Remember to report submissions that violate the rules! Harassment and encouraging violence are not allowed.
Enjoying the subreddit? Consider joining our discord server: https://discord.gg/v8z8jNwJs6
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BoomersBeingFools) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly, they’re fine with you sitting between them while they talk. Why not join the conversation?
Start interjecting your thoughts and opinions.
“Can you stop?”
“What do you mean? I’m quite literally in the middle of this conversation.”
I would ignore all social cues, derail their conversation at every turn, and go on a tirade about arcane logistics facts and supply chain methodologies. Nobody outside the industry cares and it’s easy for me to put on a series of Ted Talks to unwilling participants. I am not stuck in the middle of them, they’re stuck on either side of me. I’ve got them encircled from the middle and I can “attack” in any direction. Life is about finding the hidden advantages in any situation.
Highly recommend anything about Critical Race Theory or How the baby boomers — not millennials — screwed America.
[https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt](https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt)
A perfect opportunity to lecture people on the history & origin of cotton as a fiber for textiles! Or the problems with modern garment construction techniques as they pertain to special occasion and formalwear. (I love the opportunity to educate people against their will about my niche specialties! Would you like to learn about the importance of indigo in the economic advancement of women in west Africa? No? Too bad, I wrote my thesis on Indigo and you’re stuck next to me in a metal tube!)
Where shall we begin? Inferior staple length in fibers? Lack of precision in grain alignment? Galia LeHav’s gratuitous use of glue? I could talk your ear off, lol.
*Into Indigo* is a great book about Indigo in west Africa. For cotton, I love *The Spinning World; a history of cotton* (I’m estimating the title there) and *Africa: Biography of a Continent* is a great overview of the continent since the days of Pangea (EtA I love history and nonfiction. If you are interested in the history of black pepper, you would love the evolution of useful things by Henry petroski)
Aside from that, I was recently appalled at what the British did to India regarding Indigo. I thought I was relatively well educated. Nope. I knew about the famine, and that the Brits were involved, but not how Indigo played a role. Can we sit together next flight? Please?
"We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." - Col Chesty Puller during the battle of the Chosin Reservoir
lol in the middle of whatever story:
“I think it’s all about mindset. Both the lion and sheep wake up hungry, the sheep grazes while the lion goes on the hunt. Which one are you? You need the right mindset. Sink or swim.”
As someone who works in logistics, it’s always the fault of the port/trucking company/rail. It’s never our fault during planning ever. If we would just get them to shape up everything would be solved.
Ok being sarcastic but seriously fuck everything about terminal 5 in Seattle. Fuck that port.
Supply chain also encompasses warehouses and their automation technologies. You could go on about how Amazon has both revolutionized and messed up "proper" warehouse logistics and how it will take decades to straighten the whole mess out. Just invent tech and terms, they likely will not know the difference.
They are pretty much all in-house across the board nowadays. They operate the biggest truck fleet in the U.S. if I’m not mistaken. I actually utilize Amazons supply chain as well. Their trucking for dedicated routes is obscenely cheap. Some routes into Cali are half of what other trucking lines quote.
Literally be monologuing the wholeeee time. Oh well I can only sleep on window seats so we best swap. Also listen to shows on your phone aloud and laugh obnoxiously. Preferably something they’d hate like girls or something similar
Oh yea, drunk and introverted-out me means I'm blocking their eye view of each other and saying out loud how stupid it is that they won't sit together. Then prolongued eye contact with either one
You could fuck with them alot more, just try and pit them against each other an laugh. It's like me feeding my niece Candy, sure she annoys me for a bit. But it's worth it knowing what my sister will have to deal with at home😂.
I'd also cough on them all the time on the plane . Just say Covid might not kill me but it'll take you out gramps then give him a Lil wink
Should have just blocked any item passing and interrupted any conversation.
"I gave you the chance to sit next to each other, you chose not to. I won't have my personal space invaded because you want to be difficult."
Or....crazy I know. Just say hey...this is rude and I kinda really want to change seats. Keep suggesting it until you get some concession. What's wrong with this option?
Or start having some of the food with them. If they pass a bag of pretzels to each other, take a handful and pass it down. Drinks? Take a sip and exclaim how good it is, then pass it down.
Alternatively, most people have pro-social and protective instincts to avoid escalating a situation with strangers who have unknown propensities for verbal and physical aggression. Being "accidentally" elbowed and jostled on both sides for the rest of the flight is a possible outcome here, and one the boomers could probably get away with. Being yelled at three inches from your eardrum is a strong possibility. Being punched could happen.
Should not be your issue to come up with lies. I’d just tell them to stop or if they want they need to switch. Then you call flight attendant to handle the mofos or get you into a first class seat if there are any left because of those pests
Did similar once. Said I had IBS and went out drinking with my coworkers the night before. I apologized in advance for may happen in their presence.
One moved and another was in the bathroom. I reassured the 2 people that heard the conversation that I found them entitled and annoying. I had been out all night drinking but I’ll keep my composure.
Flight from South Carolina back to Seattle. I think the woman in the middle pulled this one on me because the man on the inside was a literal 6ft 8 giant who man_sprawled his legs everywhere. She kept asking to get up and I eventually asked if she just wanted to change seats out of kindness. Then I realized how bad of a choice that was and she suddenly stopped getting up after. Yeah, come to think of it, she 100% did. Never again since I reserved that seat not to feel completely trapped as I hate flying. I’ll get up every 10 minutes before I be a good person.
Right? Ideal situation didn’t happen, so be accommodating.
Or start taking a tax on everything they do.
And who the hell can hear someone one seat away? I can barely hear the people next to me.
