Try sitting opposite a person at a table, write the number "6". Your oppo will see it as a "9". You are both right. That's called perspective.
Now let's shake off the Luddite and King Canute tendencies and bring some collective wisdom to the problems that are here to stay.
Fact - Drones have taken large chunks of helicopter work away, and will continue to do so.
Fact - There is work for both categories of flying machine, and they will consequently come into the same airspace more and more frequently.
Fact - Each category has strengths and weaknesses in the avoidance game. e.g. a helicopter has human eyes on board, a drone has sensors that helicopters can only dream of.
Fact - There are some great helicopter pilots and some that shouldn't ever have been allowed a licence. The same is true of drones.
Fact - Helicopters are very expensive and drones are very cheap. Therefore there will always be more drones than helicopters and the proportion of idiot-drone-pilots will always exceed idiot-helicopter-pilots.
Question - So how do we frame our discussion in a way that protects the arses of heli pilots while at the same time recognizes the facts above?
Opinion - I've often framed aviation questions to myself in terms of a bicycle and a truck. They are sharing the same piece of road but you don't expect a cyclist to have the same qualifications or other regulatory requirements as the truck driver. You DO expect the cyclist to be AWARE of the truck's presence and aware of the truck rules as they apply to the shared space (and vice versa). IMHO basic training, and probably some form of licencing, should be mandatory for drone owners of all kinds.
Opinion - A drone should be categorized like a shot-gun (In the UK and Australia at least!) … regulated, safe in the right hands after training, and controlled.
Opinion - CAA, CASA, EASA, FAA etc were not set up to be the arbiters of drones, because we never envisaged the advent. New bodies, working in parallel, are needed.
Opinion - Historical precedent of helicopters over drones is not a sensible start to the discussion.
Declaration - I'm a rotary pilot of 45 years, and a drone pilot of three years.
Less war war and more jaw jaw - drones are not going to magically disappear just because you like helicopters. If it looks like a "9" it could equally be a "6"