Yes, he is leading the reader to the conclusion he drew by illustrating first his otherness and then his high performance. I don't see how this would serve as

Yes, he is leading the reader to the conclusion he drew by illustrating first his otherness and then his high performance. I don't see how this would serve as a counter-example to the claim "merit doesn't matter as much as <being in the in-group>" or whatever he claims supplants merit.