ATC Watcher,
AV8Boy has put the point I tried to make in a much more eloquent way than I could hope to acchieve. I never accused you of making the "I have the right to be there" statement, unfortunately I have had dealings with simpletons who did use it.
I have had a few occasions to test the "see and avoid" principle, and lady luck simply happened to be on our side. Otherwise I would not be typing this. BTW I fly helicopters IFR in Class G airspace (North Sea) and there are precious few gliders out there, but the problems with other traffic (usually non-offshore related) are still very, very real. I have friends in the commuter business who have had close encounters with gliders, though.
So like you I try to find a practical solution instead of waiting for the authorities to take their finger out and legislate. And even then we still have to rely on common sense.