Wonder August Pullman Abnormality

Is there a reason we tend to avoid certain people? In R.J. Palacio's novel, Wonder, August Pullman was born with extreme facial abnormalities, and for the first time he will be entering school as a fifth grader at Beecher Prep in Manhattan. Julian Albans is one of three students asked by the principle of said school to befriend August, give him a tour of the school, and help ease his transition into school. However, Julian is mean-spirited and ends up being a bully to August, but why? Julian is a complex character whose thoughts are influenced by his mother, causing him to be mean to August despite the possibility of them being friends and act differently in front of adults and children alike. Julian's opinions on abnormalities, in this

This is exemplified when he was chosen by Principal Tushman as one of the three students to show August around, which implies the teachers see him as a good student. However, on the actual tour, Julian teases him, asking "What's the deal with your face? I mean, were you in a fire or something?" (Palacio 29), after Mr. Tushman had already explained the reason for his abnormality, which implies he asked him this to make fun of him. In the previous incident where Julian asks August about the braid in his hair, asking "Why do you have that tiny braid in the back of your hair? Is that like a Padawan thing?" (Palacio 43), Julian sounds like he's asking an innocent question, but it was just a build up before asking him if he liked Darth Sidious, which is dismissed by the teacher as general curiousity. Similarly, Julian's mom doesn't tell Julian and his family upfront that he disliked them for his son's facial abnormality, but instead photoshops his face out of class pictures behind their and the school's back, hands those out, and tried to get August dismissed from the school claiming they're not an "inclusive