They are not all shit, only about 95% of them.
Actually, I would say that the majority of them are not shit. The majority really are subtle little things like removal of matte lines, cleaned up effects, subtle enhancements like the Cloud City Windows, continuity fixes, etc. If that was all the Special Editions were I would be all for them, but the minority of changes that are big and noticeable are unfortunately so bad that they simply can’t be ignored.
Well, no. Not at all. I don’t remember any removed matte line in the whole trilogy. If you mean garbage mattes, only a few of them were removed, some of them were actually made MORE visible. Removing walls of Cloud City corridors and replacing them with CG environment is not my definition of “subtle”. Continuity fixes? Where? I only know about new continuity errors which were created for each new version.
Watch the rancor scene, for one. It’s night and day. Some major fixes in the Battle of Hoth scene too. I’m sure there’s a full list somewhere and it is long. And that’s great, you don’t agree with the actual definition of subtle (it is not obviously CGI and blends in nicely). No one cares. Good thing is it’s true whether you believe it or not. Continuity fixes as in at least now the Emperor is the same guy who plays the Emperor in all the other movies, not some old woman with chimp eyes.
I love the originals, I grew up with them, I will always prefer them, and I agree that all the most infamous changes are awful. But I’m also objective enough to admit when something is legitimately an improvement. I don’t care; I’d rather see the movies as they originally were warts and all. But that doesn’t mean that every change is terrible just because it is a change.