Some Information Regarding The Bucket Challenge and Possible Alternatives
This is my first article in a very long time. I’ve been focusing on my education and I also underwent surgery at the end of last month so I have let my article writing slip so for that; I apologise.
I have on and off considered beginning to write article series based around technology, hacking and the sociological, psychological and political impacts however; I’ve often questioned whether this would be the right place for this type of article and whether I’ll have the time and resources to actually provide such articles. Luckily for myself, I’m studying psychology once more and hope to be able to use some of the work I produce for that as part of these articles. Although I do have a rather hefty workload so I’m not sure how often any articles would actually be written. Also, if I do go ahead and start writing more articles like this I will have to make a list of things to mention as to avoid a string of ramblings on a tangent and also come up with article titles much better than this one.
I read this weeks “WTH happened this week” article by Minimur which are always very well written and researched articles. The mention of the Ice Bucket Challenge, a lack of sleep, an over-active brain and my dogs waking me at ridiculous hours actually lead to me writing this article.
Now, over the last few years I have seen that the gaming community as a whole is one of the most caring and giving with regards to charities and other people’s plights which often warms my heart to see. From things such as donating thousands of dollars to players on twitch to organizing fund raising for homeless people and even things as small as purchasing a few games from Humble Bundle. I personally really enjoy seeing that the gaming community is so caring and giving; especially when video games have been blamed for an increased of violence and have been used as a scapegoat for people who simply wish to pull the “I didn’t want to murder her, but the computer made me do it” card.
With that said then; it’s no surprise to have seen many people contributing to the Ice Bucket Challenge. You elect to do it or you are nominated and it’s just a harmless bit of fun that helps charity, right? Well yes, and no.
I recently read a very well researched article questioning whether or not the money is actually aiding charity or just further lining the pockets of the rich. I would highly recommend you read that before continuing on with this article. The comments are also worth reading, although I should forewarn you that there are people disagreeing and using relatively strong language.
But have things gone too far? A video of a four year old girl who apparently wanted to participate in this Ice Bucket Challenge although one really must question how she found out about this. She then uses the “f-word” and, rather than her parents being ashamed of this or actually disciplining their child they upload it to the internet. Which personally, I disagree with. I understand not wanting to upset your child and all, so maybe, just maybe I would have also uploaded it but I would have cut that segment out and explained that, that really isn’t good behaviour for a four year old.
You can see the video here but as I’ve already mentioned there is use of expletives so viewer discretion advised and all that.
Another issue I have with this, is pouring cold water over a young child’s head like that. A shock to the system like that can actually cause some serious damage if there is an underlying issue. Now, I know that if there was an obvious medical issue you wouldn’t do such a thing – especially to such a young child but not all issues stand around with little neon signs shouting “problem here, problem here” for the world to see.
Also, another concern is that people are going so far as to actually do this to their pets which, I find absolutely appalling. The issue is that this is so prevalent that even Battersea Dogs & Cats Home have written on their website urging people not to do this to their pets:
“As an animal welfare charity we’re very concerned by new films showing puppies and dogs being dunked in icy water or having cold water thrown on them. This is really distressing for the animals involved and something we strongly discourage.
We know that many people are raising lots of money for charities through the Challenge and take our cap off to all the brave people that are more than willing to show their support for a cause they believe in. A massive thank you to everyone who has raised money for Battersea by undergoing the icy drenching. We just ask you to keep the icy water well away from animals.”
Which leads me onto my next topic and that is animal welfare and my reasoning for saying that the Ice Bucket Challenge isn’t just harmless fun.
Before we go any further I’d like to say that I am an advocate of animal rights and charities that benefit animals unlike those false ones that commit genocide on an annual basis and take ridiculous amounts of money off of people, or even refuse to help people unless they become vegan (naming no names as I’d like to avoid legal reprimand for both myself and this site). So, as you can already see I am already more than a little bias.
The main issue I have with this Ice Bucket Challenge are the charities that you are funding: ALS Association or Motor Neurone Disease Association if you’re a Brit like me. I have nothing against these charities per se. I understand that people are suffering with these issues and I totally commend helping them. That is to say; physically or financially aiding those people in their daily living.
These charities that fund “xxx disease research” refuse to use alternatives to animal testing which is atrocious. A small list of alternatives include:
in vitro (test tube) test methods and models based on human cell and tissue cultures
computerised patient-drug databases and virtual drug trials
computer models and simulations
stem cell and genetic testing methods
non-invasive imaging techniques such as MRIs and CT Scans
microdosing (in which humans are given very low quantities of a drug to test the effects on the body on the cellular level, without affecting the whole body system)
There’s also the meat trade which could be beneficial as an alternative. It is possible to keep flesh and organs “alive” for a long period of time. This could theoretically be used to test exactly the same things. Sadly, the meat trade exists and that isn’t going to change but rather than drying pig flesh (pig especially considering how close to humans they are) why not use this to test whatever rather than inflicting pain on animals that have to endure whatever you wish to put on them.
