“At least it was a small bucket,” was pretty much the only thought that managed to pene-trate the brain freeze to which I had just voluntarily subjected myself. By donating a sizable amount of my limited funds and dumping a bucket of ice water on my head, I committed myself to being the latest participant in the most recent viral sensation to sweep the nation – the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
The origins of the challenge are the source of heated debate amongst those who claim su-perior knowledge surrounding all things meme-worthy. However, Facebook’s data scien-tists did manage to pinpoint origin of the challenge’s spread across social media, narrowing it down to Boston. Boston, of course, is the home of former Boston College baseball player Peter Frates, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and whom many identify as the inspiration behind the Ice Bucket Challenge. But although the challenge may have originated in Boston, it has since spread across the globe, from England to Israel to New Zealand and Australia.
The challenge is a simple one: within twenty-four hours of being nominated, participants in the challenge must donate to ALS, or face the penalty of dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads. After that, the rules seem to be flexible. Some people stipulate that the donation must be at least $100; others insist that the bucket must be able to hold at least three gallons. But although the rules vary, the focus remains unchanged – to raise awareness of ALS.
ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, as it is commonly known, is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spine, causing patients suffering with the disease to progressively lose control of voluntary muscle action, eventually leading to paralysis and death. Although there are many sufferers of ALS, the disease is not limited by racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries. Despite this, research funds are sorely limited, so a viral campaign like the Ice Bucket Challenge was long overdue.
However, there are many that bemoan the prominence of the campaign. Sick and tired of countless challenge videos saturating Facebook, Vine, Twitter, and Instagram, people have begun to lash back at participants in the challenge for a variety of reasons. Fed up with the apparent stupidity or just plain clumsiness of several participants, Buzzfeed compiled a list of epic Ice Bucket Fails. Others claim that the challenge is insensitive to those living through a water shortage. But perhaps the most widespread cause of the ice bucket back-lash is what many critics of the challenge call “slacktivism.”
Simply put, slacktivism is when rather than actually donating to ALS research, a participant in the challenge would rather spend the money buying ice and a bucket and then waste copious amounts of water filming the challenge. Of course, to the slacktivist, this all gets chalked up to raising awareness. The critic on the other hand, sees this as yet another participant in a global, “charitable” wet t-shirt contest.
Many dismiss the “slacktivism” critique because the Ice Bucket Challenge did manage to raise over 111.6 million dollars for the ALS Association. I dismiss critiques of the Ice Bucket Challenge for another reason. I dismiss the critiques for the same reason that ten rabbis joined the challenge at a wedding reception. I dismiss the critiques for the same reason that an Israeli citizen rushed to complete the challenge as an air raid siren wailed in the distance. I dismiss these critiques for the same reason a groom joined the challenge in the middle of his own wedding, for the same reason the challenge went viral, for the same reason this challenge was started, for the same reason that I chose to participate in the challenge in the first place.
Because while the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised millions of dollars in much needed re-search funds, the Ice Bucket Challenge is about so much more than donations. It’s about showing sufferers of ALS that they’re not alone. That we haven’t forgotten about them. That we support them. That we care. So go on. Don’t wait to be nominated. Make your donation and grab your camera. It’s time to join the challenge.