- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 17,227
- Points
- 113
I'm not sure you're conflating "feeling proud" with "showing off." Pride concerns what a person values inwardly; showing off concerns how a person presents himself outwardly. The two often coincide, but they are not identical. To say someone comes across as boastful is an observation about behavior. To say he is proud of his achievements or background is a claim about his inner disposition. The former may be evident from his writings; the latter requires a degree of mind-reading.
You're also introducing an implicit comparator: the idealized figure who is 白手起家. By measuring him against that standard, you're not evaluating him on his own terms but against a third party you've constructed for the comparison. In effect, the argument is not simply that he is privileged; it's that his achievements are less worthy because someone else, imagined or real, achieved success without those advantages. That may be a legitimate value judgment, but it is a different claim altogether.
The True Believer has a True Follower (YOU).
He is delusional of his social acceptance, thinking that most people here are envious of him and full of admiration for him. He believes he is well accepted here and nobody will be hostile toward him. If there is, it's just one rotten grape.
