I don’t how much ‘soft power’ Owen was supposed to have 5 years ago (by being older and more involved in the community). While it’s regrettable if someone pretended to be comfortable while actually being uncomfortable, it’s unclear to me that the perception of ‘soft power’ would matter so much that one cannot speak up.
The hail of disagreevotes is probably due to your original comment not recognizing the power dynamics at play in Owen’s situation.
I don’t how much ‘soft power’ Owen was supposed to have 5 years ago (by being older and more involved in the community). While it’s regrettable if someone pretended to be comfortable while actually being uncomfortable, it’s unclear to me that the perception of ‘soft power’ would matter so much that one cannot speak up.