To Recline or Not To Recline... that is the question

My boyfriend is 6’ 6” and never reclines his seat on airplanes.* He says that it hurts his knees when other people recline their seats; so why would he do that to someone else? I, on the other hand, am only 5’ 6” and when people in front of me recline, I don’t even notice. When I recline my seat, I can stretch my legs out put my head back and have just the perfect amount of space to blissfully fall asleep to the rocking of turbulence.

Isn’t it the tragedy of the commons? I figure if the person in row 1 puts his seat back, and then row 2 does, then row 3… it should create a domino effect. Who gets punished? Oh, but what about the people in that awful row before the exit row that can’t recline their seats? And what about the people in the last row who are up against the wall?

One more thing to factor in, my boyfriend (who would probably prefer "manfriend") only needs to be thoughtful 4 – 6 trips a year. I have to be thoughtful 2 times per week. That may sound petty, but this year I have become “the east coast girl”, and have traveled across country every week on an airplane (round-trip) since June 2nd (that is over four months and at least 62,000 miles).

So I pose the question to you. Should one recline and get the much-needed rest that they deserve? Or should we take care of our brethren, be kind to their knees, and not recline? I will post a survey to the right for the next couple of weeks to see what you all think. Please chime-in.


*In fairness, he is a much better person than I am. He is a living example of altruism (I didn’t even know what altruism was before we met, let alone live it). He is one of those people who votes at every election, even the small ones that no one pays attention to, but where the real governing happens. He has picked me up at my apartment every time we have gone out for almost 2 years, because I am too cheap to pay for parking in the city (and says it reminds him of dating in the 50’s (mind you, we were not around in the 50’s) but seems to forget the dating rules of the 50’s when dropping me off the next morning post slumber party (sorry mom)). And all I have to do is mention "tea" for him to hop up and put the kettle on… see what I mean, nice guy.