Don't you mean "Too Lazy"? Arfies make "getting the crate in the air " easier, there's no question about that. Soooo, we get creative on the excuses rather than on the building board. True in Pattern as it is in IMAC.
The only way to ever get some of it back is to bring back the BOM rule or give a handsome bonus for every flight to the BOM/Pilot. Of course that will likely eliminate 3/4 of the guys left in either sport and that is probably worse than the current situation of Arfie dominance.
Matt, you are correct. Currently both IMAC and Pattern are ARF dominated. I see way more scratch built or kit built airplanes on race day. Reason being is that there is really nothing commercially available for the race guys in the series I race. The same it used to be for IMAC and Pattern. In ARFs were available that were competitive guys would fly them. IMO this is what keeps many out of pattern including myself. It appears that a competitive 2M airframe is quite expensive. That and like you, I dislike electrics.