I agree with other quilters who wrote it's a time thing for the abundance of MQ over HQ. People live so much faster now! And there's pros and cons with every society change.
I wish they'd have HQ and MQ categories in shows and do the judging by the category. Judges have their own baises towards machine vs. hand quilting even if they try their best to be objective. They are human and true objectivity is not really possible.
I machine quilt. I like handwork though so I use embroidery to get that thrill or therapy, whichever way you want to label it!