Rules, Sportsmanship or Anarchy

A perfect SMYC Commodore

Sometimes I get really fed up with peoples atitude towards the Racing Rules of Sailing whilst Racing IOM's at my local club.  Part of the problem is that I have raced Yachts, Dinghies and Multihulls at many levels from Club to World Championships and have always endeavoured to keep within the Rules and when I have broken a rule (which does happen to everyone) taken the relevant penalty.
And yet at the local lake on a Sunday afternoon people openly admit (mainly in jest) that because they don't know the rules then they aren't breaking a rule.
Four, Five probably more times yesterday I put my boat in a position to beat slowly up towards the line using careful sail trim and rudder control, yet within the last 6-3 secs a group of 4 boats would come reaching towards the line and then 'sail' (barge) along it until the start. This happened in nearly every race   with the same culprits starting this way.
During one such start I asked the offending boats to Keep Up.  I knew none of them would sail over the line prematurely so the inevitable happened and they just smashed into me, no apologies nothing!  As if it were my fault for not giving them room to charge down the line like a pack of wolves.
I explained my disgust and was then upset to overhear the Commodore saying "Oh shut up"
What a pompous, ignorant thing to say after I had just been bulldozed not for the first time back off the start line.  I recently mentioned the Protest word at our AGM and it was as if an earthquake had just occurred, the shock.  God forbid.  We don't do Protests at this Club. We are tolerant, insisted the Commodore.
I to can be tolerant but only when I think people are learning from their mistakes and not letting their alleged power, ignorance and other peoples atitudes provoke anarchy on the water.