Nobody said it's hard to understand. However, I can only imagine that the kind of people who frequent this site would also tend to be the kind of people who don't respond pleasantly to "because I said so!". I'm definitely one of those people.

You are not entitled to argue with everyone in every situation because you feel like you've got a clever point to make.

There's a time and a place for a discussion. That does seem to be hard for some people to understand. Yes, we all agree that some rules are stupid, but being a smart ass when 300 people are about to take off in a large commercial airliner full of fuel isn't one of those times.

So therefore, shut up, follow all stupid rules without question or delay.

That's what I'm getting from your posts here.

Sorry, but over in the real world, the only thing that gets stupid shit dealt with is people complaining about it. You want to talk entitlement? Who are you to say that the other guy has no right to question something that doesn't fit their internal logic?

The impression I got was that, correctly, melling suggested choosing your battles wisely.

You chose to put words in his/her mouth instead and be condescending.

Just for the record: that is not a good thing to do, and you should stop doing that.

It's not about making clever points, it's about establishing and enforcing rules that make sense. It's about balancing safety and freedom in such a way that one doesn't get to trample the other for no reason. And some would argue that takeoff would be one of the best times to ensure that the rules you're following are well-supported. Call it "being a smartass" if you like, I call it "not being a dumbass".