I thought the author was trying to ingratiate himself with people who use "privilege" as if it were an actually smart thing to say, even though he mocks those s

I thought the author was trying to ingratiate himself with people who use "privilege" as if it were an actually smart thing to say, even though he mocks those same people ("Normally I consider the use of the word 'privilege' in a conversation to be the brilliant peacock plumage that identifies a third-rate pseudo-intellectual from ten paces away").