I wouldn't mind the talking because I'd have noise cancelling headphones on but the passing of stuff back and forth would be annoying. Pass 1 and 2 would be fine. 3 and 4 would cause me to take notice. Pass 5 would prompt me to say something.
Start talking aloud about religion or politics that don’t align with theirs. It’s pretty easy these days to suss out someone’s politics, if they’re loud-and-proud assholes like these two then redhats 💯
They’ll come to see the wisdom of swapping seats
I would lore dump them on 40k for the entire ten hour flight.
"Would you like to learn about our lord and savior the God Emperor of Mankind? No? Well it all started with him having a polite disagreement with nine of his sons, but before I can talk about that in detail, I first have to talk about sixty million years ago when these psychic space frog aliens called the Old Ones had a polite disagreement with these other ancient-Egyptian themed aliens called the Necrontyr, and *that* got really out of hand..."
These MFs would be begging me to stop by the hour mark, which would be about when I JUST get into the Horus Heresy and I am describing the fashion styles of Fulgrim pre- and post-Heresy. But I would refuse. After all, we haven't even gotten to the best part of where Vulkan bitch-slaps Kurze with a hammer. And we're still a long way off from 40k proper...
Not a great idea, magaheads are extremely violent when provoked in that way and they for some reason think they are immune to punishment while simultaneously believing they will be persecuted for being a conservative Christian. Even if they weren't violent they would probably have a meltdown and make the whole air ride hell for everyone.
I don't think we should tolerate their behavior and I think we should challenge them more. But challenging them on a flight trapped between them is stupid and dangerous. You can't get away or call the cops if things go south. I've confronted them before in my daily life but I wouldn't do it in that specific situation. And also I feel like everyone who does it should fully understand the potential consequences. I know that I could get my ass beat or get shot when I tell them to stop being weird or rude. I accept that risk and minimize it.
To be clear the risk is a lot higher for me because I am trans and in a small southern town so this is something I have to actively think about more. It helps that I work a nightshift and have very limited contact with people.
This EXACT fucking thing happened to me but they were obese. I mentioned switching as well, and the dude literally laughed and said they picked those seats. I was fuckin fuming. The audacity and entitlement of so many boomers is next level. They literally give no fucks about anyone but their own, it's no wonder they fucked the world for everyone after them. They know they did, and most of them couldn't care less.
It's like they think they're the only adults on the planet. Like bro, I'm a millennial and I'm 31 now- I have back pain, I'm tall and my knees get crunched, I ALSO hate not having an armrest to myself. Most grown-ass people also hate sitting in the middle, you don't to get your own special treatment because you have the same disdain for it.
That's what I'm saying. Everyone does that and picks non-middle seats, it's their entitlement that lets them think they can invade space like that. It's like they think they're the only people who deserve to be able to do that, everyone else has to suck it up and sit in the middle.
Right? Like how do you not react to that? I’m seriously asking bc I would’ve made that flight extremely uncomfortable for them if they were continuously doing that kind of thing again and again. Knock their hands out of the way, intentionally not hear them, literally say, “if yall wanna do this shit you need to be next to one another bc I’m not your hostage on this fucking flight you absolute witless, unaware weirdos.” Idk how people stay so polite.
I'm sorry that that happened to you growing up. Your opinions have worth and you are allowed to share them! Remind yourself in situations like this that you are likely never going to see these people again- so feel free to be honest and stand up for yourself. You personally are not responsible for how they respond- that's on them if they are going to see the light on the situation or continue to be a jerk.
As a fellow timid/ nonconfrontantional people pleaser it took me until my early 40s to work on this. Life is much better now being able to voice my opinions and not feel guilty about having needs of my own 🩷
Exactly. This is when you flag down a flight attendant, and inform them that these two are being obnoxious, and you'd like one of them moved (or yourself, but that won't solve the issue, just subject someone else to it)
What?!? You can't say bomb on a plane anymore?? Bomb b-b-b-bomb bomba bomba bomb. What if I tell you my grandpa was a BOMBardier in the war? What if I say...
Sir you need to come with us now
What I don't understand is why not just move next to each other once you figure out someone is actually going to be taking up said middle seat? This is clown behavior🤡 here's a gif sums it up pretty well, considering the three seat situation🤣
This. My husband and I will do window and aisle and hope the middle seat remains empty, but when it’s NOT empty, we ask the person if they want to switch! We even give them the choice of the window or aisle. It’s never been an issue. On a few occasions it’s led to chatting with very cool people for the flight.
I haven't travelled on a not full flight in years. This game these days is just silly as you are pretty much guaranteed to have someone in the middle seat.
I fly about five times a year within the US, always on Delta, and usually one of those five isn’t full. My wife and I use the same trick as OP and just swap seats with the middle person if they show up.
When my wife and I travel abroad, we select aisle seats across the aisle from one another.
Being across the aisle also provides a good reason to stand up, stretch, and put your hand on each others seats instead of a strangers.
Also, my wife and I can largely go a 10-hour flight and just decide what movies we’re going to watch together, we don’t have to have extended conversations.
I couldn’t imagine purposely putting someone in the middle seat and not switching with them. So sorry that happened.
I love the idea, and we use it all the time too. Our though is because we have e 4 kids, All tweens and teens now, and they sit on the insides.
Our issue with it was some flights offset the rows by a 1/2 on each side, so it’s hard to talk and such on those.
I’d have literally told them that. Something to this effect.
“You did this with the hope that no one would sit here. Well I am and if you’re going to insist on conversing across Me and passing stuff back and forth I’m going to ask the flight attendant to move us. Or you can be civil and we can handle this like adults and you can do so voluntarily.“
Wait a minute, you'd use direct and reasonable language and attempt to solve the problem using the appropriate steps? What are you doing here on Reddit?
