> And finally, I became the exact thing I hated: a toxic asshat throwing his skills around like fists. I don’t do code review for the business, I just like showing the rookies their place. My skills have finally started to pay off.

Or he's just lazy.

It's way harder to build up the people you work with than tear them down. The key ingredients tp the former are patience and empathy. And those qualities are lacking in many managers.

Also, aggressive, opinionated people are often perceived as more intelligent than their more reserved peers. You'd think that the snowmen can't get snowed, but the type of person the author describes seems to be just as vulnerable to the misdirection as others.