Full disclosure: I didn’t know who Schlosser was b/f this, and I kind of, couldn’t care less about him now.
I think it’s there some signals here that are being crossed (to put it mildly). I don’t necessarily read a ton of motives or motivation onto people’s external actions. Was Eater LA trying to tie this incident to AAPI violence? I don’t know. But, separate from recents events and that overlay, I do think the metaphor was very apt. He was specifically targeting all other Japanese restaurants in the US (or LA? I can’t recall the exact comment) w/ that post. Not cool. And, TBH, really gross and creepy, actually.
Removing comments is absolutely silencing others, in the most concrete sense of the word. Is it violating someone’s constitutional rights? No, of course not.
How does one discern authenticity when we cannot read his mind and when authenticity in this context is time-specific (since cuisine changes, like everything else). Was he “authentically” interested in the “uplifting” the culture or, by educating guests on under-represented dishes, simply narcissistically using a culture to feed his ego (“See, I know more than you do. You didn’t now about this dish, but I do, and hence I am superior”)?
It’s sort of like George Zimmerman consciously treating all other black people but Treyvon Martin well. Implicit bias and the unconscious work in weird, and possibly very destructive, ways. And, in this instance, Schlosser gave us all insight into how one aspect of his mind works. And it was ugly.
Perhaps this is too personal an example, but it’s sort of like when I discover that people who have been politely smiling at me for years voted for a candidate that doesn’t support the LGBT+ community. It causes me to think, “Gosh, were you hoping I were dead the whole time you’ve been smiling at me?” I dunno, but I think the strong reaction you’re seeing here might be analogous…