Ironbutt, you never cease to amaze me with your ability to state the obvious and keep repeating adnauseum.
While safety is paramount it is not the tool to justify the authority of the crew over passengers, if it is then welcome to Syrian airlines or Iraqi airways, I doubt this is the image EY wants to project.
The manner in which crew brief passengers is of utmost importance and will in fact determine how passengers will interact with the crew, it is not because the crew lost their credibility with the passengers that they suddenly remember that they can nail them now using safety because it seems practical.
Throwing the book wont get you in their better books!
And remember it's a people's business! Not a police state.