care what you get. Thing is that in most cases you will care about what you get, even if you only care a little bit. So in a situation where you're asked for your opinion and you respond with "Whatever" then you've essentially give up your right to complain about what's chosen. Sure it doesn't stop people from complaining, but at least for me I won't do anything to fix the problem. Why should I make an effort to resolve a problem when someone couldn't even make the effort to voice their own opinion when asked a direct question?
I mentioned also that the word "Whatever" can have some disrespectful connotations to it. We can thank the movie Clueless for making it even more popular than it needed to be. You're having a discussion with someone (or an argument depending on the person) and after you've said what you felt needed to be said they respond with only "Whatever". To me that shows a complete lack of respect for everything you've said. That word is bare minimum of acknowledgement that they even heard what you said. It also shows that they don't care about your thoughts on the subject. I'm not sure if it would have been worse for them to just keep talking as though you didn't say anything. I suppose the result is the same in that what you've said means nothing to the other person.
Lately it feels like we as a people are starting to be a "Whatever" society. It goes beyond just saying the word, but more about the thought process behind it. Watch the news. Listen to various politicians. Surf the web and look through articles talking about everything that's going on in the world. The typical response can be summed up by "Whatever". Now I know you can't live and die with everything that's going on around us. If you were to do that you'd lose yourself in all the tragedy that happens daily. Still it's easier to be apathetic about the things going on around us. To just think that unless it's happening to us it's not important enough for us to pay attention.
So the next time you're asked a question before just throwing out a glib "Whatever" response, think about how doing that means you're saying you don't care. You may not care about the question, but in most cases you'll care about the consequences. Usually at that point it's too late to do anything more than react to what's already happened rather than influence what could have happened.
