The most urban-inept strangers can be the most warmly treated

Evidence

In the case of the stranger, the union of closeness and remoteness involved in every human relationship is patterned in a way that may be succinctly formulated as follows: the distance within this relation indicates that one who is close by is remote, but his strangeness indicates that one who is remote is near. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 388 (#expands, via linked claim)

The stranger is close to us insofar as we feel between him and ourselves similarities of nationality or social position, of occupation or of general human nature. He is far from us insofar as these similarities extend beyond him and us, and connect us only because they connect a great many people. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 397 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The stranger embodies a simultaneous union of closeness and remoteness — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 388; Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 397

Related

• Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far (similarity 0.91)
• The stranger embodies a simultaneous union of closeness and remoteness (similarity 0.90)
• A stranger is someone personally unknown yet visually available (similarity 0.88)
• Seeing a handicap makes some strangers feel licensed to intrude (similarity 0.87)
• Strangeness is a specific proportion of nearness and distance (similarity 0.87)
• In the stranger, distance means the near one is far and vice versa. (similarity 0.87)
• Widely shared similarities cool connections into a sense of contingency (similarity 0.85)
• Strangers are perceived by type rather than as individuals (similarity 0.83)
• The stranger is not a transient wanderer but a settled potential wanderer (similarity 0.83)
• Stranger relations rest on general commonality, not specific differences (similarity 0.83)
• Individualization loosens ties with the near to enable ties with the distant (similarity 0.82)
• Libraries and museums block strangers’ attempts at conversation (similarity 0.82)
• Behavior can track type even when encounter partners are anonymous (similarity 0.81)
• The stranger fuses detachment with attachment, coming today but staying tomorrow (similarity 0.81)
• Living surrounded by strangers is a peculiar condition requiring explanation (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• The stranger embodies a simultaneous union of closeness and remoteness #expands (0.50) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 388
• Shared universal traits make the stranger simultaneously near and far #expands (0.40) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 397