Kindness, on the other hand, means taking ownership of your agency in a way that fosters intimacy. Niceness says a black woman can’t be angry when she discusses police brutality, but kindness says that supportive listening and acknowledgment of pain is the only way to live in relationship. Niceness is disembodied, while kindness begins in our guts and in our bones. Niceness is a veneer, but kindness goes to the heart.
