You're not stupid for using a framework, and nobody has pulled a fast one on you. https://seldo.com/posts/the_case_for_frameworks
The case for frameworks

Today I read Alex Russell's post The Market for Lemons and I found myself compelled to write a rebuttal. I am a big fan of Alex's work in general but not of this post in particular, which is very long, so allow me to attempt to summarize it

@seldo economics indeed but the changing storyline is also well documented (yes that's grifting!)

And also ppl need to know how HTML/etc work in order to use React not the other way around.

@brianleroux I do not think everybody is using React because Guillermo is just really, really persuasive.
@seldo I didn't say that did I?!
@brianleroux I just don't think any grifting is involved. People are choosing what works for them.
@seldo well they're definitely being deliberately misleading to a large audience of less experienced devs (not just one individual either) and to me that's not professional behavior whether it works for them or not. Which, given the outcomes esp in performance and a11y: not working actually. Not an opinion these are all super well documented claims.
@brianleroux I just don't believe it. I don't think they're being deliberately misleading. I don't think devs, experienced or otherwise, are being misled. The outcomes in performance and accessibility are unfortunate by-products of capitalism and not because people are dumb.
@seldo @brianleroux Agree — back when "SPA frameworks for apps, static HTML/CSS/JS for sites" was the mantra, I still struggled to avoid being accessory to 50MB of images and autoplaying videos being forced upon users of marketing sites.