I note she has 911 at the end of her name. Thats a bit unfortunate if she experienced 911?
Maybe thats why she is so negative and has a state of mind which negatively colors her perception of VLA e.g. is no longer an optimist due to facing the tragedy of 911 and the GFC? Maybe she undervalues hope because she wrongly thinks of it as a choice between hopefulness and navet as opposed to skepticism and realism?