Various people would have been working for years, even decades, to create a breed and get it recognized (likely all had different versions they preferred). APA just picked whatever they liked? For both Araucana and Ameraucana.
I wouldn't know if they said it would be one standard off the books, then changed it later and screwed over a bunch of breeders.
Of the people who are overly "passionate" (angry...) about the APA Ameraucana debate, I wonder how many of them would put the same amount of energy into arguing that my hatchery quality Orpington isn't a real Orpington because it doesn't follow correct SOP.
I see some spats about that, in a much more acceptable amount of passion.
(Switch Orpington with any common hatchery breed, you'll get similar results.)
I also feel like, if I did get the other colors of APA Ameraucana... and put them all in a group... somebody would call their offspring an abomination, and no longer Ameraucana, because the colors mixed... even though all the parents are considered 100% APA Ameraucana.
Which would mean, they're angry about the color... and it has nothing to do with the breed? The legs, eggs, comb, beard and muffs would be as correct as all the parents.
I also find it weird that it took decades for APA to add Splash, when they picked Blue as an original color already. But that's just a comment tacked at the end.