There’s a whole chapter in NEON’s book about his background. It didn’t really help me get a feel for that. He seemed to be a hard worker-graduated with decent grades-but nothing ever worked out very well—the old “no jobs” during the Obama years curse.
So he wound up working as a stock boy at the supermarket-at least he didn’t curl up forever in his parent’s basement. But he seems awfully insecure and in bad need of some “wins” in his life.
Aside from Neon and looking at kids in general, we had/have no safe spaces here where I live. And Good Ole Boys run this town and country.
My own observation from the years when I taught school is that The schools are difficult for kids of really high intelligence. And they do often get picked on by the other kids. They never feel accepted or that they fit in(cause they don’t). Some develop a bad chip on their shoulder, and others are just forever insecure. Some just don’t do much and pretend they are just average and not too intelligent.
They are interested in so much that doesn’t appeal to kids their age and uninterested in the stuff that the other kids are gaga over-they have already outgrown that stage just as the normie kids will one day outgrow child hood stuff. They tend to relate and converse better with adults than their age group peers.
Of course the not so gifted kids have it rough too, but the teachers are more likely to not permit the kids to make fun of the kids of lesser ability. The teachers seem to feel that the intelligent ones will be all right no matter what.
If the kids get involved in some of the groups set up for those with higher abilities, they often finally feel accepted and it helps them. And the teachers sometimes forget that emotionally they are just kids, and not undersized adults.
But there are those places that you talk about—bizarro world as far as I’m concerned.
:)