Taking pictures in public is not antisocial. Not being good at surfing is not antisocial. "Being loud" on a public beach is not antisocial. Being in a group larger than 2 people in a public place is not antisocial.
Believing that you have a special privilege to possess, use, and regulate public lands for your own purposes over those of others, IS antisocial.
Surfers beat people up to impose their rules. This is wrong. They are assholes.
As far as your driving comparison, roads have laws that govern their use. If certain beaches adopted ordinances of "surfer law", then I would have no opposition to them. But the current regime is just privileged assholes imposing a class hierarchy for personal benefit.
There are definitely some unhealthy aspects of surfing culture. Surfers will sometimes grow to feel they have a degree of possession or responsibility for an area. For some this makes them hostile to traveling surfers. But the vast majority will enjoy a chat and sharing waves. Regardless, these are local people who will probably be picking up litter on the beach and help a swimmer who is in trouble. They spend hours every day/week for much or all of their lives in an area surfing its waves. Usually the waves will be average and sometimes good. When it's good you feel like you've earned it... those few days a year. Most line ups have a hierarchy. The structure helps and the pecking order, while strange, means the older crew get more waves and the younger or newer crew get less. If you're new then it's a matter of introducing yourself to the existing structure. That takes time. Travelers usually have a few days or weeks. Sometimes they don't have patience and try to replicate their home environment wherever they visit.
I've been surfing for over 20 years and have never seen a surfer beat someone up. I have experienced bad vibes in the water and that's when I get out or move elsewhere.
Popular surf spots have signs up outlining some of the "rules" I listed earlier. It can help a lot. But things still get chaotic and many of these points also directly relate to safety in the line up.
Showing up to someone’s practice spot (even if it happens to be in public) and doing whatever you want can absolutely be antisocial, even in cases where it’s not strictly illegal.
If you for instance brought a camera crew to a national park and followed a random group of strangers for hours while they hiked through the woods even after they asked you politely to leave them alone, you should anticipate possible hostility.
If you found a group of musicians busking on the public sidewalk somewhere, and you set up a boom box blasting metal music at twice the volume right next to them, you should anticipate hostility.
If you found a few people playing a pick-up game of basketball in a public park and you brought 10 more people and started trying to play your own game on the same court during their game, you should anticipate hostility.
Believing that you have a special privilege to possess, use, and regulate public lands for your own purposes over those of others, IS antisocial.
Surfers beat people up to impose their rules. This is wrong. They are assholes.
As far as your driving comparison, roads have laws that govern their use. If certain beaches adopted ordinances of "surfer law", then I would have no opposition to them. But the current regime is just privileged assholes imposing a class hierarchy for personal benefit.