Mason  🏃‍♂️ ✂️

I sometimes see these kids in Singapore too, chatting people up on the train. Exactly as you describe. I found myself liking them too. There’s a non-neediness and non-pushiness that’s refreshing

I have a hard time viewing “travel across the world spreading your religion explicitly” as non-pushy, even when cool about it in the micro level. I’d like to be more open to it... I think I have a visceral reaction against evangelism (w/any worldview but religion is most common)

yeah I don’t fundamentally like it either - just that the bar for decency is so low, that ^

I don't honestly see what the problem is with spreading your ideas across continents — to me it still hinges on the quality of ideas? Otherwise it seems like a really shitty version of pseudo-antipaternalism to think "this culture shouldn't be interfered with"

But also this is Oakland and these kids were from Salt Lake City

But like... show me someone who thinks it's wrong to travel across the world to **consensually spread a religion** AND **teach girls who want to learn how to read** and I'll believe this isn't about personal views on the value of the information

I’m not sure I agree the degree to which it’s consensual. eg, I‘d probably even attend a comparative religion course or debate. But if that same professor shows up at my house, I’m suddenly much less into it. Especially if there’s a dark history behind TAs showing up at houses…

Q: should someone show up door to door and offer to teach the children of the house to read, or is that overstepping?