Great posts all around guys. I agree with most of the things you said about the changes.
I am one of those fans. But I saw and loved SW before the SEs came out. And most of you saw them even before I did. If I had seen and loved SW after 1997 and had never seen the original theatrical cuts, would I like them as much? Probably not. It wouldn't be the movie I watched and loved as a kid. Therefore I don't think anyone should talk about getting rid of anything. It's all apart of the film's history now. What's done is done. You might think it was wrong of George Lucas to tamper with his work, but he has and there's no need to explain why people shouldn't do that. I have no desire to own the '97, '04, or Bluray sets because the changes are mostly bad instead of good. But I do love the good that did sneak its way into the movie. Had Lucas really just given some of the special effects a facelift and didn't mess with characters, pacing, or trying to tie it with the prequels, would people really hate the special editions so much? I doubt it. They'd probably prefer one or the other, but I don't think they'd see them as the evil that we make them out to be.