Yeah I can get down with that. Maybe kindness is akin to treating another as oneself would wish to be treated, i.e. like one's own kind. Whereas niceness is indeed a more surface level formality almost, where we treat another as we *think* they wish to be treated. Idk, just thinking about how it's not really "nice" to call out a friend on some bs, but is it "kind" to? If I know a person is capable of better things and I *don't* say something, aren't I doing them a disservice? But as you point out, there is often a cost to this, as many people are very resistant to criticism. Obviously this is just one example. I've just been posting my thoughts to nostr more in case anyone else might find something interesting lol