Yeah, a petition to ban the series is really silly.
I also don't get the people who are burning their books, throwing away their merchandise, etc. Chapters 1-698 were a good read.
I did make this promise: If, it turns out, Kishi trolled us and stuff gets cleared up in the movie such as to end up NS after all, I will buy all 20+ volumes of the Naruto manga that I skipped over as a thank you. (Ran out of book shelf space and stopped buying new manga a few years ago.)
I was one of the original subscribers to Shounen Jump USA. Was hooked on Naruto from the start for a reason - I felt there was great storytelling in there. And there still is, chapter 700 withstanding. Even 699, despite the breakdown of Sakura's character to a whimpering 12 year old, is plausible.