When Did 'Being the Worst' Become a Strategy? A Campground Owner's Perspective

I've been running campgrounds for years, and lately, I've noticed a troubling trend that seems to be spreading everywhere – not just in the camping world, but in society as a whole. When did it become acceptable to respond to being corrected with the worst possible behavior?

Just this week, I had to address a long-term camper who was driving the wrong way through our campground. It's a safety issue – we have families with children, and our roads are designed with specific traffic patterns for everyone's protection. When I approached him about it, his immediate response was, "Well, I saw someone else do it."

Think about that for a moment. If his own child came home and said they did something wrong because they "saw someone else do it," would that be an acceptable excuse? Of course not. Yet here was a grown adult using the same logic a five-year-old might try.

But here's where it gets worse – instead of acknowledging the issue and moving forward, he's now writing negative reviews about our campground. This is the part that really gets me. When did we decide that the appropriate response to being held accountable is to try to damage someone's livelihood?

The 'Race to the Bottom' Mentality

I see this pattern everywhere now. Someone gets called out for poor behavior, and instead of self-reflection or even a simple apology, they double down and try to hurt the person who dared to hold them accountable. It's like we've collectively decided that being the worst version of ourselves is somehow a winning strategy.

In the campground business, we're essentially creating a temporary community. People come here to relax, connect with nature, and hopefully with each other. But when someone decides that rules don't apply to them, and then lashes out when corrected, it affects everyone's experience.

What Happened to Personal Responsibility?

I remember a time when being corrected was seen as an opportunity to do better. Maybe I'm showing my age, but there used to be shame in being caught doing something wrong – not anger at the person who caught you.

The camping community has always been built on mutual respect and looking out for one another. When someone points out that you're driving the wrong way, they're not trying to ruin your day – they're trying to keep everyone safe, including you.

The Real Cost

What really bothers me about this trend is how it affects good people who are just trying to do the right thing. How many campground owners, business managers, or even just concerned citizens stop speaking up because they're tired of dealing with the backlash?

When we reward bad behavior by backing down, or when we let negative reviews from people who were clearly in the wrong influence our decisions, we're essentially telling everyone that being awful works.

A Better Way Forward

I'm not going to stop holding people accountable for safety issues at my campground, regardless of the negative reviews. But I do think we need to have a broader conversation about this trend.

Maybe it starts with each of us asking: When someone corrects us, what's our first instinct? Do we get defensive and lash out, or do we pause and consider whether they might have a point?

The camping community – and society in general – works best when we can have these conversations with respect and maturity. When we can say "you're right, I'll be more careful" instead of "well, someone else was doing it too."

Because at the end of the day, we're all sharing this space together. And it's a lot more enjoyable when we're all trying to be the best version of ourselves, not the worst.

What do you think? Have you noticed this trend in your own experiences? I'd love to hear your thoughts – the constructive ones, anyway.