Answer quickly - how much of your net worth would you risk on a bet with 1% chance of a 1000X payout? Now how much would you risk if you can hand off 90% of any loss you take to someone else?
The difference is what we call moral hazard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard
The whole point is rich people, investment portfolios, etc. have an entirely different risk profile than individuals. For an individual, low-probability high EV (high variance) is dangerous, which is why you buy insurance -- essentially negative EV (a 100% chance of losing either $1 or $2, but not losing your $1000).
Re-read the comment.
An early employee is paid a salary, and they also get options. The OP's point is that receiving the salary and options means your risk profile is different.
There's no moral hazard here, unless you believe receiving a salary is a moral hazard.
The entire reason VCs give you the money is to take more risk. That's, literally, the point.
So you do understand things correctly, yet came to the wrong conclusion that VC were somehow being wronged by this.