but GIMP simply isn’t aimed at the same type of work Photoshop and AF Photo are
Look at the home page of GIMP's website, where it says "Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done." If it's not aimed at the same things photoshop and affinity are then what is it aimed at? Music production? Video editing?
GIMP feels much more of a hobbyist tool to quickly make a simple edit and that’s done.
Why then are there so many transformation tools and filters and channel, selection and vector operations, icc profile management, scripting, etc etc etc? Just because you haven't learnt how to do something in GIMP doesn't mean it can't be done.
And like the other comment said, it has no non-destructive editing at all
This point has been valid for a long time unfortunately, however GIMP does now have non-destructive editing. You can check it out in their development version.
I know you and me are not going to agree on this but I think it's important to update and debunk misinformed statements, for the benefit of others.