this is exactly the opposite of what hundreds of warehouse and shop people have said about me for over 40 years Just don't. They specifically said "your answer

this is exactly the opposite of what hundreds of warehouse and shop people have said about me for over 40 years Just don't. They specifically said "your answer shows a lack of empathy", it wasn't a personal attack. Your post doesn't show 40 years of experience. I.T. should be a trusted business partner Agreed, but you also rightfully admit that that's a management problem, and cannot be fixed by either side of the original conversation. So you discarding their work by "differentiating those who sling code from those who do real [work]" or calling users "fleas who used to jump 6 feet" does come across as juvenile.