WHy do 9/10 incidents on a plane involve the overhead compartment. I never flown.
And why are you that brave to think being an ass to a stranger would work out in your favor?
Each overhead compartment is usually above a set of three seats. Depending on the plane, each overhead compartment can fit either:
2-3 very small bags where the top of the bag is facing the door of the compartment
2 slightly larger bags if the bags are laid out length-wise if the compartment is big enough
So on full flights you often run out of overhead storage especially on the planes with smaller overhead compartments. This forces people to "check in" their luggage by having an airline crew member toss it into the storage compartment at the bottom of the plane.
This raises a few problems:
Customers pack their checked-in and carry-on luggage differently. Checked in luggage receive a lot more abuse and fragile items inside can easily be broken. If liquid is involved (e.g. a bottle of lotion) then you run the risk of crushing the liquid container and soaking everything else in the bag.
This also means that customers that planned on "traveling light" (without a checked-in bag) now have to wait on the baggage carousel when they are done with their travel. Few problems with these: They take forever and you can lose over an hour of time waiting for your bag. Your luggage might end up in a different destination airport than you do, especially if you have a connecting flight. The entire checked-in baggage system is based on an honor-system: you have to trust other people not to steal your luggage.
Also consider that people don't always use the overhead slot on top of their seat and are often hunting for the very first open slot they can find. This means that customers that board the flight near the end but have a seat in the front half of the plane may have to walk all the way to the back of the plane looking for an open overhead baggage slot, slowing down the entire boarding process and generating angry glares for keeping people from their destinations on time. And in the end they might get to the back of the plane, find no open spots, and need to check in their bag anyway.
Also, you can run into an open slot that your bag doesn't fit in, or a slot that can easily fit three bags but other customer's bags are taking up more space than needed, or find a closed compartment where when you open it to check you see that some jackhole tossed in their jacket as if it was a bag and the slot can easily fit another bag or any number of other things.
Many people are afraid of flying so their nerves are already on edge and their tempers short. They see someone else touch one of their bags, or they run out of overhead storage themselves or anything else really and they are prone to get confrontational. These are the same people that get angry as hell because a baby is crying on the plane. Those people are assholes.
All in all, I'm used to the entire song and dance but not everyone is. The only thing that gets me upset with flying is when someone tries to steal my seat. I also pack my carry on bag in such a way so that it can handle the abuse of being checked-in just in case that happens.