Thanks.

You know what works really well? Fume silently for 30 seconds and then tap them on the shoulder and say, as nicely and solicitously as you possibly can manage,

“Oh, I’m so sorry, can you please shift your seat up just a bit, because x? It would really help me.” Then give them an “aren’t airlines thieving fuckers but whatyougonnado?” smile.

Throwing the seatback viciously (which some people definitely do) or without regard is a “silent” act. Very few people have the balls to publically ignore you when you are polite and use the word “because.”

They rely on the assumption that you will follow the social pact and not say anything. Which you can exploit to your advantage!

(“because x” can be whatever reason you like, pretty much, whether you wanna claim issues with knee-squishing or whatever. Last time I used it, I asked “because I can’t hold my book up.” Not exactly life or death. He glared at me but complied anyway!)

Here’s an NYT article about research studies that shows how effective the word “because” is in simple social nicety requests — regardless of if it’s a good reason or not:

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/23/science/scientist-at-work-ellen-j-langer-a-scholar-of-the-absent-mind.html?pagewanted=2

Human beings are social animals. We live and die by our social ties. So social appeals are powerful, and more importantly, you’re doing good by using them. We all need to be reminded that we’re interconnected. Touchy-feely BS? Maybe, but other research shows that even somewhat annoying social ties (like helping your neighbors) increase well-being!

So, fight back with love, or whatever.

Pretty cool experiment, I’m not sure I have the stones to try though.