Today on social media, I read two different negative articles about the Ice Water Challenges that seem to have taken America by storm and I have to tell you, I’m annoyed. Only in America would people bitch about something that is supposed to be a good thing that supports others. Whether it be about the delivery, people’s intentions, or God knows what else, people are complaining about it. That seems to be the American way. Forget the good that it’s doing – let’s find something to kvetch about from my comfy couch while I do absolutely nothing to contribute to the greater good. Or better yet, my contribution to the greater good is better than yours, so I can be judgmental and criticize it.
One of the chief complaints is that people are not drawing
enough attention to the cause they are supporting. My response to that is – how are they hurting the cause? Does it really matter that John is only doing
the challenge so he can be shirtless on camera and show off his abs, or Tiffany
just wants to look noble in front of her country club friends and neither are
educating me on what the cause is about?
I couldn’t give a rat’s ass less.
They’re publicly saying, “this organization is worthy of my help” and
that’s enough for me. Then there’s the
domino effect. These two do the
challenge – then challenge their friends, let’s say four total, then those four
each challenge four, then those sixteen each challenge four…. Well, you get the
idea. Much like an unaltered cat will
multiply (please, spay and neuter!), so did this challenge and the good it’s
doing. And frankly, it kind of did my soul
good to see so many people get behind something positive for a change. Who am I to judge if they have ulterior
motives? I don’t care about Mr. and Mrs.
Smith’s intentions when they show up to a charity fundraiser. If they’re there to hobknob, promote a “good
side” to the press, show constituents they care about the people, impress their
boss, win over their daughter’s future in-laws, or meet another couple they can
swing with – I DON’T CARE. They showed
up, they donated money, and they legitimized the cause.
Another grievance is that so many people are opting to do
the challenge and not donate. Okay, here
are my two issues with that. 1) OF
COURSE they’re doing the challenge – otherwise you probably wouldn’t know about
it and 2) every video I have seen, the people are saying they are donating some
amount to some cause – although ALS research seems to be the celebrity
beneficiary, two of the charities that are dear to my heart (LEWC and
SaveThePetsAZ) have been local recipients.
How is this a bad thing? “Well,
how many are REALLY donating what they say they will?” I don’t know – and again, I DON’T CARE. I’m betting on the fact that they made a
video for the world to see – including the charity they are supporting – and said
they are going to donate will be motivation enough for them to follow through. But, as in life, there are going to be people
who don’t keep their word. Hopefully the
people they called out will at least keep theirs and hence, they still helped
in some small way. In animal rescue, we
know people back out all the time from commitments they make (agreeing to
foster, pledging money to help with vet care, donating food, etc.) but the
MAJORITY come through. I’ll take 10
people publicly saying they’re going to do something and only have eight come through
than four people privately saying it and following through ANY day. That’s what this challenge is – a numbers
game. By calling out 1,000 people who may
have never contributed and even getting only a 75% return, that’s still 75%
more than there was. And even if they can't afford to donate, this provides a way for them to show support; where's the harm in that?
And finally, the water wasting…. Unless you’ve never played
in the hose, let your shower run to “get warm,” taken a bath, swam in a pool,
rewashed the clothes in the washer because you forgot about them, let the water
run while brushing your teeth, or emptied your cooler full of water and ice
after your trip to the beach is over, you really need to shut the hell up about
this one.
In short, I’m in a bit of a tizzy about this because people
are taking something positive and actively looking to find something negative
about it when there is ZERO gain to be had in finding something bad and so much
to be reaped in finding the good.
