Most (keyword: Most) self-taught programmers / hobbyists start with high level languages like Python, Ruby, PHP, JS etc and work their way "down" out of interest and intellectual stimulation (like myself). It might be counter-intuitive to those with CS backgrounds but the truth is for most things, you don't really need to know the implementation details of variable assignement if you're only interested in scraping the NYT.

Believe or not, pointers can be difficult to grasp as a concept for people who aren't used to this type of mental model.

If you didn't struggle with it, good for you. But there's no need to look down on others who are trying to learn. I should also add that Software Engineering and Programming aren't necessarly synonyms. Some programmers aren't SWE and that's OK.

If you're a "fake programmer" like the parent is trying to imply, don't lose hope. Continue to learn at your own pace and you'll eventually catch up.