It's not like we all don't already have a billion copies of the O-OT already. Now we can even get it on DVD.
I don't know about you, but I will be able to watch the O-OT until the day I die. And if I want to, I can leave them for someone else after I've gone.
To me, no harm no foul.
The negatives may not exist as they originally were, but they do still exist as the basis for the SE version.
I think it's pretty funny you act like Lucas wouldn't be able to talk about the opinion of film makers, yet you feel you can do that as long as you quote a film maker.