[mthoms]

Have you considered that it might not be a command? Human communication is much more nuanced than just the words on their own would indicate.

Where I'm from it's commonly meant as shorthand for "cheer up, it's not that bad" or "try to keep your chin up". Both of which actually indicate that the speaker cares about their colleague.

[justin66]

> Human communication is much more nuanced than just the words on their own would indicate.

Said the guy who further up the thread said he "can't fathom how that could possibly be construed as sexist."

[mthoms]

Fair point. To clarify (as I've written elsewhere in this thread) I can indeed see how in some contexts it can be sexist. Absolutely.

What I meant to say was that in this context I can't see how it would be construed as sexist. Or put another way... I can't see how this statement automatically defaults to being sexist absent any other indicators.

At any rate, this kind of proves my point that it's very easy for communication to come across in a manner other than the speaker intended. So serious charges like "sexist" or "racist" should not be levelled lightly.