... I see Marnie accepting the library's decision as a fait accompli, but lamenting that the world is not ideal, as we all do to varying degrees depending on our temperaments (and OEs, in my case!)
In this situation, her son is the net loser, and she is anticipating the future ways in which his differences will create challenges and exclude him. It's not so much about the experience as a singularity, so much as what it represents for her family in the future and how she feels about the way the world will throw roadblocks her way.
Let's not forget that most parents here are gifted, and we carry the attendant OEs and emotional baggage of our own experiences with the world as gifted "outsiders". (Many of us--myself included--are blessed/cursed with a preternatural hunger for justice, and part of that is feeling deeply.) While giftedness brings many advantages, it also carries tremendous challenges for families, as you well know...
Agreed!
... an important service this forum provides--at least for me--is a venue to be heard without judgement. Feelings are feelings, and I don't think "appropriate" factors into this, especially when an individual's actions are rational.
This forum needs to be a safe place for us to express our genuine feelings without fear of reprisal because, let's face it, we can't just vent our spleen to the neighbours.
What some who post here (or elsewhere) may not realize, is that in doing so you ARE venting your spleen to your neighbors. This is a public forum. Posts show up in web searches, often even after being edited/removed. Some sign up to post, many sign up to lurk. Many more may read posts without signing up. Not all who read are in support of the gifted. The information gained by reading posts is a tool, and like any tool, it may be used to build or destroy.
When posting, some may say it is wise not to operate under the illusion of a
closed community,
united in support of the gifted.