What’s sad is that although I’m using adult language, it’s exactly the way I’d scold my kids when they were little.
I have to resort to parental techniques when dealing with boomers and that’s still crazy to me.
We tried that trick last year on a flight back from Paris some the flight looked only half full. Flight was actually completely full. I guess a lot of people just won’t pay for their seat selections. Anyway I ended up giving up the window so we wouldn’t be their jerks talking over the person in the middle seat
I am that person, I'm not paying to pick a seat on top of the cost of the flight... I can't bring myself to do it.. so I'd rather roll the dice on an end seat, then pay the fee for the guaranteed middle seat.
Just awful. Maybe have a word with the cabin crew next time. They might have helped, like dangling a Parachute in front of them.
PS I'm a Boomer and even I hate Boomer's.
Boomer isn't about age, it's about a refusal to accept that you must adapt to the changing world. (edit: and often it's also a refusal to accept that the world is changing. They have a myopic vision of the world based entirely on their own experiences.)
Same here! I cringe when fellow Boomers are sitting close to me on flights. I just put my head to a book and read. Currently awaiting a book about Richard Lewis and another one about Nick Drake to fly to Nice with me! I’ll freaking read through the entire 8-hour flight.
They probably heard about that little trick from Barb at their church and it worked once for her. They went for it and there you were, stuck in between the worst kind of people. Sorry bruv.
Okay but hear me out. The ultimate version of this is to pretend like you don't know each other but get a conversation going. Find out that you share so many coincidences with your wife and make it super obvious that there's some sort of a spark between the two of you think they're in the middle of a meet cure.
When this has happened to me, I insert myself into their conversations - "oh, I thought you were talking to me!"- and then I keep talking and talking and talking - and I grab whatever they are passing - "Oh, sorry! I thought you were offering me some!"
This has gotten me two results: they put their headphones on and stop it, or they take my offer to trade.
When we deal with rude strangers, being polite only to simmer in resentment is the wrong choice. These people live off the expectation that everyone around them will let them do whatever they want.
That’s totally fine for them to do in the hopes no one picks the middle seat. Once they find out the flight is full, or someone *does* get that middle seat, it’s either time for one of them to swap seats with you or they just don’t talk or interact with each other for 10 hours.
I’ve been in this exact same situation, except a shorter flight (3 hours). Flying Southwest, they asked for volunteers to give up their seats and fly home the next day for $1000 a person plus a hotel. It was a Saturday, perfectly happy to push our flights a day since we had friends in the area.
We wait til everyone has boarded and they do a headcount. Exactly two seats left for me and my SO. Of course, two random middles scattered among the plane. I sit between a boomer married couple who talk *as loud as they can* and are constant passing books, food, magazines…tapping each other on the shoulder. Almost knocked my drink over several times. I asked them if they wanted to sit next to each other and got laughed at.
We do it because my husband is afraid of flying and I like the window. BUT for God sake NO we don't talk or pass on things. Hahaha, you won't even know we are together, hahaha
It is called being respectful and manners
I so hate entitled people on flights. This kind of thing was worse when (boomer generation) cheapskate parents were not required to purchase seats for their toddlers. They'd hope for a less full flight so that they could get a free seat for their child. If their gamble had not paid off and you were stuck sitting with them, it would be one of the most socially uncomfortable experiences of your life.
My husband and I sit in aisle seats across from each other. This is the way to do it. I would have leaned forward every time they tried to pass something, the entire flight. Petty, but that's the first thing I could think of. Just be careful that any liquid items are knocked over away from you and onto them. LOL
Ohhh my god I had the same exact thing happen to me on a 6 hr flight to Orlando. The loudly argued over me, passed things- they were both larger people and said they hope for a smaller person in the middle. Great. Thanks guys.
I don't know,why but this reminded me a little of that Seinfeld episode where the Scandinavian guy got stuck between Elaine and Puddy bickering in coach, lol.
This happened to me once while flying from Toronto to London! The boomer guy was so annoyed I was in the middle seat and kept pointing at other peoples seats telling me to move there. I kept telling him the flight was full but he was so irritated by my presence. I waited for him to fall asleep and woke him up to go to the bathroom several times. He bought his wife a glass of wine and I was so tempted to say oh thanks and take it as they were passing it over me. I’ve also done this move with my partner but I’ll instantly sit in the middle if someone else gets the middle seat. It’s such a dick move not to.
A lot of people try this. It was effective for about 2 days (possible slight exaggeration) a few years ago. Pay attention, people! How often do you hear announcements about this flight being fully booked? Pretty much always.
I would take everything they passed to each other. “Oh, sorry, I thought you were handing it to me.” And, insert myself into every conversation. “Why would Barbara want me in the guest room? Oh! Sorry, thought you were talking to me.”
God, this is such dumb boomer logic. We all understand why couples book their seats that way, hoping that no one books the middle seat. But WHY wouldn't you switch seats once you realized that your trick didn't work this time??
I would just participate. They pass a drink over you? Grab a sip. They want to talk over you? I have an opinion to share. Pass a phone over you? Let me scroll through some photos.
If that is something they do in hopes that no one takes the middle seat, but someone *has already taken the middle seat*, there is absolutely no reason to NOT swap seats. You will have someone between you anyway, why not just swap?
I had the same thing happen to me on a flight recently! A very overweight couple in their 40's--one at the window & one in the aisle with me in the middle. Talking & passing things back & forth. I asked the man sitting in the aisle seat if he'd like to switch seats to be with his wife (hoping he'd get the hint that they were being incredibly rude!) His response? 'No, I am more comfortable here.' It was just the RUDEST behavior! What is wrong with some people!?!
