Characters
You don’t burn someone who’s already crying!
— Hyde · That '70s Show
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The protest draws a boundary around verbal cruelty: someone already in tears should not receive another hurtful blow. Reading “burn” as an insult gives the line the language of teasing, but the existing distress changes its acceptability. The speaker objects to adding humiliation to pain.
Context reviewed