Openings against e4 that are Open (except e5)

I think you can understand specific variations of an opening, but to understand entire openings you must understand every variation.

Welcome back, Holycrusader.  You are correct.  That is your ideal, to understand variations.  But understand, as thriller points out, that it is possible to have even a grandmandmaster understanding and still be outplayed, because chess is not just about the opening.  Also my opinion, to answer your question at the beginning of this post, is that a cramped game cannot be avoided if White chooses certain paths.  Learn the tools for playing and relieving the cramped game.

I do not accept your authority on this.

How much questioning have you done of ThrillerFan assertions?

I question everybody, even you Spongy.

In many cases, some variations can be avoided. For those you do play, you might want to consider whether your immediate concern is GM-understanding or just trying for better understanding than your usual opponents. In case you missed it:

"... I think people tend to be afraid of the main lines. They think: ... sure, I'm going to take up (say) 5 Bg5 against the Semi-Slav, once I've got time and learned it properly. ... My advice is - don't bother. The more you learn anyway, the more you'll recognize how little you know. ... 5 Bg5 is a good move - get it on the board, get ready to fight, and see what happens.
Sure, there will come a time, whether on move two or move twenty, when your knowledge of theory runs out and you have to decide what to do on your own. ... sometimes you will leave theory first, sometimes your opponent. Nothing will stop this happening. It happens in every well-contested GM game at some point, usually a very significant point. This is a part of the game: an important part, something you have to get better at. ... to improve you have to challenge yourself; ..." - IM John Cox (2006)

Don't want to discuss how much questioning you have done of ThrillerFan assertions?

Everyone, Spongy, in English means everyone.

And "how much" means "how much".

When I say everyone, I mean everyone.  There is no degree involved.  I either question or I don't.

You don't think that my questioning-of-ThrillerFan was more than your questioning-of-ThrillerFan?

You can not get into my mind, nor I into yours.  Your assumption that either I did not question you or Thriller is based on the idea that you do not understand my premise; namely that chess has taught me to question everything.

So your talking about questioning that includes mental questioning? Seems to me that that means that you have given no grounds for believing my questioning of anyone to be insufficient.

If you are determined to avoid 1 e4 e5, your best bet is probably, as I have indicated before, to look at sample games for the various options and pick what most appeals to you (or least repels you). I've seen Sicilian, 1...e5, French, and Caro-Kann referred to as the big four, so aversion-to-theory seems to me to somewhat favor the Scandinavian.

Spongy, all questioning is mental.  It is not clear what you are talking about.  Please rewrite both se tences.  

Some questioning is only mental. Some questioning is both mental and manifested outside the mind as with a posted question.

Nice try but even questioning manifested as a posted question is mental by definition. Again  I would appreciate your rewriting your two sentences, so that all may understand you.

Don't see a contradiction.

I am not concerned about your opinions regarding what is necessary so that all may understand me.