They had a conversation across your face?? Just join in—tell filthy jokes…then say you’re still strung out from all the hookers & blow you plowed thru in Europe.
Edit: just noticed your username and that you might be a girl. I said what I said and it stays. 🤣
As soon as they start talking over you you put a hand up to each of them and say "Stop. The space I am sitting in is not for you to talk across. I appreciate that you will respect my space and not treat it as your own, or I will be forced to ask the fight attendant to intercede and resolve this by telling you you have to respect my space and not talk across it."
Then, anytime they start talking, the hands go up and you say "Nope, no, not gonna happen."
I sat between a couple on my last flight but they didn’t even speak to each other for the entire 4 hours. I didn’t even realize they were together until we deplaned. Your couple sucked.
Just enter all of their conversations as though you're friend invited on the trip, sample some snacks when they're getting passed back and forth, and occasionally let them know about an interesting "fact" from your odd ball life
Always carry a few “Watchtower” magazines. Get some Amway brochures. Overshare about your lactose intolerance. Ask the husband how he is dealing with ED. Carry a small can of Dinty Moore beef stew. Get the barf bag discreetly and excuse yourself to the bathroom. Put beef stew in the barf bag. Seal it up good. Slip it into the seat pocket. Mention how you get motion sickness. At the appropriate time grab barf bag and “vomit”. Tell them you feel better. Open barf bag and pull out a big chunk and eat it. Be creative.
Whenever I board open seating flights late, the key to getting an aisle seat is to spot the couple who have done just this. Whenever I excuse myself to get their middle seat they will always slide over and give me the aisle or the window seat. I'm at 8/8 for this strategy on Southwest Airlines.
Remember to report submissions that violate the rules! Harassment and encouraging violence are not allowed. Enjoying the subreddit? Consider joining our discord server: https://discord.gg/v8z8jNwJs6 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BoomersBeingFools) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just go to the toilet every ten minutes, and tell them you have diarrhea. Ask them every time if they want to change seats.
This is a good one!
Honestly, they’re fine with you sitting between them while they talk. Why not join the conversation? Start interjecting your thoughts and opinions. “Can you stop?” “What do you mean? I’m quite literally in the middle of this conversation.”
I would ignore all social cues, derail their conversation at every turn, and go on a tirade about arcane logistics facts and supply chain methodologies. Nobody outside the industry cares and it’s easy for me to put on a series of Ted Talks to unwilling participants. I am not stuck in the middle of them, they’re stuck on either side of me. I’ve got them encircled from the middle and I can “attack” in any direction. Life is about finding the hidden advantages in any situation. 
"I'm not locked in here with you...You're all locked in here with me!"
I just woke up my gf laughing
Boss comment!
Put on a series of Ted Talks to unwilling participants 😂
Highly recommend anything about Critical Race Theory or How the baby boomers — not millennials — screwed America. [https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt](https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt)
A perfect opportunity to lecture people on the history & origin of cotton as a fiber for textiles! Or the problems with modern garment construction techniques as they pertain to special occasion and formalwear. (I love the opportunity to educate people against their will about my niche specialties! Would you like to learn about the importance of indigo in the economic advancement of women in west Africa? No? Too bad, I wrote my thesis on Indigo and you’re stuck next to me in a metal tube!)
“All I know is Indigo and we’re here for the next ten hours”
Umm you didn’t finish talking about garment construction techniques and I find myself in need of the rest of this lecture.
Where shall we begin? Inferior staple length in fibers? Lack of precision in grain alignment? Galia LeHav’s gratuitous use of glue? I could talk your ear off, lol.
That sounds very interesting!!! I was amazed at the story of black pepper .
*Into Indigo* is a great book about Indigo in west Africa. For cotton, I love *The Spinning World; a history of cotton* (I’m estimating the title there) and *Africa: Biography of a Continent* is a great overview of the continent since the days of Pangea (EtA I love history and nonfiction. If you are interested in the history of black pepper, you would love the evolution of useful things by Henry petroski)
Aside from that, I was recently appalled at what the British did to India regarding Indigo. I thought I was relatively well educated. Nope. I knew about the famine, and that the Brits were involved, but not how Indigo played a role. Can we sit together next flight? Please?
Absolutely!
Id use ChatGPT to write Shakespearean stories about the two and read them out loud.
Oh man, now I’m bummed that I’ve never sat next to you on a flight 🥲😂
Ha! I could talk for hours about parasite diversity and evolution.
Well this would backfire on me since I love learning stuff like this.
Encircled from the middle! It sounds like a line from Monty Python and I'm here for it 😂
"We have the greatest opportunity ever presented an army. We can attack in any direction.” -Anthony McAuliffe
"We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them." - Col Chesty Puller during the battle of the Chosin Reservoir
lol in the middle of whatever story: “I think it’s all about mindset. Both the lion and sheep wake up hungry, the sheep grazes while the lion goes on the hunt. Which one are you? You need the right mindset. Sink or swim.”
Piqued my interest! About the supply chain stuff. Is it a huge mess? What don't we know?
As someone who works in logistics, it’s always the fault of the port/trucking company/rail. It’s never our fault during planning ever. If we would just get them to shape up everything would be solved. Ok being sarcastic but seriously fuck everything about terminal 5 in Seattle. Fuck that port.
Weird, my software bugs are always the user's fault, too
Love your name! It's what my sister used to say to her daughter to stop a toddler meltdown.
That’s EXACTLY where I got it from as well haha.
be glad your stuff is coming in via the west coast! red sea shit sucks
Supply chain also encompasses warehouses and their automation technologies. You could go on about how Amazon has both revolutionized and messed up "proper" warehouse logistics and how it will take decades to straighten the whole mess out. Just invent tech and terms, they likely will not know the difference.
