I was an undiagnosed autist with zero social cred to my name, but a lot of my POC peers in high school treated me like I was normal. I always assumed it had something to do with the ways that they had also been otherized by the predominantly white demographic of our school. Looking back, some of our interactions were definitely teasing that I didn't recognize as such, but my black friends were the only ones who ever stepped in when I was being bullied - especially when it was being done by an authority figure such as a teacher.

It wasn't like there weren't white kids who were nice to me, too, but it seems like people who have been cast as "the other" tend to feel an often unspoken sense of comradery. I was treated pretty well by the gay kids, the compsci geeks, the back-of-class stoners, the artist-types, etc. It's sort of like when you're in the grocery line and the dude in front of you is an asshole to the cashier - if you've ever worked retail, chances are you'll be as warm and friendly to that cashier as possible when it's your turn to check out. Experience breeds empathy.