Slate Writer Gets Schooled on ALS "Ice Bucket" Challenge [View all]

Facebook has become saturated with videos of people dumping buckets of ice on their heads...Watch the golfers’ videos and you’ll see the stunt was really just about getting their friends to film themselves doing something dumb for no reason. The charity part was an afterthought...

And the campaign is clearly working: The ALS Association told Fox Boston that it has raised $1.35 million in the past two weeks. It raised just $22,000 in the same period last year. That’s welcome news for the 12,000 Americans who have the disease, which is devastating and ultimately fatal, and for their families and future generations.

Yet it’s hard to shake the feeling that, for most of the people posting ice bucket videos of themselves on Facebook, Vine, and Instagram, the charity part remains a postscript. Remember, the way the challenge is set up, the ice-drenching is the alternative to contributing actual money. Some of the people issuing the challenges have tweaked the rules by asking people to contribute $10 even if they do soak themselves. Even so, a lot of the participants are probably spending more money on bagged ice than on ALS research...

Just donate the damn money, whether to the ALS Association or to some other charity of your choice. And if it’s an organization you really believe in, feel free to politely encourage your friends and family to do the same. Congratulations! Not only have you contributed to a good cause, but you’ve done your part for the environment by conserving the energy and fresh water required to make and transport large bags of ice.

...Critics complain that the challenge is really about feeding our American narcissism and does nothing for ALS awareness or funding. They assert that people should just quietly donate their money and move on with their lives. I get that they’re cranky, but I think maybe they don’t realize what it’s like to face this insidious disease, and then realize that it’s nearly invisible to the rest of the world.

As I watch my husband become entombed inside his own body, I feel desperate for people to understand that this sort of inhumane condition exists. But for some reason, while everyone acknowledges it’s one of the worst fates imaginable, funding for research and patient care is nearly nil...

That’s why the celebrity faces and personal challenges happening in the ice bucket challenge are so effective at bringing in money. And if someone gets to look good while plunking their $50 in the ALS tip jar, I have zero problem with that. We are in for the fight of our lives with this monster, and the VERY LAST thing I want is for people to give quietly, anonymously, and then slink away. Raise the roof! Raise a ruckus! Call all sorts of attention to yourself! I will be happy for you and every Facebook like you receive as you nudge ALS an inch or two closer to the collective public consciousness.

(So) fear not, dear reader -- this, too, shall pass, and your Facebook newsfeed will go back to cat videos and kids singing Let It Go...

• Pick up a 10-pound weight. Now imagine it’s your fork and move it from your plate to your mouth repeatedly without shaking.


• Strap 25 pounds to your forearm. Adjust your rearview mirror.


• Before you eat your next meal, take a good, long look at the food...Now, imagine never being able to taste it – or any other food – for the rest of your life.


• Install a text-to-speech app on your smart phone or tablet and use it exclusively to communicate for one day.


• Sit in a chair for just 15 minutes moving nothing but your eyes. Nothing. No speaking, no scratching your nose, no shifting your weight, no changing the channel on the television, no computer work. Only your eyes...


• Imagine that this is your life. Your only life...