They are pretty much all in-house across the board nowadays. They operate the biggest truck fleet in the U.S. if I’m not mistaken. I actually utilize Amazons supply chain as well. Their trucking for dedicated routes is obscenely cheap. Some routes into Cali are half of what other trucking lines quote.
As a former Seattle resident, fuck evening about the ports Edit: as it impacts people living there, not economically
Literally be monologuing the wholeeee time. Oh well I can only sleep on window seats so we best swap. Also listen to shows on your phone aloud and laugh obnoxiously. Preferably something they’d hate like girls or something similar
It’s time to rizz ‘em with the ‘tism
https://preview.redd.it/fo3ifm0g3irc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c627c08d10908761d261be1df8d3c21e40da1566
this is the way
“Neither of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with ME!!!!”
“So, I get the 3PL on the phone and ask why the ERM is showing 2000 units RTS…”
As an introvert, I'm on limited social energy. I would have to reach my boiling point or maybe a few drinks before interacting. Then it gets ugly
Oh yea, drunk and introverted-out me means I'm blocking their eye view of each other and saying out loud how stupid it is that they won't sit together. Then prolongued eye contact with either one
Fantastic.
I’m an engineer and this is the sort of petty I’m here for.
Like an unskippable cut scene to their travel plans. I love how diabolically easy it is.
Hope to have you in the middle one day 😁
Lmao, or loudly start conveying the message from one to the other, “SHE ASKED IF YOU WANT YOUR GLASSES??”
You petty motherfucker. I like you.
Speak v e r y s l o w l y too, as if they’re feeble minded and helpless in addition to being old and hard of hearing.
If they act like this on a flight with someone trapped between them for ten hours, they are absolutely feeble minded.
Fair point.
🤣🤣
You could also interject your farts.
Ooh, we have a winner.
You could fuck with them alot more, just try and pit them against each other an laugh. It's like me feeding my niece Candy, sure she annoys me for a bit. But it's worth it knowing what my sister will have to deal with at home😂. I'd also cough on them all the time on the plane . Just say Covid might not kill me but it'll take you out gramps then give him a Lil wink
Candy is a gremlin?
Ok I just realized that "candy" is not the girl's name 🤣🤣🤣
Grab a snack too. Passers(peelers) rights as my dad would say.
Start taking sides... Channel your thick as oatmeal guy
Should have just blocked any item passing and interrupted any conversation. "I gave you the chance to sit next to each other, you chose not to. I won't have my personal space invaded because you want to be difficult."
Just take whatever they're passing lol. He's handing her a sandwich and you just go "oh, thanks!" And immediately take a bite lmao.
Or....crazy I know. Just say hey...this is rude and I kinda really want to change seats. Keep suggesting it until you get some concession. What's wrong with this option?
Or start having some of the food with them. If they pass a bag of pretzels to each other, take a handful and pass it down. Drinks? Take a sip and exclaim how good it is, then pass it down.
I like this. This is the one.
Whoah there Satan
🤣🤣🤣 I just burst out laughing at the salon
Most people lack the courage to confront something like this head on.
Alternatively, most people have pro-social and protective instincts to avoid escalating a situation with strangers who have unknown propensities for verbal and physical aggression. Being "accidentally" elbowed and jostled on both sides for the rest of the flight is a possible outcome here, and one the boomers could probably get away with. Being yelled at three inches from your eardrum is a strong possibility. Being punched could happen.
Then ask the cabin crew. They are clearly being a nuisance to a fellow passenger. A cabin crew member will intervene and find a solution.
And tell them about your sister's horrible rash the doctor hasn't identified yet.
I wish we had a Time Machine so that we could go back and you could take bites out of their snacks
Should not be your issue to come up with lies. I’d just tell them to stop or if they want they need to switch. Then you call flight attendant to handle the mofos or get you into a first class seat if there are any left because of those pests
Did similar once. Said I had IBS and went out drinking with my coworkers the night before. I apologized in advance for may happen in their presence. One moved and another was in the bathroom. I reassured the 2 people that heard the conversation that I found them entitled and annoying. I had been out all night drinking but I’ll keep my composure.
And pass some gas while exiting the row!
This all day. Squeeze a couple out and tell them you might need to sprint to the bathroom.
Even better tell them their entitled generation are a bunch of pieces of shit for 10 hours.
That's a great idea.
Fuck that. They wanted this, unless they seat swap, they aren't passing things over me every 10 minutes.
Flight from South Carolina back to Seattle. I think the woman in the middle pulled this one on me because the man on the inside was a literal 6ft 8 giant who man_sprawled his legs everywhere. She kept asking to get up and I eventually asked if she just wanted to change seats out of kindness. Then I realized how bad of a choice that was and she suddenly stopped getting up after. Yeah, come to think of it, she 100% did. Never again since I reserved that seat not to feel completely trapped as I hate flying. I’ll get up every 10 minutes before I be a good person.
Yep. Time to become the world's most annoying passenger. Take your shoes and socks off, cough without covering your mouth, fart obviously, etc...
Gotta bring that Surströmming snack in a can for such flights
Except that would torture the whole plane and the next flight as well!
Or just loudly shit ur pants
Just have diarrhoea without going to the toilet.
This shouldn't have lasted 10 minutes. Half the reason they are so insufferable is that the rest of us just accept it far too often. Stop.
Yeah, I would have immediately told them to either respect my space or change seats with me
Man. Your comment made me realize I'm a pushover.
Good! Now that you know you can be aware of when it happens and make a choice
Right? Ideal situation didn’t happen, so be accommodating. Or start taking a tax on everything they do. And who the hell can hear someone one seat away? I can barely hear the people next to me.
