The angry react, is because this pissed me off for you. I've had a similar experience, but I walked into it. I took a story I was writing to a workshop of other authors. I described the story, they read the published chapters and some of the unpublished stuff, and then proceeded to trash every word of it. I walked out of the workshop, thinking I will never write another word of that story. I haven't yet.
Readers need to understand that what they say to us, can make us want to continue, or to tell someone to go screw themselves.
I feel bad that this happened to you Wayne. Don't get discouraged, and don't mind the haters.