Good poll, Kewpie.
I haven't got time to read all the responses but some thoughts nonetheless.
Morrissey always said a lot of controversial things in the past but they were often only controversial in the eyes of Daily Mail readers. His fans used to lap up and love the stuff he came out with e.g. about Thatcher, McDonalds, modern pop music etc. The thing is, it always used to be done with so much wit and charm and panache. Now it's all become so blunt, often ignorant, predictable, misinformed, foolish and totally unfunny.
The other really important issue is that, back in the 80s, Morrissey (along with Marr and Street) was churning out so many incredible songs with new singles (and b-sides) appearing every few months, and a brilliant brand new album every 12 months. So, even if you didn't care much for what he had to say, his contribution to modern culture was absolutely undeniable.
Now it's been 4 years since YOR was recorded, (virtually the lifetime of the Smiths) and 3 since it was released, and what's the very best thing he can offer us? People Are The Same Everywhere.
So it's this combination of hugely disappointing musical output and misinformed, humourless diatribes that is contributing to his free-falling image among the wider public, the music community, and even now among his core fan-base i.e. us lot.
Where does he go from here? First he needs to STFU for a prolonged period of time. He used to do this rather effectively in the pre-internet era. Just disappear off the radar for at least 6 months so that people actually start to miss him. Then he needs to co-write some blindingly good songs (but that's for another thread).
But continuing on this current trajectory will be a disaster.