If someone makes a polite request I would have no trouble obliging them. FT culture is a bit weird in that polite requests are taken as an affront... it's not like the woman tried to rip the ipad from the OP's hands. She just asked if he would switch to another way of passing the time.

That said, one could also decline the request graciously. I don't see what insults or petty sitcom-style zingers add to the situation. Not everything is an attack on your personal liberties and freedoms.