Mothers in Trouble

Sometimes, good intentions go wrong. It's been reported that the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, those courageous women who have insisted that justice be done posthumously to their loved ones killed or disappeared by the military junta in Argentina all those years ago, find themselves now in hot water, having employed two brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents 30 years ago and are now under investigation for mishandling public funds. The Mothers -- at least some of them -- branched out into social work, especially housing for the poor, and thus received public funds.

This is what happens to some grassroots movements when they become too ambitious and big for their own good. Instead of staying focused on one issue, do-gooders sometimes lose sight of their original purpose, and then have to organize, hire staff and handle  donations, all of which present problems which they are ill- equipped to solve. In essence, they become victims of their own success, and end up discredited by questionable dealings with people that they should have stayed away from.

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