We can all agree that flying can be long, frustrating, and uncomfortable, and most of us would love to experience a little more comfort when we fly. But preventing other people from seeking comfort likely isn't the way to go about it.
TikToker @heyimgazza was surprised when he witnessed a fellow passenger's questionable behavior and pressed the record button, capturing a man on camera who sat with his arms up for eight hours, hands pressed against the seats in front of him to prevent three passengers from reclining their seats.
The TikToker asked:
"Can we ban people like this, please?"
You can watch the video here:
Though the TikToker was clear about where he stood on the subject, suggesting that people like the man holding his hands up should be banned, the comments section was surprisingly celebratory of the man's behavior.
The comments section on the TikTok video overwhelmingly applauded the man for holding his own space.
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
Others agreed and believed that seats should never have been able to recline.
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
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@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
There were a few TikTokers who were confused by all of the positivity, though.
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
@heyimgazza/TikTok
The "TikTokCringe" subReddit, similarly, was confused by all of the TikTokers applauding the man.
Most were shocked by the man's insistence that the seats not recline and the people supporting his behavior.
"I had a dude do this with his legs on a red-eye flight. I just turned my reading light on and shone it directly in his face till he stopped." - satanssweatycheeeks
"Dude's like, ''I will make myself VERY uncomfortable, to stop the people in front of me from making me SLIGHTLY uncomfortable.' People watching the video are like, 'Good for you!'" - iafx
"Aww, poor man, why does your back hurt? 'I had to lean forward with my body all tensed up for eight hours to stop the ahole in front of me from reclining their seat, whaaaaaaa!'"
"Do you think those who will die on the hill of five degrees reclining are projecting? As in. sir, it's three inches, and it's not that big of a deal." - pezchef
"I understand not reclining on a short flight, but not on an eight-hour flight. My back would be killing me." - Consistent_Rent_3507
"In all likelihood, so would I. I get back and neck pain from sitting ramrod straight, and reclining alleviates that."
"I usually try and book seats without anyone behind me because I don't want the hassle of knowing I'm pissing someone off, but it's really weird how enraged people get about you utilising a feature that's available for you to use." - Blade_192
Some even joked about how they'd troll the man if they were sitting in front of him.
"I saw this on TikTok, and there was a chorus of comments agreeing that people shouldn't recline their seats, and this guy was in the right to do this."
"But imagine cutting off half your face to spite the other half. Pointless. If I were in those seats, I would take great joy in knowing that he was uncomfortable and enraged the whole journey." - Blade_982
"I would occasionally try to recline my seat. And pretend I don't know that he's doing that. I'd be like, 'This stupid broken seat!' and make that a**hole's arms sore." - Tenshiijin
"I'd be like, 'Damn, this chair is REALLY stuck! Let me just lean forward a foot and push back with my entire weight to dislodge it...'" - LegoFootPain
"I would take great joy in complaining to the flight attendants and reclining the seat that I paid for." - The_Sneakiest_Fox
"Ding! 'Excuse me, flight attendant, my seat isn’t reclining for some reason. Can you assist me?'" - ComprehensiveFool
Flying can be frustrating and uncomfortable, and leaning the seat back a little can make a big difference for some passengers. It's thoughtful to communicate reclining to the passengers around them so that everyone can be as comfortable as possible, though.
But stopping someone from reclining into your space seems to be the more popular option. Maybe people are feeling jaded from a range of issues that have been experienced with airlines since the pandemic.
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