I don’t know you have a laptop behind me. I bought a flight ticket. My seat can recline. I don’t need to ask for permission. Consequently, it’s your property and you know the trays are not designed for laptops. Ergo, the onus is on you to protect your equipment. I would suggest looking at the faulty design and then adapting your approach accordingly.
The player is playing by the rules, you gotta hate the game (the airlines) for pitting the two of you against each other instead of against the hilariously bad design