It was shocking that witnesses (and select few - according to the screenshot below, total 65) made the decision and executed with without any public discussion, and still claims that "this statement has been co-authored by the Steem community..."

I think that the witnesses involved at least represent many more than the 65, as they are voted upon by the community.

The SCT community is very small (300 posters?), but I think it is the third highest by payout due to the amount of stake held in that small group. Yes, stake is your voice and the proxy token is using the stake available. However, that 65 witnesses and select few also are generally highly staked users also and have been involved with the Steem community for a very long time - which is why they have the community support of many thousands of votes.

This is a complex issue of course, but I think that Steem has to be decentralized at the governance level, and Tron do not seem to actually want that, they want either their puppet witnesses or - puppet witnesses that they will use the Steemit Inc stake to control. Either way, it is a risk.

I really hope that at least some good can come of this, but I fear that it is going to come down to a small group of people trying to make as much money as they can, at the future cost to many thousands of users.

Anyway, at least people are actually talking and getting interested in what is important on Steem, rather than focusing on the rewards like normal.