The Pathological Altruist Gives Till Someone Hurts

It's more than a little dodgy to describe behavior that imposes on someone else's time and resources purportedly to help others as "altruistic." (The first example in the submitted article was such an example.) People get credit for being generous when they redistribute resources properly belonging to other people (I'll refrain from giving examples) but I don't call that "altruism." I thought altruism is when you or I devote OUR OWN time and resources to help someone else. That said, the article makes the interesting point, while referring to an interesting new book, that some people may harm themselves and the other people they think they are helping while engaging in behavior that on the surface appears to be altruistic.

> Selflessness gone awry may play a role in a broad variety of disorders, including anorexia and animal hoarding, women who put up with abusive partners and men who abide alcoholic ones.

As an alcoholic man who has to put with an abusive partner, I find this paragraph offensive

Wooooow! I can't believe that's actually in the NYT! Downvote me into oblivion, but I gotta say it. The NYT finally pegged contemporary liberalism =)