You are THAT guy, eh? Sounds like a good dose of flatulence might be in order...lol
In fact, I consider it giving up my space when I am not reclining. And I in no way begrudge the guy in front of me using his space when he reclines. Again, he needs it a lot more than I do. It does not affect me in any way.
So, when a person like me sits behind a person like you, I get a bonus space. And when a person like me sits in front of a person like you, the person in back is miffed, even though what the person in front is doing is completely reasonable, per aircraft design.
I feel the same way about arm rests. I get half of each one and have used it if only to keep someones abdominal fat from getting into my seat.
...airline seats are an excellent case study for the Coase Theorem. This is an economic theory holding that it doesn’t matter very much who is initially given a property right; so long as you clearly define it and transaction costs are low, people will trade the right so that it ends up in the hands of whoever values it most. That is, I own the right to recline, and if my reclining bothers you, you can pay me to stop. We could (but don’t) have an alternative system in which the passenger sitting behind me owns the reclining rights. In that circumstance, if I really care about being allowed to recline, I could pay him to let me.Don’t Want Me to Recline My Airline Seat? You Can Pay Me. Josh Barro, New York Times, August 27, 2014.