He actually wrote one of my letters of rec! I know he rubs people the wrong way a lot, but having gotten to know him I'm come to the conclusion that he's like that gruff but deep-down compassionate grandpa type. As a (white) female, I actually felt very good about being in his class. A lot of the female grad students go to him if they're having climate/microaggression problems with others in the department, actually. Have you interacted with him in person much, or mostly e-mail/phone? I could see his true nature not really coming through if it was mainly the latter two. And, for the record, I disagree with him on just about everything, so I don't think that's why I like him! Hah.