美国国家公共电台 NPR An Unlikely Pair Share A Moment That Goes Beyond Politics

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's Friday and time for StoryCorps. Today, the launch of a new project - it is called One Small Step. And it's an effort to bring together Americans with differing political views. After the 2016 election, Joseph Weidknecht went to a Trump¹ protest in Austin. He showed up with pro-Trump signs and a "Make America Great Again" hat. Amina Amdeen, a Muslim student at the University of Texas, was one of the anti-Trump marchers. They came to StoryCorps to remember the moment that brought them together.

AMINA AMDEEN: I noticed you with the hat. And I noticed that you were surrounded by some people. And I noticed that they were being kind of threatening.

JOSEPH WEIDKNECHT: I heard a click of a lighter² right behind my ear. And there were about three people trying to light my shirt on fire with lighters³.

AMDEEN: And then somebody snatched your hat off your head. And that's the point where I - something kind of snapped inside me...

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter).

AMDEEN: ...Because I wear a Muslim hijab. And I've been in situations where people have tried to snatch it off my head.

WEIDKNECHT: Wow.

AMDEEN: And I rushed towards you. And I just started screaming, leave him alone. Give me that back.

WEIDKNECHT: I don't think we could be any further apart as people. And yet, it was just kind of like this common that's-not-OK moment. You are genuinely the only Muslim person I know.

AMDEEN: (Laughter).

WEIDKNECHT: I just - it's not that I've actively⁴ avoided. It's just...

AMDEEN: Yeah.

WEIDKNECHT: ...I've just never been in the position where I can interact for an extended period of time. So I guess my views on the Muslim community have been influenced by a lot of the news articles and things of that nature.

AMDEEN: I feel like a lot of times, in the media, you don't see the normal Muslim, the one that listens to classic rock like I do.

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter).

AMDEEN: You don't meet that Muslim.

WEIDKNECHT: Can you tell me about where you grew up? What was that part of your life like?

AMDEEN: So I was born in Baghdad in Iraq. I moved to the U.S. when I was 10 years old.

WEIDKNECHT: OK.

AMDEEN: Being a Muslim girl, I stood out in almost every single way that you can in middle school, the worst time to stand out. What about you? How was it like when you grew up?

WEIDKNECHT: I was homeschooled, so it was a vastly different experience socially. It was - I didn't have, I guess, as many friends as most people would. I only went to a public school one year of my life. And I got in three fights, and I lost all of them.

AMDEEN: Aww.

WEIDKNECHT: (Laughter) I actually lost a lot of friends because of this election - because of my political stance. So I hope that I can be the reason that someone decides to talk to someone as opposed to just cutting them out of their life or blocking them on Twitter (laughter)...

AMDEEN: Yeah.

WEIDKNECHT: ...You know?

AMDEEN: I'd like for this to encourage other people to engage in more conversations...

WEIDKNECHT: Yeah.

AMDEEN: ...With people that you don't agree with.

WEIDKNECHT: What it's all about. I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who felt like that.

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MARTIN: That was Joseph Weidknecht and Amina Amdeen at StoryCorps in Austin, Texas.

To learn how to add your voice to the StoryCorps One Small Step project, go to npr.org.