On thin ice perhaps...

Ice bucket challenge.

Pouring ice water over your head is not a clever thing to do but it appears doing silly things is one of the ways to draw attention to needy causes...which is sad in many ways. The ice bucket challenge has become a series of videos on social media platforms that on the ‘face’ of it do not seem to have a real purpose, or it is not made clear. Few contain any information about any particular disease, why you should or where you should donate to or anything about how it will be used.  Are the rules such that if you take up the challenge you do not have to make a charitable donation to ALS research or any other (Macmillan now on bandwaggon) worthy cause? If everyone who takes up the challenge does in fact send a donation to a charity then that’s great and they should let their preferred charity be known.

The highlighting of the ALS charity in the USA and MND Scotland is commendable but surely politicians should be looking at ways of more money, perhaps from pharmaceutical companies, being redirected to finding cures for these and similar dissabilitating illnesses rather than showing how ‘cool’ they are to allow themselves to be soaked in public!. Why does the research have to be funded from the charity of others?

I‘took up the challenge’ as I was 'nominated' by a friend but don't wish to nominate anyone else or maybe I should nominate ‘everyone’ if that’s what it takes!

I will be making a donation to Myeloma UK for personal reasons and will be delighted if anyone who watches my video does the same. Having said all that, anyone who wishes to express their ability not to be taken too seriously for the sake of a good cause should just do it anyway without having to be ‘nominated’.

http://www.myeloma.org.uk/

www.justgiving.com/icebucketmndscotland/

                       

Footnote: The large bucket contained ice-cold water from our well in the garden - unlike Mr Darling's tepid                  offering.

Here is the counter-argument