I didn’t say it offended me... and I didn’t say I wouldn’t camp near you.
The OP asked how to avoid the situation he found himself in, and I told him my simple solution, which works for me and my friends every time. Will it work for you? No idea...
You can choose your friends, and you can all agree beforehand what you will and will not do while together.
Is my solution/opinion right? For me it is. It has worked for years... is it right for you? Dunno, I’m not you. All I know is that if I have coworkers that drink, and they invite me to hang out, I tell them I’d rather not because I don’t bring my family around alcohol... honestly though they rarely ask me because they know my stance on the subject. There are plenty of people who want to hang out and not drink, and those are the people I hang with, simple as that...
It’s just one proposed solution. Nothing more.
I suppose I could stay out if it, but that would negate the reason for a forum, which is where people with a common interest go to converse and share ideas.
James
I wasn't replying to you specifically, and it sounds like you have a great attitude towards the subject.
The majority of responses seem to push excluding and banning this guys friends forever. It is probably the best course of action for the future. It's the risk of them being idiots again versus the reward of camping with friends.
OP unexpectedly found himself in the situation where it was too late to ban and exclude. You might someday setup camp, only to have a group of loud drunken jerks set up camp close to you.
When thrust into the situation, my advice for OP was to remember that nobody is intentionally out there trying to piss off other campers or make a scene. Approaching people calmly, positively, and respectfully about these concerns can yield great results and prevent a situation from escalating into OPs situation.
Really I think, thanks to the forum and respectful dialog, the combination of our approaches solves the problem entirely: Control what you can ahead of time, but if the situation arises; handle it with poise.
Banning and excluding is great advice and is a key part of planning a successful trip. To me, it is one of the hardest parts of trip planning. I hate telling someone that we don't want them to come for a trip because we don't feel like hanging out with their kids, or because if I invite them then I know they'll invite their annoying friend too. It sucks telling people they have to choose between traveling with us or seeing a National Park because our dogs aren't allowed.
I just don't take banning and excluding as lightly as some people talk about it. These are similarly-minded people sharing a hobby with me and this overlanding thing is something of a community. I'm not so fast to throw people to the curb because they drink or have a kid, or a dog, or a spouse, or whatever. Many times I travel alone, but other times I value the company of others. My campfire is open to guests. I don't like too much nonsense and riff-raff, but I also accept apologies and don't hold grudges forever.
My last sentence of the previous post, that "if drinking Coors Light is offensive you can bring IPA or camp somewhere else". I was trying to joke that the low quality beer (Coors Light) might be more offensive than the actual act of drinking.
