Im glad someone has brought this topic up as I too have felt similar for a long time now but when ever Iv mentioned it, the subject falls on deaf ears.
When I was a kid starting out in the late 90's then into the early 2000's it was very different. I mean kids still did the things they do today but race directors and generally other club members would step in. If I rammed someone off the track I was made to know that wasn't on. Race directors would give me a good telling off. My granddad who took me racing would say basically, if you drive like that we wont be coming next week so if I had done a dirty move I was told in no uncertain terms that it wasn't on and the threat of no racing next week was a BIG deal
Im not going to name names as that isn't fair but there are kids who are very quick and get quick fast. This isn't a new concept and it was the same as when I was a kid and Im pretty sure the same for most people on this forum. BUT now when they come up behind someone and just push them out the the way I look across to their parents and they don't bat an eyelid. They seem to think it is just normal and part of racing. The kid doesn't get told off and it is accepted as the norm. This has been happening for some time now and if there is no education then how will they know any different. IMO it also spreads and it isn't just kids these days that drive like d...s!
One theory I have is I believe it has something to do with the demise of club racing. Now I know people will pipe up and say 'My club is running fine right now etc etc' but its a very regional thing. Back when I was a kid it was nearly possible to race every day of the week with tones of very strong clubs all over the place. Now if I want to go to a club meeting I have to travel around 45 mins to an hour to about 3 clubs within that distance. There are so many 'big' meetings happening that people generally don't seem to attend a club week in week out. Now when I was starting out for years I would race against the same people and see the same people every week. We would then organise going to these one off meeting together and we became a little group who would look out for each others race results and have a general laugh together. There were other kids my age who id chat to about racing and 'well so and so said its wrong to hit some one else and just drive off'.
So what Im trying to say is it was acknowledged bad driving was no acceptable and I had coaching from all directions. I don't really know why it is but it does seem that kids today are not being told about driving standards and taught what is right and wrong. Thats my 2 pence anyways