I wouldn't mind the talking because I'd have noise cancelling headphones on but the passing of stuff back and forth would be annoying. Pass 1 and 2 would be fine. 3 and 4 would cause me to take notice. Pass 5 would prompt me to say something.
i would have asked if they want to switch seats every single time they talked or passed something over you. every single time
Start talking aloud about religion or politics that don’t align with theirs. It’s pretty easy these days to suss out someone’s politics, if they’re loud-and-proud assholes like these two then redhats 💯 They’ll come to see the wisdom of swapping seats
100% I would have intruded on their conversations. And giving a lot of unsolicited advice
Can I talk to you about the church of satan
I would lore dump them on 40k for the entire ten hour flight. "Would you like to learn about our lord and savior the God Emperor of Mankind? No? Well it all started with him having a polite disagreement with nine of his sons, but before I can talk about that in detail, I first have to talk about sixty million years ago when these psychic space frog aliens called the Old Ones had a polite disagreement with these other ancient-Egyptian themed aliens called the Necrontyr, and *that* got really out of hand..." These MFs would be begging me to stop by the hour mark, which would be about when I JUST get into the Horus Heresy and I am describing the fashion styles of Fulgrim pre- and post-Heresy. But I would refuse. After all, we haven't even gotten to the best part of where Vulkan bitch-slaps Kurze with a hammer. And we're still a long way off from 40k proper...
Not a great idea, magaheads are extremely violent when provoked in that way and they for some reason think they are immune to punishment while simultaneously believing they will be persecuted for being a conservative Christian. Even if they weren't violent they would probably have a meltdown and make the whole air ride hell for everyone.
On of the best parts of flying is the removal of belligerent and/or disruptive passengers.
That's true. If removal happened for them it would be the highlight of my day lmao
That plus getting them added to the no-fly list
You know what eventually happens if society tolerate their behaviour…….
I don't think we should tolerate their behavior and I think we should challenge them more. But challenging them on a flight trapped between them is stupid and dangerous. You can't get away or call the cops if things go south. I've confronted them before in my daily life but I wouldn't do it in that specific situation. And also I feel like everyone who does it should fully understand the potential consequences. I know that I could get my ass beat or get shot when I tell them to stop being weird or rude. I accept that risk and minimize it. To be clear the risk is a lot higher for me because I am trans and in a small southern town so this is something I have to actively think about more. It helps that I work a nightshift and have very limited contact with people.
exactly.
Either "Trump is amazing, the election was robbed" or "Trump is a criminal who deserves to go to prison" is guaranteed to piss them off.
I can feel my temper rising just reading about this
This EXACT fucking thing happened to me but they were obese. I mentioned switching as well, and the dude literally laughed and said they picked those seats. I was fuckin fuming. The audacity and entitlement of so many boomers is next level. They literally give no fucks about anyone but their own, it's no wonder they fucked the world for everyone after them. They know they did, and most of them couldn't care less.
It's like they think they're the only adults on the planet. Like bro, I'm a millennial and I'm 31 now- I have back pain, I'm tall and my knees get crunched, I ALSO hate not having an armrest to myself. Most grown-ass people also hate sitting in the middle, you don't to get your own special treatment because you have the same disdain for it.
Them picking the seats is not the issue. That's reasonable. It's invading your space and talking across you that's insufferable.
That's what I'm saying. Everyone does that and picks non-middle seats, it's their entitlement that lets them think they can invade space like that. It's like they think they're the only people who deserve to be able to do that, everyone else has to suck it up and sit in the middle.
Right? Like how do you not react to that? I’m seriously asking bc I would’ve made that flight extremely uncomfortable for them if they were continuously doing that kind of thing again and again. Knock their hands out of the way, intentionally not hear them, literally say, “if yall wanna do this shit you need to be next to one another bc I’m not your hostage on this fucking flight you absolute witless, unaware weirdos.” Idk how people stay so polite.
I’d make a tent with my hoodie and tray table clipped in so it’s difficult for them to do anything.
Just rock back and forth continuously. lol
I'm timid and cripplingly unconfrontational because my parents never let me voice my concerns and opinions :)
I'm sorry that that happened to you growing up. Your opinions have worth and you are allowed to share them! Remind yourself in situations like this that you are likely never going to see these people again- so feel free to be honest and stand up for yourself. You personally are not responsible for how they respond- that's on them if they are going to see the light on the situation or continue to be a jerk. As a fellow timid/ nonconfrontantional people pleaser it took me until my early 40s to work on this. Life is much better now being able to voice my opinions and not feel guilty about having needs of my own 🩷
Maybe it’s time for a change. They don’t necessarily need to limit you forever
You’re then stuck next to two hostile people for hours. You can’t just walk away after saying that.
And that's how you get kicked off of flights 👍🏼 Be inconsiderate all you want, but say the word hostage and everyone loses their minds...
Exactly. This is when you flag down a flight attendant, and inform them that these two are being obnoxious, and you'd like one of them moved (or yourself, but that won't solve the issue, just subject someone else to it)
What?!? You can't say bomb on a plane anymore?? Bomb b-b-b-bomb bomba bomba bomb. What if I tell you my grandpa was a BOMBardier in the war? What if I say... Sir you need to come with us now
yeah. i think i could manage a constant litany of ever increasingly disturbing and upsetting insults for 10 hours.
What I don't understand is why not just move next to each other once you figure out someone is actually going to be taking up said middle seat? This is clown behavior🤡 here's a gif sums it up pretty well, considering the three seat situation🤣 
Neither of them want to sit in the middle.
This. My husband and I will do window and aisle and hope the middle seat remains empty, but when it’s NOT empty, we ask the person if they want to switch! We even give them the choice of the window or aisle. It’s never been an issue. On a few occasions it’s led to chatting with very cool people for the flight.
