I call that the daisy chain. They literally turn around in the pews and turn their backs on the altar to get to someone behind them. Or the more respectful folks will stick their hands over their own shoulders and kind of lean back.
But it's not their fault because they really don't know any better. It's the pastor's fault, and sometimes even the bishop's fault.
We have had two pastors and five or six associate pastors since I joined the church in 2002. None of them seem to have a problem with the hand holding. We just got a new Bishop - Richard J. Garcia, formerly Auxiliary of Sacramento. I don't know if anything will change though. The culture in the Diocese of Monterey is pretty liberal.