Pointsgirl,
I agree with you. Sometimes being discreet is impossible on a full airplane and although the choice of reading material is completely up to the individual, if someone else has to look at it, then that invades the other people. My job is all about "the greater good" of the flight. And sometimes keeping the peace between 150+ total strangers in a confined space can be, shall we say,"challenging"? Everyone has their own rights, but if you're surrounded by tons of other people, consideration for the greater good has to be the way to go on this one, I'm afraid.
I often will express a personal opinion here, and what I think often is not in line with policy. If I know policy or procedure, I'll tell you what it is, and I'll quote it. That doesn't mean I necessarily agree with it. We just hate being put in the middle of 2 passengers who won't confront each other about their own issues and we're called in to resolve it. In the end, both passengers get mad at us, and we're stuck with trying to smooth things over. It's a real tightrope walk...
MiAAmistew