She said she immediately knew what was happening when she walked into her weekly one-on-one with her supervisor; the meeting had an unexpected attendee. An HR representative rose from a seat in the corner as Ferreira entered the office. She was told she was being let go because she wasn’t fulfilling her position’s responsibilities, “effective immediately.”

“When I was about to open my mouth, she waved her hand at me, and was like, ‘No, we’re not doing that,’” Ferreira said. “I’m hearing ringing in my head.”

“They didn’t let me speak in my own meeting.”

The cruelty and arrogant dismissiveness of that response is infuriating to me.