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p-e-wtoday at 12:42 AM1 replyview on HN

> tended to have an Enders Game psychology of feeling both inferior and superior at the same time

I’ve read Ender’s Game about 20 years ago, but I don’t remember that being a theme in the novel. Could you elaborate what you mean here?


Replies

Barrin92today at 1:12 AM

Sure, for the long and more articulate version I'd point to this excellent essay by John Kessel (https://johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website/creating...)

but in short, Ender is the archetypal victim hero. He's always bullied, tormented, abused but also stronger, more intelligent, more emotionally deep and yet always remains the victim who even when inflicting planet scale violence remains ostensibly innocent. This is also the stereotypical young adult show anime protagonist or the fantasy of the bullied high school nerd.

And that really is the psychology you'll find with a lot of folks of the 90s libertarian internet circle in particular those who amassed a lot of money and power.