This 'ban anyone from having fun', 'stick with the heard and don't be a free-thinker' attitude seems to be growing in UK. It's one of the reasons for the decline in GA 'Fun Flying', and probably why GA today seems more a training ground for the airline industry than folk seeking 3-dimensional freedom. The fun seekers have gone elsewhere - probably to microlights.
At one time 'fun flying' attracted individuals.... characters, if you like. Many unconventional, but all interesting and few of them 'don't do anything unusual' flat-earthers. They weren't cowboys, but skilled careful pilots who knew what they were about.
Seems not to be the case now.
And of course if you do do anything 'unusual' (as we did frequently in the 70s, 80s, and 90s) there's countless bozos out there with a camera smarter than they are who'll record it, complete with inane remarks, and stick it on youTube.