The Quiet Kids Inc.

‘Listen to silence; It has so much to say.’

Silence is often a misunderstood virtue. There are so many ways one can actually interpret the presence of silence but the very absence of ‘expression’ often leads to misinterpretation. While many think that silence is a sign of peace and maturity, there is a huge percentage of folks who see silence as a sign of weakness.

While the nature of silence hugely depends on the situation, there is a huge consequence when the virtue is misinterpreted to be a sign of weakness. This misunderstanding brings us to one of the most secretive tropes of humanity; The Quiet Kids.

There’s only two kinds of people in the world, the kind that know a ‘Quiet Kid’ or the kind that are ‘Quiet Kids’.

The second type of people are the stars of this post so Imma turn my attention to the first type of people.

These are of two kinds as well; The first kind are the ones who will legitimately ‘adopt’ a quiet kid and be the ultimate bff by literally doing all the talking but the second kind are the troublemakers. These folks think they are entitled to make a quiet kid’s life a living hell.

Often when the troublemakers see a quiet kid, the first impression that they have is ‘Yeah, this chap ain’ gonna say nothin’, why not have some wee shenanigans?’

And these ‘wee shenanigans’ ALWAYS escalate to the point where it becomes downright bullying. And most of the times, these people get away with it cause they were right; The chap ain’ gonna say nothin’. Which encourages them to push the limits. So here’s an idea: What happens when this limit breaks? What happens when the quiet kid finally speaks? Let’s find out.

‘They needed a hero….So that’s what they became.’

When a kid is being relentlessly tormented for being quiet, there is nothing that kid longs for more than support. The kid wants a fairy godmother, a Superman, anyone that can just be there for them and fight off the bad guys but in most cases, no one turns up. And as a result of facing everything alone for so long, these kids become their own fairy godmother, their own Superman.

Except some of them get bitten by a genetically modified spider and become Spiderman instead….

Peter Parker is one prime example of this. I mean honestly, the kid got the brutal end of the stick courtesy Eugene Thompson but when Spider Man unleashed his webs, this same Eugene Thompson admired him without the slightest realisation that the bloke that saved the city is none other than the ‘nerd’ he punched in high school. So much for branding someone ‘Puny Parker’.

Neville Longbottom is the beacon for quiet kids everywhere in the world. There’s a long list of people that made him the laughing stock such as Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape and Barty Crouch Jr. without having a single fragment of realisation that the boy is only human but when it came to the battle, Neville was one of the strongest spies holding the fort at Hogwarts and as a brownie point, he killed Nagini. He destroyed a horcrux which eventually killed Voldemort.

And to top it all off, the boy is yet to insult his bullies.

All I can say is that the next time you see a quiet kid, you might be looking at the future Captain America cause Steve Rogers came from the same blood.

Hail the Quiet Kids.

‘Why should they apologise for the monster they’ve become when no one apologised for making them that way?’

Often, when a quiet kid is bullied, they fall so deep into a dreary abyss that they feel that the only possible comeback is revenge. These kids let the bitterness brood inside of them for so long that when they finally get their vengeance and the darkness inside them spills, there is no stopping the growing tide of revenge that was once an innocent angel.

In the novel, Carrie is an innocent girl in a literal abusive world, starting from her mother to her classmates. All she wanted was a nice dance at prom but the classmates used her naiveté against her, as a consequence of which she unleashed the monster within her. The rampage that followed is a whole different story but you’ve got to be downright the origin of evil to hype someone up and ruin their day by playing on their innocence. No one deserves to be brought up to immense happiness as a prank just to be laughed at in the end and such a degree of bullying is bound to have morbid consequences.

Bullying leads to so much damage, not just to the person enduring it but also to the innocent people who have to suffer the wrath of the victim when their rage goes unchecked. And in this bargain, the rampaging victim loses that one trait that is the most precious i.e. their innocence and goodwill.

Barbara Minerva for instance was driven to absolute greed to be in the limelight and for others to take her seriously, as a result of which she lost her former bubbly and innocent nature, turning into a vengeful predator. In her case, the question has to be asked; How hard is it to just lend a ear and hear someone out? I mean people had a tendency to just look through Barbara, even when she asked for help. Besides, it wasn’t as if Barbara was a no-good, she was super smart and it was truly horrible for people to make fun of her for trying out new things and innocent excitement.

Now, for the victims who turn to the dark side, one thing that stands true is that vengeance is never the answer. It starts out small with a revenge plan for just one bully but bitterness and hate are quick to consume the soul and suddenly there’s too much damage. A fitting reply to every bully ever is by making a mark in the world and earning respect and admiration despite all the fire the bully puts one through as that is the only way to make the bully feel defeated. Turning to the dark side is only a sign of victory for the bully as their actions have had the effect of bringing a person down.

‘You may call them ‘Your Highness’ ‘

These quiet kids actually perform something popularly known as a Power Move™.

These will be the sort of kids who will never know a day of happiness courtesy their bullies but when the time comes, they will find the bullies either working for them or serving them like subjects to a Monarch. These guys are the CEOs of taking everyone’s breath away and the phrase ‘giving up’ does not exist in their moral dictionary. No matter how many times they will be criticised, these chaps will find a way to rise.

Billy Elliot for instance. He took that electricity way past the ‘Boys can’t do ballet’ stereotype and flew like a swan.

In the Downton Abbey scenario, Lady Edith Crawley is seen as ‘Poor, old Edith’ with no prospects and as a constant punching bag to Lady Mary, her elder sister. Despite all the atrocities, complete with being jilted at the altar and nearly having her engagement broken by her sister, Edith is the only one in the family to actually earn a position of respect as the owner of a magazine, a milestone she achieved completely on her own even when her other thought the Times won’t publish her article. Besides that, she won the aristocracy game by outranking the entire Crawley family by becoming a Marchioness along with being a journalist and a single mother.

#Respect

The village called Belle a ‘funny girl’ because she liked to read and had dreams away from the provincial life. They ridiculed her and nearly institutionalised her father but she had the strength of character to mend the heart of a beast and with her love, save the entire castle, staff and Prince from a doomed life.

It’s true, reading can make a heart strong enough to alter Fate.

All in all, as Stephen Hawking once said,