&gt; Should we avoid criticizing brutal dictatorships because they are an improvement over anarchy?<p>No, and only an incredibly uncharitable reading of my comment could suggest otherwise.<p>What is it about this topic that makes people go crazy? The examples in the article involved: donating to the homeless, paying people&#x27;s water bills, and taxi pricing. The comments here have brought up slavery, selling drugs to addicts, and avoiding criticism of brutal dictatorships. Please, try to retain a sense of proportion.<p>It could be argued that outrage over PETA brought more attention to the problems of Detroit. I didn&#x27;t know about the water shutoff until my Facebook feed was full of PETA hate. But it doesn&#x27;t matter. People didn&#x27;t get angry at PETA for &quot;diverting attention.&quot; They got angry at PETA because PETA only helped a little bit.