Googler... ex-Googler

Sounds like you never got fired. I hope you don't have to experience it.

Pay was not mentioned in the article as a reason why they were sick to their stomach. This person was a part of a community and they were doing a lot of work they found meaningful, and then in an instant it was all ripped away. You can't imagine how that would suck? Even if this author was immediately handed a new job that pays more than Google, I still think it would hurt. They had goals, they had friends, they had purpose, they had fun, they had innovation, and now that's all gone. I think you're just angry at the author because they made a lot of money.

When someone’s life gets turned upside down, feeling sick to the stomach is a normal reaction.

Also keep in mind that the person who wrote this blog might be here on hacker news reading comments.

If you met this person in real life would you say those things to him? If the answer is no then why post those things here?

I would actually yes say it to their face and I appreciate when someone says things like these to my face as well. Loss of perspective is a real thing and cause personal infernos with seeming no way out.

Lol. Of course I've been fired.

have to agree: but my first thought was "oh shoot they lost health insurance", is /why/ the american's worried.

I've never been fired. So I don't see why "of course".