@Monkey:
Chrissie knew someone in Cyprus turned down for a job with the employer literally saying to her face that she was great for the position but he wouldn't hire a woman that high up.
Guess she didn't put enough in to get the desired result.
The world is just, the world is just, the world is just, the world is just.
Say it enough times and it becomes true!
To be fair, I was turned down for a job when the employer literally said to me that he'd call me back if there weren't any black applicants. The world has a lot of fucked up people.
Second sentence of the wiki article you posted: "Through insincere usage, it can also have a more unsympathetic connotation of feelings of superiority or condescension."
Sympathy doesn't ever imply that. You applied that meaning yourself.
You've never experienced sincere sympathy that was condescending and unhelpful?