I don't know why many people operate under the delusion that the value of their work is the same as how valuable you are perceived. Not to say that there's no correlation, but it's just part of the equation.
People pay a premium for doing business with other people that they like. It's perfectly logical - we all want our daily interactions to be pleasant ones, and would much rather work with people we like than people we find distasteful.
It's completely counter-productive to frame this as everyone else just being superficial ass-kissing hypocrites.
You're right, it's less about ass kissing and more about cultural fit which is kind of a dog whistle but not exactly since you can hang if you're a "cool" Indian dude who drinks beer and plays ping pong, beer pong or foosball and doesn't smell funny.
People pay a premium for doing business with other people that they like. It's perfectly logical - we all want our daily interactions to be pleasant ones, and would much rather work with people we like than people we find distasteful.
It's completely counter-productive to frame this as everyone else just being superficial ass-kissing hypocrites.