I'm confused by the assumption finding an appropriate gap is rare. You should have one you're aiming for already, and generally it will be in the front of a line, so you just speed up a bit and merge into that space.
Lol the jumps in logic you make should be nominated for an award. My original comment was one sentence long and the follow up like three more, how do you know what "framework" I operate in lmao. The implications you make somehow about legality being a measure of contention and the crux of my argument is just wrong on its face.
If you're going slow in the left lane and blocking others, you're affecting others negatively direcly for no benefit to yourself. If you could get over a lane, continue going the speed you desired but not be blocking others wanting to go your speed and don't, you're just a dick. We can move in ways that allow others to move in theirs without the "I'm first, its my way" mentality. The law has nothing to do with it.
Not to mention I didn't assume thats what was happening, and asked OP to confirm before I went on with my point. Something I suggest doing before assuming someone's "framework".
I'm in one of the biggest Metropolitan areas in the US and I see entirely the opposite. 50x the amount of slow left lane drivers, going the same speed as the car to their right, blocking all cars going the appropriate speed, than tailgaters.
I agree the no space in the left lane is crazy though. More often than tailgaters, when I'm activley passing in the left lane, and a car from the right lane cuts me off and continues to go the same speed they were in the other lane, making me have to break on the freeway (which is another thing you should avoid whenever possible, and just let off on the gas. You're a multi-ton chuck of metal going 60+ mph, you'll slow down quick by just not accelerating).
-the main reason tailgating happens is people driving slow in the left lane. Not the only reason, but the main one.
-tailgating is NOT an appropriate response, but its not about who is in the right, when the one that can fix it for both parties is the one going slower and not passing. They have the power to get back over a lane (which they should be anyway if not passing), and immediately eliminate the issue, and everyone goes on their way. The tailgater can't do that.
Also, I'm not sure what you experience is, but I see 50x the amount of people driving slow in the left lane than I see people tailgating.
Because you mention that you need to make other drivers slow down when changing into the right lane. If you are actively passing, when you finish passing you merge back into the lane to your right when you get to the gap you were aiming for, thus not needing to make anyone slow down. If you're passing, you should have a plan of when you're done passing, even when sometimes that gap shifts when cars change, and then you're looking for a new gap.
He's a rapist fyi, people don't know that enough.