It was a bit depressing to see Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, and Alistair Darling take the popular "ice bucket challenge." If I thought they were doing it due to a genuine awareness and concern about ALS--well, I still would have thought they could just write the larger cheque (the one you're supposed to write if you opt out of the dousing). I guess it's no different from candidates kissing babies or eating a hot dog (or haggis) to show a spurious bond with the common folk (or the hipsters).
Scott Gilmore, writing in Macleans.ca expressed part of what's been bothering me about this whole thing:
"ALS research is not an especially great need in public health. It is classified as a rare disease...not even close to the top 20 most fatal diseases...It is already well funded...the diseases that are far more likely to kill you and your loved ones are ignored...Instead of supporting what is most needed, we support what is most amusing."
He suggests we remember this:
Good reasons to donate:
1. Need
2. Influence
3. Urgency
Bad reasons to donate:
1. Ice Buckets
2. Wristbands
3. Mustaches
Sadly, the stunt also claimed the first life the other day when a teen-ager dove into a flooded quarry and died after having the ice bucket treatment. The news report said that to one-up just having a bucket of freezing water dumped on them, quite a few people now are following that act with something more extreme.
It may have contributed to the death of a New Zealand 40-year-old man who followed it by consuming a lot of alcohol. The Northern Advocate reported the death and noted that "in countless online videos, the exercise is conducted hand-in-hand with the consumption of a lot of alcohol."
In another incident a firefighter was critically injured when a cherry-picker crane from which he was dousing students with cold water got too close to a power line.
It can also be insensitive to challenge others. I read today about a woman who was publicly challenged; unfortunately she's quite ill herself (something she had not chosen to tell many people) but felt the peer pressure to explain why she wouldn't or coudn't do the stunt.
I mean no disrepect or unkindness to the those suffering from ALS or their loved ones; even if it's a relatively small number, each one brings suffering to a circle of people.
A NEW CHALLENGE
It does seem sad, though, that what catches our attention is the gimmick. Here's my suggestion for a new movement:
We leave the ice in our freezer.
We put away the camera.
We think about what cause needs the money the most or speaks to us most, maybe because someone we know is suffering from it or has died because of it.
We write a cheque for that cause.
We tell no one.
