I’m only talking about the narrative around the whole “we need to shut Joe up”. I have no interest or idea in why Neil Young himself thought it’d be a good idea to get himself into this, at least in this manner.

Well, aren't we all pawns of some narrative, it's something we all cannot deny. Neil believed in mainstream media so he made his move to "defend" the narrative as a tribal instinct. I think Neil should have invited Joe to a podcast to discuss his grievances, rather than just raise an ultimatum.

Showing an openness to discussion would have been so much better for his case.

"Showing an openness to discussion "

Hell yes - there is way too much fanatism in this whole debate and I am frankly quite disappointed with Neil Young's initiative. This is not rocking the free world for me.