If I get a big conflict and I know my change is trivial, I feel perfectly okay doing git fetch git reset --hard whatever and then reapplying my simple change as a new commit. Sort of a bootleg rebate.

I hear what you're saying.

First, I hard disagree with you. Overwriting my local version of code is a parachute - not an ideal landing, but better than merging by hand.

Also, my comment was not an attempt to teach everything about git, just to explain what is happening in simple terms, since git requires a lot of experience to understand what those messages mean.