Both things are well understood by the bitcoin community, at least. Bitcoin's utility doesn't depend solely on inflation or replacing the dollar as the global reserve currency, though that's a popular topic, since the collapse of the dollar would prove Bitcoin's place. For the second point, HODLing seems like it's forever, but it's only for the next decade or two; the expected growth comes from getting in early - just like if you bought an Warhol painting while he was still active.
So I agree, but the author of the article is using these arguments to strawman the crypto community, which is full of really smart people as well as idiots.