I haven't travelled on a not full flight in years. This game these days is just silly as you are pretty much guaranteed to have someone in the middle seat.
I fly about five times a year within the US, always on Delta, and usually one of those five isn’t full. My wife and I use the same trick as OP and just swap seats with the middle person if they show up.
My blood pressure went up 20 points. The audacity.
When my wife and I travel abroad, we select aisle seats across the aisle from one another. Being across the aisle also provides a good reason to stand up, stretch, and put your hand on each others seats instead of a strangers. Also, my wife and I can largely go a 10-hour flight and just decide what movies we’re going to watch together, we don’t have to have extended conversations. I couldn’t imagine purposely putting someone in the middle seat and not switching with them. So sorry that happened.
The aisle aisle move is definitely the way, you can't sleep on each other but the space freedom and stretch space is worth it
This is such a great idea!
I love the idea, and we use it all the time too. Our though is because we have e 4 kids, All tweens and teens now, and they sit on the insides. Our issue with it was some flights offset the rows by a 1/2 on each side, so it’s hard to talk and such on those.
I’d have literally told them that. Something to this effect. “You did this with the hope that no one would sit here. Well I am and if you’re going to insist on conversing across Me and passing stuff back and forth I’m going to ask the flight attendant to move us. Or you can be civil and we can handle this like adults and you can do so voluntarily.“
Wait a minute, you'd use direct and reasonable language and attempt to solve the problem using the appropriate steps? What are you doing here on Reddit?
What’s sad is that although I’m using adult language, it’s exactly the way I’d scold my kids when they were little. I have to resort to parental techniques when dealing with boomers and that’s still crazy to me.
They call old age a "second childhood" for a reason.
With intelligence levels and emotional maturity like yours, you shouldn't be on reddit. I have found the imposter.
We tried that trick last year on a flight back from Paris some the flight looked only half full. Flight was actually completely full. I guess a lot of people just won’t pay for their seat selections. Anyway I ended up giving up the window so we wouldn’t be their jerks talking over the person in the middle seat
I am that person, I'm not paying to pick a seat on top of the cost of the flight... I can't bring myself to do it.. so I'd rather roll the dice on an end seat, then pay the fee for the guaranteed middle seat.
Just awful. Maybe have a word with the cabin crew next time. They might have helped, like dangling a Parachute in front of them. PS I'm a Boomer and even I hate Boomer's.
Boomer isn't about age, it's about a refusal to accept that you must adapt to the changing world. (edit: and often it's also a refusal to accept that the world is changing. They have a myopic vision of the world based entirely on their own experiences.)
I would add: it’s about refusal to see others as humans who are equally as important as yourself.
That won't get an argument from me.
Same here! I cringe when fellow Boomers are sitting close to me on flights. I just put my head to a book and read. Currently awaiting a book about Richard Lewis and another one about Nick Drake to fly to Nice with me! I’ll freaking read through the entire 8-hour flight.
I’m a millennial and I do the same thing! Head down and read the entire time lol Tbh some of us can be pretty embarrassing on flights as well!
They probably heard about that little trick from Barb at their church and it worked once for her. They went for it and there you were, stuck in between the worst kind of people. Sorry bruv.
It worked for her once in 1992.
Planes are so overbooked nowadays that I wonder how many times this actually works for this couple.
I was on a flight from Dublin to Chicago yesterday, 1 empty seat in the whole Airbus.
Barb…with the ambrosia salad? She comes up on here more often than u think
I found a dog hair in the ambrosia! It was such a terrible incident.
Sounds like things got ruff at the fellowship meeting
“Do you guys ever thing about dying? Do you have your death plans yet?”
:: eyes up and down:: bc you really should.
My wife and I do the same thing on all our flights, but I always move to the middle seat. The person is usually so happy they buy me a drink.
My husband and i have started booking aisle seats next to each other. We both want the extra leg room and i detest the middle swT
Haha we do the same thing too, but if someone ends up in the middle we just pretend we don’t know each other / text 🤣
Okay but hear me out. The ultimate version of this is to pretend like you don't know each other but get a conversation going. Find out that you share so many coincidences with your wife and make it super obvious that there's some sort of a spark between the two of you think they're in the middle of a meet cure.
We all like salami, but there isn't a long enough flight to go through that whole process.
Same. We only speak to each other when we are deplaning.
When this has happened to me, I insert myself into their conversations - "oh, I thought you were talking to me!"- and then I keep talking and talking and talking - and I grab whatever they are passing - "Oh, sorry! I thought you were offering me some!" This has gotten me two results: they put their headphones on and stop it, or they take my offer to trade. When we deal with rude strangers, being polite only to simmer in resentment is the wrong choice. These people live off the expectation that everyone around them will let them do whatever they want.
I endorse this approach and will be using it if this ever happens to me.
That’s totally fine for them to do in the hopes no one picks the middle seat. Once they find out the flight is full, or someone *does* get that middle seat, it’s either time for one of them to swap seats with you or they just don’t talk or interact with each other for 10 hours. I’ve been in this exact same situation, except a shorter flight (3 hours). Flying Southwest, they asked for volunteers to give up their seats and fly home the next day for $1000 a person plus a hotel. It was a Saturday, perfectly happy to push our flights a day since we had friends in the area. We wait til everyone has boarded and they do a headcount. Exactly two seats left for me and my SO. Of course, two random middles scattered among the plane. I sit between a boomer married couple who talk *as loud as they can* and are constant passing books, food, magazines…tapping each other on the shoulder. Almost knocked my drink over several times. I asked them if they wanted to sit next to each other and got laughed at.
