> ...need a lot more context for me to decide that the person who said it meant it for real. Yes, of course. But the thing that ends up hurting a lot of people

> ...need a lot more context for me to decide that the person who said it meant it for real. Yes, of course. But the thing that ends up hurting a lot of people in a really deep way is the psychological hangs-ups caused when they conflate THEIR OWN self-worth to their employment status (not just employed or not, but also level and salary). Any adult who has a solid self-image can tolerate hearing "you've failed as a human being" from derps all day long, what ends up causing damage is if they take it seriously, or much worse, tell it to themselves.