The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Scares Me

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge absolutely terrifies me. Not because of the cold water. Not because of the number of idiots knocking themselves out with too heavy buckets, or any other of the number of things that have gone wrong. Not because of the dumping ice on yourself when it’s 95 degrees in the middle of summer is supposed to somehow be a punishment. Not even because I’m annoyed with these videos clogging up my Facebook news feed. (Can’t we just go back to posting cat videos, passive aggressive statements about our feelings, and Instagram photos of our lunches?!?)

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge terrifies me because of the insane popularity of it. Because the sheer amount of people who are doing it “because it’s a good cause.”

There are all kinds of debates happening about the benefits of dumping ice over your head to raise awareness vs. just donating the money. This is not one of those posts. Obviously the dumping of ice over your head, video taping it, then subsequently posting it to social media is effectively raising awareness and money for ALS. That’s awesome. Whoever came up with the idea is brilliant – they have capitalized on the fact that people are absolute lemmings and will do anything “for a good cause”.  I also think it encourages people to donate to charity in general, and I like that.

My apprehension is not with the concept of the Ice Bucket Challenge. My apprehension is not with donating money to ALS. My apprehension is with WHY everyone is suddenly so concerned with ALS and is directing all of their charitable donations to ALS without doing the background research.

What is ALS? What does ALS stand for? Of all the causes you can donate money to, why are you donating to ALS? I’ve asked several people who have participated in the ice bucket challenge these questions and they were unable to answer me.

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.  The ALS association estimates around 30,000 Americans suffer from ALS (compared to the 5.2 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s, 25.8 million with diabetes, and the 7.7 million Americans who suffer from PTSD, just to give you some comparisons.) ALS is rare. I’m not saying that ALS isn’t important, and that we shouldn’t spend time and resources looking for better treatment and a cure… I’m just saying that it’s a rare disease. I’m also saying that a lot of these Ice Bucket lemmings didn’t know that. For all they knew, ALS could have stood for Alcoholic Lesbian Society and they are raising money to buy Jack Daniels for lesbians with drinking problems. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I’m just saying, know before you donate. This time it’s ALS. Next time it might not be for something so upstanding. Be informed. Don’t just follow along blindly. It’s a slippery slope.

Some other statistics to consider.

In Africa, a child dies every minute from Malaria. In 2012, an estimated 789,000 people died from Malaria.  MALARIA IS PREVENTABLE AND CUREABLE. Over half a million people are dying every year from a disease we have cured!

780 Million people in this world lack access to clean water. That’s more than 2.5 times the population of the USA. 3.4 Million people die every year from water related sanitation issues.

Between 70 and 100 million sharks are killed each year, causing drastically declining shark populations that significantly affect marine ecosystems and endangering hundreds of species of sharks. This is not good for the ocean. Sharks are a top predator and are vital to the eco-system. The rapid reductions of shark populations disrupts the ocean’s equilibrium and creates a destructive ripple effect, affecting thousands of marine species populations, the level of oxygen in the water, and if left uncontrolled will be devastating.

I could go on and on with other causes that all need your donations, but hopefully you see my point. There are lots of worthy, urgent, and varied causes that different people support for different reasons.

My point is not, “Don’t donate to ALS.” My point is MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. Research the facts. Consider what is important to you, what is urgently needed in society, and how you can best allocate the money you have for charitable donations.

Think before you act.

When I look at the Ice Bucket challenge I see millions of dollars raised for a good cause (YAY!!) through smart marketing and the use of social media. But I also see Sheeple. People unable to think for themselves. Followers. Lemmings. Those with no cognitive abilities of their own. This is what terrifies me. Thousands of people blindly dumping ice over their heads to support ALS, a disease, a cause they know nothing about, simply because society told them to. Bill Gates, Jimmy Fallon, and Taylor Swift did it so I should too! Cristiano Ronaldo did it in his underwear! *Sexy*

If you’ve analyzed all of your motivations, done your research, and you still want to donate to ALS research, that’s great! It’s a horrible disease that needs a cure and I’m sure your donations are greatly appreciated by the people who suffer from the disease, their families, and the scientists who research the disease.

But don’t just do it because everyone’s doing it.  Do it because you’ve thought about it and you believe it’s the highest and best use of your time and money.

I’m not doing the Ice Bucket Challenge and I’m not donating money to ALS research. I’ve thought about it and I feel my money is better spent elsewhere.

But don’t listen to me. Think for yourself. Pick a cause and do something about it. Make a direct impact by involving your social network and make a difference. If your cause is ALS, that’s great. If it’s Malaria, AIDS, Clean Water, Sex Trafficking, Christian missions in Cambodia, Doctor’s Without Borders, Homelessness, Literacy, Sea Turtle Rehabilitation, … whatever… that’s great too. Dump ice over your head, shave your eyebrows, strip naked and run down Main Street and raise awareness for your cause. Be aggressive. Be creative. But most of all, be informed.

Do it because you’ve thought about it, you understand the cause, and you want to help, not just because it’s the popular thing to do.