departures131,
I think the problem is that (at least from where I'm sitting) whilst admirable that you have managed to make a success of your previous area of employment, and quite rightly reap the rewards of what I'm sure must have been bloody hard work, determination etc. to get there, some forum members see that you now wish to "play" at the big jets. Now, as you quite rightly point out;
you have no right to tell me what to do, its my life, my money and my decision, if you dont like it thats your problem, live in anger if you so wish.
Now, maybe a slightly different perspective - imagine that in your prior chosen career path, you found yourself in the position whereby considerable expense and effort had gotten you to a point where you could start to earn a decent incoming from your chosen profession - and then slowly, all the Terms and Conditions started to dwindle, to the point where others paying to do what you previously chose to get paid to do, had eroded your business down to a mere hobby (from an earnings perspective), one which given the investment in time and money, made it hard to meet the accrued debts, bills and alike - and there, I think, is where you have met the resentment.
By all means, spend your money as you wish - don't think anyone really could argue they have a right to tell you otherwise in reality. But do bear in mind that collectively you are contributing to the overall decline in Professional Aviation as a career, and especially as you are really not looking at this as anything more than a hobby, a folly, to satisfy an urge. Your short term gain will be other's long term loss, and perhaps as you alluded to earlier, you would be better off buying yourself a Simulator and pretending you have the paying public in the rear, as opposed to coming out and joining the Professionals who do this to earn a living.
As for the industry having "clowns" and being little more than a "Circus Act" - well, not all in this industry are like that, in fact, it is only a very small minority. But you are looking to feed some of these "clowns", and some of us prefer to remain long-term in this industry, and achieve respect and success not only for ourselves, but also our employers, and thus achieve longevity for all. IMHO, subsidising pax air fares by paying to fly helps no-one long term, employee, or employer.