The curricula teachers teach are intimately bound with who they are. The literature on multicultural and anti-oppressive education does not adequately examine teachers' emotions in this type of teaching and learning. What are the emotional subtexts that accompany classroom celebrations of diversity? What may help teachers engage in more courageous teaching that confronts resistance, is not afraid of conflict, and leads to genuine communication and learning across difference? The first question refers to what is termed here a pedagogy of cordial relations that is akin to anaemic love, whereas the second question alludes to a pedagogy "for" difference, which involves Self-Other transformation. The goal is to help educators recognize where they stand in terms of these two pedagogies and move towards the latter. This study uses inquiry methods and a socio-psychological theory of emotions in organizations to explore purposely selected narratives by white teachers of classroom critical incidents that bring hidden emotions into view. Three key moments are highlighted: coming to awareness of the hidden emotions that support cordial relations; translating such awareness into a transformed role for the teacher; and changing the classroom environment to foster this learning in students. This paper concludes with a thought experiment, whereby the knowledge gathered through this inquiry transforms one of these difficult moments, and with some reflections on policy. (Contains 20 notes and 2 tables.)