In my own life, I generally operate as if I’m at the run-down gym, not the nicely-polished fitness chain. That’s how you should operate, too. If I’m talking to someone I don’t already know personally—a foreigner to me—I assume two things: 1) we don’t live by the same social contract, and 2) I’m six seconds away from them unleashing a shooting spree. That doesn’t mean I’m jumpy and paranoid. It means I’m as kind and considerate as possible. If every stranger lived by a different set of rules (at best) or was just looking for a reason to start firing (at worst) how would you interact with them?
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