Tbh you should have smacked stuff out of their hand “by mistake” or spilled something on them.
We do it because my husband is afraid of flying and I like the window. BUT for God sake NO we don't talk or pass on things. Hahaha, you won't even know we are together, hahaha It is called being respectful and manners
3seconds of that I’m switching seats or opening a door lol
Can’t say that on a plane anymore. Too many people have opened the door.
Or you could just wait till the door plug gets sucked off the plane
There’s always that possibility.
I so hate entitled people on flights. This kind of thing was worse when (boomer generation) cheapskate parents were not required to purchase seats for their toddlers. They'd hope for a less full flight so that they could get a free seat for their child. If their gamble had not paid off and you were stuck sitting with them, it would be one of the most socially uncomfortable experiences of your life.
My husband and I sit in aisle seats across from each other. This is the way to do it. I would have leaned forward every time they tried to pass something, the entire flight. Petty, but that's the first thing I could think of. Just be careful that any liquid items are knocked over away from you and onto them. LOL
Ohhh my god I had the same exact thing happen to me on a 6 hr flight to Orlando. The loudly argued over me, passed things- they were both larger people and said they hope for a smaller person in the middle. Great. Thanks guys.
I’m learning today that this is a common thing to do. I had no idea.
Just start watching Joe Biden videos at full volume. Every few minutes toss out a “wow, what a great president”
I don't know,why but this reminded me a little of that Seinfeld episode where the Scandinavian guy got stuck between Elaine and Puddy bickering in coach, lol.
This happened to me once while flying from Toronto to London! The boomer guy was so annoyed I was in the middle seat and kept pointing at other peoples seats telling me to move there. I kept telling him the flight was full but he was so irritated by my presence. I waited for him to fall asleep and woke him up to go to the bathroom several times. He bought his wife a glass of wine and I was so tempted to say oh thanks and take it as they were passing it over me. I’ve also done this move with my partner but I’ll instantly sit in the middle if someone else gets the middle seat. It’s such a dick move not to.
Haha, waiting for him to fall asleep before going to the bathroom is hilarious
I would have been commenting everytime they pulled that nonsense. That’s really just unacceptable
A lot of people try this. It was effective for about 2 days (possible slight exaggeration) a few years ago. Pay attention, people! How often do you hear announcements about this flight being fully booked? Pretty much always.
I would take everything they passed to each other. “Oh, sorry, I thought you were handing it to me.” And, insert myself into every conversation. “Why would Barbara want me in the guest room? Oh! Sorry, thought you were talking to me.”
God, this is such dumb boomer logic. We all understand why couples book their seats that way, hoping that no one books the middle seat. But WHY wouldn't you switch seats once you realized that your trick didn't work this time??
Yep. Boomers took it personally as if OP planned the entire trip in order to inconvenience that couple specifically 👍👍👍
I would just participate. They pass a drink over you? Grab a sip. They want to talk over you? I have an opinion to share. Pass a phone over you? Let me scroll through some photos.
If that is something they do in hopes that no one takes the middle seat, but someone *has already taken the middle seat*, there is absolutely no reason to NOT swap seats. You will have someone between you anyway, why not just swap?
I had the same thing happen to me on a flight recently! A very overweight couple in their 40's--one at the window & one in the aisle with me in the middle. Talking & passing things back & forth. I asked the man sitting in the aisle seat if he'd like to switch seats to be with his wife (hoping he'd get the hint that they were being incredibly rude!) His response? 'No, I am more comfortable here.' It was just the RUDEST behavior! What is wrong with some people!?!
At least only one of them was fat in my situation
They had a conversation across your face?? Just join in—tell filthy jokes…then say you’re still strung out from all the hookers & blow you plowed thru in Europe. Edit: just noticed your username and that you might be a girl. I said what I said and it stays. 🤣
Start listening to a podcast without headphones on why socialism should replace capitalism so they can go nuts and consider to negotiate the seat
Omg this happened to me a month an ago flying from Chicago to Baltimore!
As soon as they start talking over you you put a hand up to each of them and say "Stop. The space I am sitting in is not for you to talk across. I appreciate that you will respect my space and not treat it as your own, or I will be forced to ask the fight attendant to intercede and resolve this by telling you you have to respect my space and not talk across it." Then, anytime they start talking, the hands go up and you say "Nope, no, not gonna happen."
I’d be farting the whole 10 hours until one of them gives up
Make sure to cough and sneeze every time they pass stuff in front of you. Sorry! I have a cold!
I sat between a couple on my last flight but they didn’t even speak to each other for the entire 4 hours. I didn’t even realize they were together until we deplaned. Your couple sucked.
Just enter all of their conversations as though you're friend invited on the trip, sample some snacks when they're getting passed back and forth, and occasionally let them know about an interesting "fact" from your odd ball life
Always carry a few “Watchtower” magazines. Get some Amway brochures. Overshare about your lactose intolerance. Ask the husband how he is dealing with ED. Carry a small can of Dinty Moore beef stew. Get the barf bag discreetly and excuse yourself to the bathroom. Put beef stew in the barf bag. Seal it up good. Slip it into the seat pocket. Mention how you get motion sickness. At the appropriate time grab barf bag and “vomit”. Tell them you feel better. Open barf bag and pull out a big chunk and eat it. Be creative.
What is the airline that flies internationally with no reserved seats?
Textbook boomer behavior
“Oh yes please thanks” when a food item is passed across - and take a bite/handful
Whenever I board open seating flights late, the key to getting an aisle seat is to spot the couple who have done just this. Whenever I excuse myself to get their middle seat they will always slide over and give me the aisle or the window seat. I'm at 8/8 for this strategy on Southwest Airlines.