Reporter started talking about the extreme I-N-C-O-N-V-E-N-I-E-N-C-E this is going to cause...mentioned going without one's laptop for several hours.
"There's our problem in a nutshell."
I believe that most travellers do fully understand the world today. These talking points about travellers not tolerating "inconvenience" don't ring true and seem to come from some corporate level somewhere.
Any breakdown of function can be labeled "inconvenience" by someone in a sufficiently high ivory tower. Why, Hiroshima was an inconvenience to Japan.
I think you're half right. Most of it comes from the reporters themselves...another angle to the story.
But, I guarantee you, there are passengers with BDS who will react to this the way they always do: Bush/Blair are just trying to frighten people into supporting their war-mongering agenda...and then they'll start complaining about the inconvenience.