Like the one about the woman in Missouri who couldn’t get maternity leave, so her colleagues donated their own vacation days. Or the one about the young man in Alabama who spent hours walking to work, so his boss gave him a car. Stories like these typically pop up on social media, where they spread quickly and catch the attention of news organizations and spread even farther. Some are attached to GoFundMe or other fund-raising accounts, so that strangers can donate to the beneficiary — or the benefactor. Individual acts of kindness don’t solve systemic problems — in fact, they can do harm by glossing over deeper issues.

Source: New York Times July 17, 2019 15:44 UTC