I can't quite parse this. What does this mean? Not sure whether anyone has asked for this gentle sensitivity, that we are somehow obliged to the author for it,

I can't quite parse this. What does this mean? Not sure whether anyone has asked for this gentle sensitivity, that we are somehow obliged to the author for it, or that we should sustain their pretenses. My comment was to assert that in spite of the author's contortions, their concern for others seemed self-interested, aspirational, and insincere.