“Ask an Introverted, Disabled, & Depressed Professor.”
A series of EMPATHY. Part 1.
A thread:

Why did #ElijahMcClain scream “I’m an introvert, and I’m different” only moments before being killed by cops? While this thread will focus on introversion, I first need to say that the far more important question is, why didn’t Elijah McClain’s life matter to those 3 cops,

and how can we repair our justice system so that POC can be protected and served by cops instead of targeted and killed by them? However, I honestly don’t know the entire answer to that question; & tragically, Elijah’s murder is not unlike the countless other videos we've seen

The skin color of the dead is the same. The entitlement and hatred and rage underneath the police uniform is the same. The incredible inhumanity of the cop is the same. The fallacy of the cop fearing for his life is the same. The muffled “I can’t breathe” is the same.

The absence of any criminal activity whatsoever committed by the dead is the same. Even the fucking iced tea is the same. But, what did strike me as different was Elijah’s identifying as an introvert, twice, when facing his own death.

When first being harassed and threatened by the cops, Elijah says, “I’m an introvert; please respect the boundaries I am speaking.” And, moments later, as the cops hold him to the ground, you can hear him pleading, “I’m an introvert, and I’m different...I’m just different...

I’m just different.” Why did he say that? While the marginalization, specifically the police brutality, of Black Americans is infinitely more severe & urgent of a crisis than the marginalization of introverted Americans, the solution to both issues starts in the classroom.

But, in addition to teaching the violent history of White supremacy in America and teaching Black history not only in February and instilling antiracist pedagogies in every classroom, we need to teach EMPATHY - empathy for the young Black man, for the introvert, for the disabled,

for the depressed…for everyone who is Other. for everyone who is Other. After reading @lgblankenship’s work on rhetorical empathy, particularly the discussion of @geekyJustinLee’s incredible series of “Ask a Gay Christian…” in @rachelheldevans’ blog, I borrowed their idea

to discuss my own juxtaposed identities in my writing classroom - “Ask an Introverted, Disabled, & Depressed Professor.” So, I reached out to my past students at @GeorgeMasonU & @CatholicUniv; here’s what they want to know…