Wednesday, August 27, 2014

A rant about the ice bucket challenge and how it needs to just stop

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It's a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. It's also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease." Lately a challenge designed to raise awareness of ALS and to get people to donate money has gone viral. Everyone from Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC to George R.R. Martin has done their version of the challenge. The thing that disturbs me though, is that people are participating in the challenge for selfish reasons that are doing more harm than good.

We have Henry Cavill in his Superman outfit doing the Ice Bucket challenge. Hoo Rah! right? I mean it's Superman, but it's also free marketing for an upcoming movie. This really puts a distaste in my mouth...the fact that Hollywood would use a challenge to raise awareness on a disease that kills people to say "Hey we're filming Batman vs. Superman and this seems like a great way to get people talking early about the film." Why couldn't Henry Cavill just have done it outside his uniform?

And what about the Scottish teen that died because of the challenge? I think it would make everyone who has ALS very sad to know that a challenge designed to raise awareness of their disease has claimed the life of Cameron Lancaster who was only 18. How the f*ck do people die by just getting ice cold water poured over their head? Well that's just the thing: they don't. Cameron died because people are making more of the ice bucket challenge than it really is. They are making it harder, adding levels of difficulty, blowing it way out of proportion, all to get a few YouTube hits.

And let's not forget the platonic form of a failed ALS ice bucket challenge involving a guy in camo cargo pants and an American flag vest, waving an even bigger confederate flag, and he sets his own hair on fire. It seems clear to me that the ice bucket challenge has lost its way. It's no longer about charity as much as its about bragging on social networks. "Everything you can do, I can do better." So the result has been everything from dumping water on someone to having some person shoot another with a stun gun so that they fall backward into ice water.

There is no reason to do this:
Or this very dangerous activity...
I just don't get it. How could something so seemingly simple...small bucket of ice water poured gently on head...turn into something so disastrous that it actually claims lives? Are people really this stupid? /end rant

22 comments:

  1. Like anything else that starts out good, stupid people take it too far.

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  2. I agree, it's got out of hand - and there was another guy that died as well, in NZ I think. But he had drunk a lot of bourbon or something before doing the challenge. Still, he died of a heart attack or something.

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  3. Yes, unfortunately, some people are that stupid. I think it's great to raise awareness and donations of ALS. It's a terrible, terrible disease. But I don't think people should peer pressure others to do the challenge/donate, and too many are taking the challenge to dangerous lengths.

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  4. Like all charity, it should be completely voluntary and done from the heart. Too bad it's taken a tragic turn for some people.

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  5. I have avoided watching the videos. I hope that lots of money was raised even with all the stupidity that has worked its way into the original clever idea.

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  6. It's sad when people ruin the original intent, and it turns into doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. I just hope ALS raises a lot of funds as the result.

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  7. Of course people are that dumb. How long was that Jackass show on? Plus all the movies. The Superman one was Ok but I'm tired of hearing who's "won" the challenge.

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  8. Frikin idiots. There will always be Darwin Award winners out there. Don't let them spoil things for you. I've only watched a couple ice bucket challenge vids. There's no point in watching more and getting outraged over it.

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  9. Sadly, yes there are people either gullible enough, or trusting enough of others to do this. A BUCKET is NOT a storage bin of water OR a garbage can of water. Doing the challenge to promote other things is just sleazy.

    It's definitely OTT mentality.

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  10. it's too popular for its own good. I think everyone should wait until January and we'll see if anyone's stupid enough to try it in the bitter cold.

    In Arizona I doubt it's a challenge, it's just called cooling off.

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  11. I just got tagged a few days ago and i'm irritated.

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  12. You ask, "Are people really this stupid?" You're one of the brightest people I know so I'm sure you know the answer.

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  13. I know the challenge has raised awareness and a boat load of money, but you're right that it's veered away from the purpose. It's sad that people take it too far.

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  14. That's what happens when something goes viral. Instead of the small core of supporters, the "Wal-Mart Nation" gets ahold of it and idiocy ensues.

    I love the meme that had a picture of a small African boy with a caption that reads (something along the lines of) "You have clean water and you're dumping it over your head?"

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  15. The only one that I saw with any sense to it was the one Neil Gaiman did. He went to the beach and had someone scoop seawater over his head. It was sensitive to the California drought and also safe.

    Edge of Your Seat Stories

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  16. I sort of think that the people who have caused injury to themselves doing this would have found some other way to injure themselves if this wasn't available.

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  17. The original impulse was a good one. But yeah, folks get way carried away!

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  18. The reason people have died is because it didn't come with a warning label and a long list of things not to do. Can we really expect the general public to figure out what's not safe? Remember that labeled missile you posted about awhile back?

    Anyway, it seems the challenge is on the decline.

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  19. I haven't watched any if this stuff. I'm aware of the challenge, but it seems weird to me. I lost my aunt, who I lived with for some time, to ALS and it sucked watching her wither away. I hope all this makes a difference.

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  20. I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you Mike. People who do things for publicity and to show off will do it no matter what. If it wasn't the ice bucket challenge it would be something else. And yes wearing the superman costume has it's own motive but it can get more people involved by drawing in comic and movie fans so they know about the ALS plight. Plus it's better than just doing the challenge to look crazy and ending up getting hurt.

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  21. At this point yes, the challenge should end, but in the meantime it raised money for research into, and awareness of, a terrible disease. The problem is that there will always be stupid people who'll look for any excuse to perform a stupid act for a camera, and publicists who'll exploit any opportunity. But that said, the 18-year-old is a sad case because he was still young and all the neurons in his brain weren't connected yet, so as a teenager of course he could take something too far.

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  22. I'mm out of touch! I hadn't heard of this. END THE CHALLENGE!! But I' glad it started to raise money for an awful disease. I'm all for challenges to raise money for disorders and diseases. It's just that folks take it way to far. That looks like it hurts. I've had enough pain for a long time.

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