Is it just me or were the SEs hated far more before Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney? When Lucas owned Star Wars, everyone was saying “the evil Lucas is holding back the awesome OOT and shoving the awful SEs down our throats.” When Lucas sold to Disney, people switched to saying, “Disney wants to give us the awesome SEs but a small group of fans is trying to shove the awful OOT down our throats.”
There has always been a segment of the fandom that likes the SE’s. (Some have even gone out of their way to deride this site.) They don’t even want a world where both versions sit side by side and people can choose what to watch.
The general public is less aware of the situation, as the movies haven’t been referred to as Special Editions since 1997.