Perhaps they individuals are a little full of themselves....I've never met any of them so don't know......but I do think having them is an asset to GA.
Anything that shows aviation in a positive light to the general public, anything that gets the general public's interest and gets them to turn up to an airfield, anything that gets them to look skyward and smile (and dream) has got to be beneficial to GA's cause, even if it isn't always directly related.
I read somewhere (don't know if it's true or not) that airshows is the UK's second biggest spectator sport. If that is true then GA must have a good groundswell of support, even if it's a silent support. It's not my tax money that gets spent on the Red Arrows, but if it was, I'd prefer to keep them, no matter that the individuals were like.
dp