GS even admits that the brigading is obnoxious then goes on to defend it.

Dogpiling and brigading are two different things. Brigading is (at least loosely) coordinated, dogpiling is something people do when they are there, coordinated or not. The algorithm just happened to put this thread near the top on Hexbear, which is only federated with a handful of instances, as can be seen by the fact that I was the very first person to comment on it (next was op, then myself again, iirc). It is categorically false to my knowledge that this thread was "brigaded," a bunch of people with similar opinions on this issue just all saw the thread.

And it is obnoxious, but "obnoxious" doesn't mean "evil," especially when you were speaking so derisively about the people you had to have seen made up the bulk of the thread when you made your first comment. Honestly, what did you expect? In most political communities you'd get a very similar reaction, and I'd prefer a single emote to a "Crimes of China" copypasta filling up my inbox.