Yes. Actually , kemical, you skipped Vista? Vista was not such a bad OS as alleged, but that it another story. But it did provide, for the dedicated, a leaping stone to a quite different system of navigation. Those who persisted with it, found no problem and, in fact, were delighted when Windows 7 came along.
Like yourself, and other supporters (not necessarily satisfied supporters - lol), I do not see the change in Windows 8 as such a big jump as that mentioned. Essentially, nothing has changed. If new users do not like Metro, then ignore it and install Classic.
As you said, and with which I agree 100%, but "sick of", yes, but totally bored with the arguments.
I jump around these days almost entirely on Windows 8 forums. It seems to be the only aspect of Windows 8 that is being discussed. Surely a couple of remarks on its (slightly) better performance, or a couple of the new features, would be refreshing.