Now I know that most people won’t even read the entirety of this article or will just scroll down to the bottom for a TL;DR (because apparently spending ten minutes of your time is too much for most people these days) but for those of you who do please take the time to consider what you’re actually contributing to.
I understand it’s a quick way to help charity and that everyone and their mums are jumping on the band wagon but the truth is, many people are just watching these videos and not donating. If you truly wish to help charity why not go out and volunteer. If time restraints is an issue there are alternative ways of helping others. These ice bucket videos take have got to take around ten minutes or so to create and upload which is enough time to simply talk to someone and possibly even peak their interest in a cause that is close to your heart.
For myself; that’s animals, but for you it may be something completely different and I totally get that but I’d really like to ask you to consider donating to one of these charities instead:
The Red Cross Foundation: Because they always provide a lot of support to people who have gone through natural disasters. They also have a group within the organisation that actually attempt to re-unite pets and their owners after such atrocities.
The Blue Cross Foundation: These are an offshoot of the Red Cross (surprising, huh?) and they do a lot of good work for animals.
Humble Bundle: This site as many of you probably already know works with many charities such as Gamesaid and Make A Wish. Not only do you get the benefit of helping charities but you also get games to enjoy.
Or even to a local animal sanctuary or homeless shelter because those places are feeling the economical restraints more than anyone, and with the reduction of financial aid from the government many places are being forced to close down.
Oh and inb4 what is this doing on this site comments. I do agree it’s completely different to anything that has been written here and would not disagree with Wololo if he chose not to post this.
Future articles will be more “on topic”, that I can promise.
I personally enjoyed reading your article and getting to know your opinion on different issues. I have been a fan of this site for at least the past five or so years and often wonder what makes the contributors/ posters tick, what are thier interests beyond the PSP and PS Vita. I would enjoy reading more articles here written by others that keep one of the very few sites I check multiple times per day, about subjects other than the sites main focus. I realize that if more articles were to be posted the site could quickly lose focus, but its nice on occasion to get to know a bit about the person behind their online handle as so much of what goes on in any console hacing scene is shrouded(sp?) in mystery.
Chad
I have to say this… For the record: I agree with this article almost entirely. Really well written, and sounds a lot like something I have written elsewhere. If I did the Ice Bucket Challenge, I would be donating it to the ASPCA or another ‘for the animals’ based charity. When I do, I legit offer homeless people around the areas I traverse if they want food, and I walk with them, tell them get something, I pay for it, then leave them the receipt… This post, regardless of on topic or not, is definitely a good read.
First, it’s “per se” not “per say”.
Second, it’s going to die down soon.
Thanks, I fixed the typo
Most english speaking people make this mistake.
I love to correct them, but it seems that you already did this 🙁
Per se is latin, not english my dear english speaking people 😉
I’ll start by straight up saying I didn’t read the whole article, but.
Whether it’s on or off topic is no matter to me, I do not like this Ice bucket challenge ***, I think there’s something going on and I have no idea how the fad even started.
However if you wish to write articles in the weekly or whatever that’s fair enough, nothing is stopping you.
You have the right to write about whatever you want but you have to keep in mind that not everyone may want to read it. And if they don’t, they don’t have to.
7% of their income goes to paying executives. This number should go down after this years donations. I’m not sure if you can judge how they are using the money for the ice bucket challenge until after the fact.
I can’t say I know enough about ALS to say if your alternatives to animal testing are sufficient and could be equally as useful, but it’s simply a fact that we *must* test some treatments on animals and then people. Maybe ALS treatments aren’t developed to a stage where that is the right choice (from a utilitarian standpoint, i.e. perhaps the harm to animals is greater than the amount of knowledge gained and progress on a treatment), but medical tests are a necessary evil if we want new treatments. This isn’t like animal testing of cosmetic treatments or frivolous/unnecessary procedures, this is a basic requirement for getting enough confidence to subsequently try in people. And the people who volunteer for the first rounds of human testing will likely also be at great risk, although obviously not to the same degree as the animals that are inevitably going to be killed during testing. If a simulation could be as useful as a real world test, then we’d likely already be all but on top of a cure; we have to use real world tests specifically because we don’t fully understand the situation. I’m saying this as someone who cares about animals probably just as much as I care about people. (in general, not in the “let that person drown because I’d rather help a dog” sense)
You’re right that the challenge is a bit silly in many ways, and clearly downright stupid when applied to a tiny child or a pet, but that doesn’t mean that the charities themselves aren’t deserving of some level of support. (and, for the child’s video, I think half of the reason they uploaded that was because the kid’s reaction is ridiculous and therefore kind of funny – ignoring the idiocy of dumping ice on your kid or accidentally teaching them to say “****ing ****” as a baby) I also find the challenge annoying in that half of the people are doing it because it’s a meme, not because they’re actually willing (or financially able) to donate money to charity. But I must admit that it’s been a crazy effective ad campaign for the charity, so I can’t say it’s all bad.
