More from Kumail Nanjiani

We cannot expect others to understand our point of view if we don't understand theirs.

KN

Kumail Nanjiani

Grinnell College Commencement 2017, 2017

17:35

Video starts at 17:35 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Nanjiani urged the graduates to populate their lives with people different from themselves and to seek out opposing viewpoints rather than retreating into echo chambers. He acknowledged this is genuinely hard — not as easy as following a few opposing accounts on Twitter or unblocking Uncle Steve on Facebook. You really have to listen, he said. It's uncomfortable and awkward and infuriating and it hurts your brain, 'but with that pain can come growth and real change.' He drew from his own experience as a Pakistani immigrant who'd faced racism — being told to 'go back to India' and 'go back to Taliban' — while also recognizing the economic pain behind anti-immigrant sentiment.

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