This is what democracy looks like, and it should be respected.
Why should it be respected? Should we respect it any more than the US democracy which elected a thug? A system isn’t automatically respectable just because it’s one type of democracy.
You also have to remember these people have a voice because we give it to them.
In some ways, sure, but these people also have a voice because owning-class mass media gives it to them. You can literally buy a figurative microphone. Pay for a platform. We don’t assume people with money are worth listening too, they’re simply the ones talking on every channel.
It’s more complex than that, and a protest has more important benefits than a mere direct message (incl. networking), but a ruler or military/police won’t change their mind because a million people said “I don’t like this”. There needs to be some threat, like a strike or even violence, to make them suddenly care about ethics.
They weren’t bragging. They stated their situation and experience because it’s relevant to the article, which is about academics.
At least one US fash has already, Chadwick Seagraves. The rest might need a little encouragement.