ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

8/24/2014

If you don't have a Twitter or Facebook account, then maybe you haven't noticed the deluge of videos for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. ALS takes lives, but not enough people have it to be a profitable area of research for drug companies, and the only time you ever hear about it is on medical dramas. No one in my family has ever had it, but that doesn't mean they couldn't. That's a scary thought. We have enough diseases in our history already, with increased risk of diabetes, Parkinson's, MS, and more I'm sure.

Some of my favorite people did the challenge: Chris Pratt, Misha Collins, and Clark Gregg, among others. There are many more and the number keeps growing. Lots of celebrities are participating, which has ensured that people notice. To those people who think a challenge is stupid and everyone should just donate of their own accord, why don't you think about it for a second? There are so many difficulties in this world and ALS is a very small one compared to things like cancer or poverty. It's not possible for anyone to care about all of it at the same time and that's why fundraisers need to get creative to get attention. It's not that people are so stupid and disrespectful that they only see the fun in it or are only selfish and won't donate to worthy causes unless called out by others. You have a problem with your view of the world if you think that and you need to get over yourself and learn that we're all individuals with families and obligations and limited time. If you can't understand that then you need to go the fuck away. Yes, it is fun seeing people get soaked because their reactions are genuine. No, people who aren't directly affected won't even think to donate because ALS is not in their lives and it's impossible to give money to every charity. That's why so many celebrities are involved and challenging their friends to do the same; it grabs people's attention and makes them curious to find out more and help in some small way. It's not so celebrities can increase their status and followers. Don't be so cynical about the good ones out there. They are trying to help and this "stunt" has raised awareness far more than any other, making over $50 million so far. That's incredible.

I won't be making a video, because my family, who has no idea I even have a blog, would be wondering why the hell I would be trying to film myself with my point-and-shoot camera in one hand and a bucket of ice water in the other. But doing the challenge is not necessary to donate, and I did that at The ALS Association.

The first video you should watch is from someone who actually has ALS. I started watching this the other day because Chris Pratt retweeted it, but I got interrupted and never finished. Now I know what I missed. It made me wish I could help more.

Ooh, I hated picking an order for these. I put Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista at the top because Guardians of the Galaxy was the last movie I saw and it was tremendous. But I didn't rank anyone. That would be impossible. All the wonderful Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actors are only at the bottom because of the format of their videos.