Analise, what might have stood out for you and Aviatrix might be that the man reclined his seat during takeoff, and I agree with you that safety is a predominant issue.... in general. However, it is NOT the predominant issue of the *specific* poster who started this *specific* thread, and as the thread initiator, the definition of what is 'the' issue is up to Amarain, not to the respondents. It is unfair to commandeer a thread on the pretext that one is serving a higher moral cause, and in particular it is unfair of anyone to imply that others are indifferent to said moral cause simply because the latter are attempting to answer the question as it was asked, and to address 'the' issue....as it was defined by the OP.

As Efrem pointed out, the context of the original post makes it clear that the issue AS FAR AS THE OP IS CONCERNED is that of propriety. A compelling case can be made for the notion that safety trumps propriety as a matter of priority, but this thread is not titled "Was he acting unsafely?" but "Was I rude"? Furthermore, Amarain does not inquire about whether it is rude to worry about a man's violating safety; he or she did not kick the back of the seat as an expression of alarm over the man's indifference to safety. Rather, Amarain maintains to knock said seat was accidental and the product of spatial limitations. That the man was reclining illegally during takeoff in this particular instance was not the main injury as far as the OP was concerned, but rather the salt that was rubbed into it.