So much of what is viral nowadays is ugly.  Indeed, most news lately is unpleasant.  And then, like a glorious rose blooming on the ash heap of the news, we learn about Shetara Sims of Kansas City, Missouri.  Despite being broke, when she won $100 on a $1 lottery ticket, Sims donated it to a wounded police officer, a kind act that has seen an outpouring of generosity for Sims.

Life hasn't been easy for Sims, a single mother living in Kansas City's urban streets.  In 2012, a woman murdered Sims's daughter, 19-year-old Karyia, in a fight over a digital phone card.  At the time, Sims felt that the Kansas City detectives who worked the case were there for her.  According to a Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) Facebook post, Sims "said the detectives who worked her daughter's case were like her therapists, fathers, and lifelines all in one."

During an interview after this story broke, Sims expanded on her support for the police:

Sims said many people don't realize how wonderful officers are until they are the ones calling for help.

"I've never seen the empathy that they had from strangers. They just gave us hope. They were good for us," Sims said.

Sims is currently raising Rakiya, her 12-year-old daughter.  Life is especially hard right now because Sims lost her job more than a month ago due to the Wuhan virus.  Almost two weeks ago, Sims was down to her last $7 and was really struggling.

While Sims and Rakiya were walking through the parking lot at a grocery store, they found a $1 bill.  The money wouldn't have made a big difference to their financial situation so, for a lark, Sims bought a lottery ticket.  It was a good buy, because she won $100.

At that point, most people would have squirreled the money away, bought more food, or done something frivolously celebratory.  Sims, however, listened to Rakiya (a compassionate child), who said, "Mom, we should give that to the police officer who got shot."

Rakiya was referring to a police officer who had recently been in a firefight with a suspect.  The suspect, who was killed, managed to shoot the officer in the head.  The officer was still in the ICU when Rakiya made that suggestion.

Sims called the KCPD on July 10, asking how she could help the wounded officer.  The police advised her that the officer was getting good care but suggested that she might want to donate gift cards for restaurants or gas to his family.

That's when Sims told the KCPD about her history with them, about her financial struggles, and about the $100 she'd unexpectedly won.  At that point, the KCPD urged Sims to keep the  money, but she was adamant, "saying the officer's family  needed it, and the police needed to know they were supported."

Sims made the donation but did so anonymously. In other words, she was not seeking publicity.  What she did came from the heart.

When the KCPD shared the story on its Facebook page, people wanted to know who this amazing woman was.  The police were able to track Sims down, and they set up a GoFundMe page to help her out.  The initial amount sought was $10,000, but as of this writing, the fund has collected more than $80,000, with the amount rising by the minute.

This story about Sims and Rakiya functions at two levels.  At the most obvious level, it tells us about a genuinely decent woman who has raised a compassionate daughter.  These two women, despite trying times, were able to think of and reach out to others they believed were in greater need.  This is a message we should all try to carry with us.

At the less obvious, but perhaps more important, level, the Sims women's act of kindness and generosity to the KCPD is a reminder that the media are selling us a falsely divisive narrative about Americans and the police officers who serve them.

Yes, there are a small number of bad apples among the almost 690,000 law enforcement officers in the United States.  The vast majority, though, are people who are drawn to serve their communities.  Those in the communities whom the police serve recognize and appreciate these good motives.  It is time, therefore, for Americans to reject the ugly Black Lives Matter narrative, which will reduce America's cities to war-torn squalor, as predators roam unhindered once the Marxists have successfully fired the police.

(You can see a video about the story here, in which Sims, Rakiya, and the police all get a chance to talk about Sims's and Rakiya's act of kindness and generosity.)

Image: Screen grab from KMBC.