>It's a valid point, but doesn't change my view of how I know Naomi meant that. Everything was going along just fine until that snide remark. I catch enough when I do it, I see no reason why I can't respond the same.
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Quite possibly because you keep saying "I know how Naomi meant that". No, actually, you don't. You can make an educated guess but unless you are sitting in Naomi's mind at the precise moment she wrote that then the best you can actually say is "I'm guessing as to how Naomi meant that" - and saying that, you must also admit that your guess must be colored by your opinions, feelings, etc.
It appears to the rest of us that you took a fairly innocuous question, worded nicely, and had a snarky over-reaction to it.
"You don't manage people. You manage things - people you lead" Adm. Grace Hopper
Pflugerville, between a Rock and a Weird Place