You're right though: even though he's already sweating bullets from whatever he's on, he's clearly nowhere near as unconformable as when he's reminded that the pitchforks are coming..
They want to put your state/government ID's on your phone. It's sold as "for your convenience" but what it really is, is free access to your phone while it's unlocked.
you're supposed to make an argument, and try to change things that way
He says, fully aware that all the arguments have been made for decades if not centuries only to be met with "no. We don't wanna and you can't make us" from those who hold the reins of "legitimate" power.
Like every other despot before him, he wants his victims to keep flailing ineffectually so that nothing changes.
They aren't joking when they day cruelty is a show of fear and weakness. They need you to do something they can't make you do, they don't have the charisma to talk you into it, so they'll torture you to try to convince you. Cruelty is a last-ditch effort.
"the motives feel...." and then ends with "I don't think anything about him is heroic."
I have no idea what he was going to say with the motives but maybe Thiel thinks that Luigi allegedly killed the CEO for different reasons and used the health care problem as a cover?