You’re not a coward, that comment is horrible advice.

It’s good for “oh I oughtta…!” online, but in real life there are significantly more professional/adult ways of solving the problem than asking semi-rhetorical questions that barely make sense in the hopes of guiding someone toward the desired outcome. Please don’t actually do that.

Asking “what does the employee handbook say about X??” isn’t a “gotcha.” You can literally go look, then tell us.

It’s ok to ask not to be recorded in a small meeting. You don’t need to bring up your unfamiliarity with the employee handbook.