My point was that often drone operators are taking landscape shots of scenery which just happen to include people. Why does this person with the untenable expectation of privacy get to claim the recording rights to the scenery that belongs to everyone? How can they assert their right to privacy over the public landscape? It's infuriating. Believe me if I could avoid the people I and my friends would. It's impractical to ask everyone on the beach if it's okay to film them and I wouldn't have to if I were walking the beach with a handheld camera. Drones just make some people feel like they are personally being followed - and that's entirely their hangup (not mine). Take issue with the surveillance your local government asserts over its citizens with license plate scanners and red light cameras before you go threatening drone operators.

Anyway - people who attack cameramen very often say "What you're doing is illegal - I didn't give you permission to record me." - not, "Please don't record me, I would appreciate not appearing in your video." There's a HUGE difference here. They have every right to record you in public view, and you can ask nicely to avoid being caught in their view. This does NOT include threatening violence. What gets me is you only care about the 1 camera out of hundreds because there's a person behind it you can immediately see.

You are exactly the type of person who needs Civics.

Side note: If drones become a problem for hikers I expect to see certain areas like state parks adopt rules about drone usage to curb bad behavior. Hopefully such bans on drone operation will be carefully enacted, as drones have done a LOT to enable new perspectives on tired landscapes.