Ice, Water, and Controversy

About a week ago videos started popping up on Facebook of people pouring large buckets of ice water over their heads and calling it the "Ice Bucket Challenge." Honestly, I really thought nothing of it. The "challenge" video is a format I'm very used to. It's popular with YouTubers who do the "7 Second Challenge" and the "Photo Booth Challenge" and basically anything else that can possibly be made into a challenge. But what I missed at the beginning of this paragraph is that it isn't just called the "Ice Bucket Challenge," it's called the "ALS Ice Bucket Challenge."

Let's be real, I had absolutely no clue what ALS was. I knew it was some sort of debilitating disease, but that's about as far as my knowledge extended. I didn't know that ALS stands for "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" or that people who suffer with it become progressively more trapped inside their own bodies. Basically, ALS is the death of motor neurons, which causes the loss of ability to perform motor functions. It is a disease that gradually gets worse until it ends in death. And I knew none of this before the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge peaked my curiosity.

So the premise of the Ice Bucket Challenge is this: Once a person get's "tagged" by someone else, they have 24 hours to make a video of themselves getting ice water dumped over their head, or pay $100 to the ALS association. But as with everything, after a week of being bombarded by videos of people getting drenched with ice water, people began to speak out against the movement.

The arguments against it are worth listening to and considering. Some argue that doing the challenge in order to get out of donating $100 is promoting the opposite of what it's trying to. They say the challenge is a way to get out of donating to charity, and that it's promoting that you should avoid giving money. Some people say it just doesn't sit right with them. Some people say by doing a fun challenge, we're making light of a serious topic.

But here's my opinion. Before this challenge started showing up on my newsfeed, I only had a rough idea of what ALS was and to be honest I hadn't really ever thought twice about it. Now I know what it is, and now I'm concerned about it. Now I am aware that it exists and that there are ways to help. Money isn't everything. Sometimes just awareness can help. But money is something, and it's very helpful. The argument that the challenge is ineffective because the point is to avoid raising money is not true at all, and I can show you that here. Oh and did I mention here. Sometimes even if people do the challenge, they still donate money because they recognize that it is a good cause. Especially celebrities who do it, since they tend to have more money to donate in the first place. Lastly, who cares if it's fun? Is that a bad thing? Must we always be somber and serious when dealing with serious things? Personally, I don't think so. Because if we did, I think everyone would be a lot more downhearted all the time.

Until next time,
Lisa