The problem is you approached to your (limited) reading of critical theory with such strong preconceptions and - it has to be said - a conspiratorial frame of mind that your efforts have been useless. One may as well take a Jack Russell to Cannes. There is no recognition of the broader history at play, the specific context of the work, what you mean by constant, emotional appeals to "the Enlightenment," or reality frankly (hence your fetishization of the thought experiment). And it has to be said the constant recourse to the "oppressors V oppressed" dichotomy is just embarrassing. It pops up all over IDW-adjacent propaganda. No one intelligent in fact buys into that grand metaphysical Good V Evil battle you project into their minds (the Right has always had better claim to that), and it just goes to show how much the likes of Jordan Peterson have debased discussions like these.

Frankly? You failed before you started.