Ah you see, I thought they were two different characters altogether. So clarifying this would be very helpful for a reader.
Okay so this is where your first paragraph begins: setup. You really need to sell this part so that, the suspension of disbelief is maintained. That's where your story truly starts: in the world building because, without context, it made no sense to me that they'd blatantly do whatever they pleased in public. Treat that part as an 'establishing shot' as you will, and that'll help.
Once you make the world building clearer than this section won't be as troublesome for a reader to understand within the context of the story so, that falls in line with the edits. My only context to start off with was real-world context. Devoting more to setup will help this part as well.
The resources I provided were ones that I found to be helpful and they are not used as a way to tell someone their work is bad or something along those lines. They're merely a guide so that if you get stuck you can look something over and decide if it's a fit for you. They don't tell you that you're horrible at what you do, they're more of a fail safe to catch you when you've hit a snag. It's up to you whether or not you wanted to use it.
To be honest I thought I was being helpful and saving you time. I never got the sense that this had anything to do with "intelligentsia." Just technical how-to's you could use if you needed them. I work with authors all the time to help them get the resources they need to succeed and flourish and I certainly didn't do so to hurt them. When I see a work that might need some polishing up, I don't think the author is stupid or incapable, I just see where hitches happen and try to convey that as best I can.
I had no mentors as a writer, I had to figure it all out on my own and it's rough. I always remember the feelings of being lost or out of my depth, and carry those with me to help others who are struggling or upset with their work. I pick my resources based on the things that personally would've helped me back then with similar problems. There weren't as many resources when I was younger to do that with so I had to learn by reading. I've been raked across the coals for the things I didn't do well, and my critics have been harsh and unforgiving with me, which is something I try not to do with others. So when I give a resource, I do it as a way to convey the principals I've learned and keep the experience positive.
Your personal feelings on the matter are based on your experience, and that's fine; if you don't want to use the resources, that's up to you. Regardless, good luck.