I was badly bullied as a child, beaten, had students set my clothes on fire. We were poor and wore bad clothes, we ate beans three meals a week and I must admit I farted a lot. that made me a good target. What did I do? Learned to tell jokes. When people are laughing they rarely pound you much. When your the class clown kids let things slide because they like your funny bits.
It was a survival tactic, and it worked to a point.
What you had to go through as a young child breaks my heart. You did very well overcoming the human meanness targeted at you. Very impressive. Your sense of survival, backbone, intelligence and ethics are praiseworthy.