Certainly there are downsides to any setup, but due to React Native's large ambitions I'm unsure if it could have ever been created by an independent community. There is a lot of work that goes into it and the abundant availability of complex real-world problems (to a greater extent than I've seen anywhere else) spurred by this setup pushes React Native to be a more capable project.
Thanks for the insight. I can tell from how you write about React, you're very dedicated, and I feel your passion.
Upper-level managers at the large companies I've worked for universally saw these types of projects as "cost centers" and tended to interfere in ways that demonstrated a basic misunderstanding of the value. I hope that's not true in your case.
