I agree with some of your points. The main protagonist isn't exactly a genius and forcing his only friend (who was the only person who treated him decently after he got the construction job) to abandon everything just to get in his crusade is pretty much a sign that he was a douchebag.

That being said, what do you mean by white privilege? The protagonist was a homeless wanderer looking for a job in an obviously depressed economy. What privilege did he have and how did he include it while trying to covince his friend?

I consider myself a John Carpenter fan since I was a teen but his overall filmography is a mixed bag. I'm in the minority cause I don't like "They Live" or "Big Trouble in Little China" as much as some people seem to do. For me, Carpenters true classics are Escape from New York, The Thing and In The Mouth of Madness. Mostly those three.