R’s coworker got a call from her child’s elementary school in a still-affordable area in Brooklyn they moved to. They said they think he’s autistic and needs special ed. The school came to that conclusion because he’s been unable to make friends, even though it wasn’t an issue in his old school.
Besides him, there are only two other kids in his school who are white.
His parents are beside themselves. Of course, second opinion will be sought. They can’t afford a private school, or a wealthier area with a school that’s more diverse, or at least more caring. And they really don’t want to live in the suburbs. I am imagining myself in that same situation.

Why is this country so f.cked up that race would be an issue at such an early age?

Now I’m remembering my Venezuelan-Chinese friend who grew up on Lower East Side telling me about being jumped on a regular basis while in high school by other kids because she didn’t look like them, or because she studied more than them.
And now she moved back there and promptly been labeled a gentrifier.