Why though - seriously, what need are you bringing by doing that? What good could come of that besides a little catharsis?

These middle managers are robots in an organization. You knew they saw you as "resources", now they can't afford you and have to put you back in the pool. So be it.

If they'd been shitty about it, sure. But if you got paid for your time - fair trade.

Is a long one better?

Most programming jobs are remote. What's the alternative, exactly?

I mean I was already working remote since they were based in a different state.