Douglas Crockford taught me a really valuable lesson here... in Javascript: The Good Parts he had something directed at the haters of Javascript, that stuck with me. But I think it applies here too. GraphQL and REST are tools/patterns that have pros and cons. All tools have pros and cons. Why would you get mad at a hammer for not being good drill? Because that is what people do in our industry and it's silly.
I tried two years ago to write an article with this in mind, and the conclusion I came to in [0] is that it is an abstraction. Nothing more, nothing less. It's up to the individual to determine whether that abstraction makes sense to them.
Haters are always gonna hate, and I do appreciate your taking the time comparing and contrasting the two. Too often articles that say "Hey wait a minute here, we might be drinking the koolaid for x" come across as contrarian and spiteful. I think you managed to keep a respectful tone while asking important questions. Thank you :)
0: [link redacted]