As a first-generation American kid who’d always wanted to escape his embarrassing blue-collar upbringing, the greatest red pill was when I finally penetrated the elite world and realized that my peers, most of whom had come from the finest of families, were utterly mediocre. /1
I’d expected brilliance and creativity, but mostly encountered high-level larping, even though I didn’t know what that term meant back then. I’d grown up around working-class Cubans and jocks, so the world of obfuscation and passive aggression, was shocking to encounter. /2
Some of the most vicious critics of the elite world are immigrants kids who “made it,” because the realization that you left your family behind and looked down on your non-elite upbringing, all so you could join a world of larpers, will forever leave you with a trace of rage. /3
It turns out that my grandfather, who left Cuba at 40 after losing everything, and built himself a life in America, was always the most brilliant person I had ever met. I didn’t see it because I was chasing the elite dream, embarrassed of my pedigree. I'd missed everything. /4