there will be a sliding scale of acceptable behaviour, even in the worst cowboy, and everyone will have their own 'red-lines'.
Agreed, but how many rules get broken or how far that scale slides isn't all that important, it's condoning the sliding scale to begin with that's problematic.
It is a slippery slope in an environment that should be black and white. Trying to create grey areas based on ability or by transferring what is acceptable in a different environment to civilian operations isn't going to make anyone safer.
For each person you may choose to defend by saying these manoeuvres can be done without damage while in skilled hands, there are a couple more that are flying beyond their pay grade and taking aircraft beyond their limits.
It is easy to nit-pick over phone videos but it would be a lot better to create a more safety-conscious culture by finding other ways for bored or complacent pilots to entertain themselves.
We can all agree to disagree.