I personally know many friends that view my own identification as an EA itself elitist, because by trying to help with things like alleviating global poverty through targeted donation I am putting myself on a pedestal above people living in the developing world (or so the argument goes). To these friends, it’s less elitist to try and focus on pursuing their own happiness rather than thinking you can solve other people’s problems better than they can.
[tangent] Have you tried describing GiveDirectly to these friends, and if so how did they react?
[tangent] Have you tried describing GiveDirectly to these friends, and if so how did they react?