I'm not the shortest of people and I'm used to long haul flights in economy and I can't say that I've ever been on a flight where the reclined seat in front of me has caused me great distress. I would be more annoyed if someone behind me was preventing me from reclining the seat I had paid good money to relax in on a 9 hour overnight flight, for example. If they want to guarantee themselves masses of legroom then they can pay for an exit row/bulkhead seat, request an aisle seat or pay more for a different class of travel.
If I want to recline my seat then I will do so, if the person behind me cannot deal with that then public transport (which air travel most certainly is a form of) is not for them and they do not have he right to prevent my seat from doing something it is designed to do.