mag3 writes:

Misinformed as they may be, they're still "in charge" on the aircraft, and can
get you into some serious trouble with the authorities, air marhsalls, TSA etc.

Not as much as they or passengers often believe, however.

Since it's left up to them to determine violations of the "Interfering with a flight
crew" law, I wouldn't mess with them.

It's not up to them. It's up to a court of law. And merely interfering with a
flight crew isn't illegal. Interfering in a way that endangers safety or
prevents them from doing their legal duty is illegal.

This is crucial, because it means that you are not required to do whatever a
flight attendant says, you're only obligated to follow instructions that are
founded on safety and legitimate crew duties. For example, a flight attendant
cannot tell all black passengers to move to the back of the plane because they
are black, and no passenger is obligated to follow such an instruction.

Just simply not worth the risk, even if you might actually get away with it.

If you don't defend your rights, you lose them.