It may be optional but it seems to be the standard rather than the exception.
I just don't see people really caring about their privacy. When given the choice between convenience and privacy people generally choose convenience. As someone who doesn't have a dog in this fight, I just end up annoyed.
Just because something is a standard doesn't mean it's right. It also doesn't mean the law shouldn't discourage it.
And just because people don't care doesn't mean a company is automatically allowed to track people.
If the law were followed by the letter and companies weren't using dark patterns or ambiguous marketing-speak to convince people to allow cookies, only people with pro-tracking stances would allow it.
I just don't see people really caring about their privacy. When given the choice between convenience and privacy people generally choose convenience. As someone who doesn't have a dog in this fight, I just end up annoyed.