People react negatively to the "financial independence/lifestyle design" because they suspect you are telling them they are stupid for wanting to build a life the traditional way by working hard, starting a family and saving money for the future.
So much this. Think of someone you see at the coffee shop with a sketch pad - tattooed, big ear plugs, tight jeans and a weird hat. Is this person creative? Without seeing some work output there's no way to know. Lots of people mistake appearance for an indicator for creativity.
Seriously. Why should creativity go unquestioned?
To separate the result of the creative process from the process is an abstraction that ends up excluding the actionable content from the concept. To argue over which acts are and aren't creative will do nothing to serve you in your life, so why do it except to try to bring others down?
As it stands, all I see is a six-month vacation in Thailand. I don't see the grand vision you say you have. Make me see it, and then we'll talk. And if you cannot help me see it, then why should I support you? Why should you go unquestioned?
Instead - just look at what you need to justify in order to "support" me (what does this MEAN?)! Why, beyond mere curiosity, do you feel more need to "question" somebody for doing what they want when it is outside of the status quo? Why does this become an issue of approval?
EDIT: To clear up any miscommunication - I am talking about friends/acquaintances getting uncomfortable/upset about my spending my time, money, and life the way I want to simply because it does not conform to the status quo. I am not talking about soliciting anybody (that would be weird).
EDIT 2: Although the fact that multiple commenters assumed that someone else would have to be bankrolling me to do this shows how deep the "always have a job and spend what you earn" conditioning/lifestyle goes.
Why do I question you? Because all you've told me is that you want to spend six months reading books in Thailand. You won't tell me what you're reading, or why Thailand, or why it needs to be done full-time. Do you even know what you're going to be reading? I suspect not; I suspect this is pure leisure, and the plan to read books will only last until the first distraction comes along. But even if it doesn't, I'm not seeing what difference it would make. And all of this would be well enough to leave alone, but you're (hypothetically) asking me to either bankroll it, or to at least treat it as kind of serious personal project, without even telling me why I should do either one.
Why should I question you? Why shouldn't I? There is creativity, and there is BS, and this is sounding more and more like the latter. Why shouldn't you be called out on that? All I've asked is why, yet the response has been defensive if not outright hostile. What are you defending?
I think I know. This isn't Michelangelo or Picasso or Tolkien or Henson or even Yankovic. This is, at its absolute best, Katy t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m, acting out at random in blind rebellion, not against anything in particular, but merely for rebellion's sake, because that's what sounds like fun. And for that, you can leave me off your list of donors.
And looking at the rest of your (Millennium) comments, it looks like you took it personally and unironically got angry.
(as an aside, since when has "saving money for the future" been the habit in America?)
Which is a problem, people take everything as a personal assault.
This has nothing to do with the creativity or lack of creativity in the action.