Again this is more like a dog that’s been abused over the years and then mauls a kid.
No ones surprised that the dog is aggressive, and the owners are obviously guilty of abusing an animal - a horrible thing for the owners to have done.
That doesn’t change that the dog’s aggressive now, though, and should be put down.
Developers are human. They don't need to be put down.
“Put down” here is an analogy for being fired. I don’t actually think Rick should be put down. I’d hoped that was obvious.
Although, I was halfway through my journey home when I felt a huge weight had been taken off my back.
Sometimes getting fired is good.
This gives everyone time to sit down, gain distance, sleep over it and calm down and try again.
Plus, if the feeling of not getting along remains after that, after some calming down it's often easier to work out a mutually acceptable separation. In a similar situation over here, Rick would've gotten a fairer treatment even on separation, other than "fuck you, bye".