Well written article but it’s not what i come here for.. Gaming and technology news is what brings me here.. I really don’t wanna read about ALS challenge / politics /or whatever else is trending on social media my FB newsfeed is good for that.. Again no disrespect to the author but stick to gaming/technology
That’s a very valid point and the main reason I was incredibly surprised to actually see the article published.
Wololo gives us a lot of freedom (within reason) with the topics of our articles which I for one really appreciate. This article wasn’t at all planned though, it just happened early this morning.
Although I’d like to quickly explain that when I mentioned politics the articles I had in mind were actually more directed towards hackers in general and politics and things about how the current judicial system effects this. These things have been mentioned on this site before but in a different way to what I’ve been thinking about.
In all honestly though I’m not sure if/when I’ll really get round to writing these, and I’m going to have to discuss a few things with wololo anyway.
BeOut, thanks a lot for the feedback. Once in a while we go out of our “core” theme. I felt the article was well written enough that it deserved to be published, but we will of course try to stick to our hacking/gaming articles as much as possible. Articles like this one will definitely be the exception, but again I felt it was good so I published it.
Good job well written its nice for something different once and awhile, to the people complaining off topic, you didn’t have to read it.
Agreed, a “gamers” point of view on current events is def refreshing and my intention was neither to offend nor to complain but just to provide some feedback. I did enjoy the article.
Ill say this atleast : its good to know that there are some people out there that seem to care about total well being more than I do.
I feel that I need to say, Im not being a total ***…. I care, I just dont make the time for it (or money for that matter) outside of taking care of my family and being greedy with my free time because I feel I get so little of it that it feels deserved… I have a conscience or I wouldnt come back to reply to my own post, I guess I just tell it to shut up sometimes…. @dr phil :->
I found this pretty well written. I agree that a fair number of those doing the challenge are likely not donating. I know my youngest sister did it (the youtube vids she watched of others doing it bugged me for days!), but not if she donated money to the cause. I suspect she did it moreso due to the “fad” status it has achieved, honestly.
Your comments on alternatives to animal testing are interesting. Didn’t know meat can be kept “alive” like that…
I’m fine with a variety of topics being posted here, personally. Not everything needs to be game-related, and hearing the views of trusted members of the site regarding social issues can be interesting, I find.
$17 out of every $100 goes towards research for ALS.
There should be more transparency as to what percentage of your donation actually goes to what you’re donating for.
This was a great article i also felt that people were network pressured to do this ice bucket challenge. That is terrible about the animals as far as i am concerned thats animal abuse which i have been seeing alot lately on the internet whether it be pulling dogs from their hind legs or kicking cats across the patio 🙁
Very cool article. Thanks for posting!
Supporting pseudoscience, science denialism, and anti-pharmaceutical conspiracies? Nice. (All of this is biased (and, mostly false) *** http://puu.sh/bjTKf/21cbbaead7.png)
Please don’t put this toss on wololo.
Let alone – Everything you say about animal testing is painfully biased (though I can accept it inevitably would be, you’re an “animal rights activist”).
Animal testing, is unfortunately required. We can’t test some things on humans because it can be dangerous to human life, and your alternatives have many, many cases where they just can’t be applied. Without animal testing, we’d have considerably more deaths every year, as well as less of an advance into medical science from past discoveries.
A human life is worth more than an animal’s, and if you think otherwise you’re delusional.
Well written article I must say and I was happy to see a blog here that wasn’t exclusively about gaming/hacking. I’d love to see a few more(maybe 1 a week/month) and would definitely enjoy reading them. I’ve never done the ice bucket challenge myself, I think it’s kind of pointless to do that when these famous, rich celebrities could just as easily donate $1000+ to any of the charities but I see it’s to get awareness up. As for doing the challenge with your pets?? That’s just plain ***, why in god’s name would you want your pet to do the ice bucket challenge? You can do it just fine by yourself but when you’re involving an animal that can’t object to what’s going on I feel the line has been crossed. Just keep your internet stunts to yourself guys and if you’re going to involve your dog in anything, how about doing it with a chuck-it and a tennis ball rather than a cold *** bucket of water and video camera.
You forgot to mention how much water this challenge is wasting, especially during this period of drought & global warning.