In my “Interdependence and Race” course (Psy 411), I emphasize that in order “to save the soul of America” we all have to check our stereotypes and tendencies toward bigotry.

     “There are no innocent” is always a major theme.  Last week I did a lecture in which I applied that to the panicked reactions to the election of President Donald Trump. One of the points I made is that only objecting to stereotypes and bigotry aimed at groups of people you like is not moving us toward our goal of a more perfect union. Bigotry is just bigotry, I said.

     The evening following that lecture, I got an email with the subject, “Thank you for today’s lesson”:

     “Dr. Nacoste, I’m currently writing this e-mail aboard a [North Carolina State University] Wolfline bus just minutes after your Psy 411 class today. While I was waiting at the bus stop, I noticed a student walk by wearing a t-shirt that said this: “Infidel for Trump” on the front and “Make America Great, One Round at a Time” on the back with a picture of a rifle. My mind immediately jumped to this thought: I HATE those kinds of people.

     Then I remembered what you said just minutes earlier, that that kind of thinking is part of the problem. There are no innocent and I still have some growing to do. Thank you for enlightening me.”

     Real teaching matters.

     #realtalk