I sat in the same seat. I put the tray down and can honestly say I would have been completely fine had the person in front fully reclined. Might it have been fractionally more comfortable with the seat upright? Sure. Would it have been reason enough to force another passenger from relaxing in their chair? No. I'll live. Same with passengers passing gas on the plane. Do any of us like it? No. Should we be allowed to force the passenger to hold it in? Just like sitting upright it's uncomfortable and unhealthy.

Beside the fight for comfort should be with the airlines, not other passengers. This is not the natural world we are talking about. This is a man-made problem and the man is the airline that crammed us into seats that we can't be comfortable in. This self policing is garbage. Ask for more comfortable seats, not more considerate passengers. Beside you have no idea why the person in front of you needs or wants to recline. Point is if it's not in writing, then my wife had every right to recline her seat without harassment, regardless of whether the passenger behind her, the FA, or you feel that she's an a-hole for doing so.