Two of my students, a sister and brother, both study in expensive private schools today proudly showed me the video recording of their Ice Bucket Challenge published on social media, naming their friends to follow their example within 24 hours.
While I understand the 'raising awareness' side of this challenge, I think it is more to do with 'look how cool I am', I am brave enough to pour a bucket of iced water on my head, I survived it and it gave me a reason to finally film myself and put it up on social media. For me this is like bungee jumping. Just an adrenalin rush.
One of my thoughts was that this craze will only continue until a kid dies. I don't believe that pouring iced water on your head is particularly good for you. Don't misunderstand me. I come from a country where minus 20C is normal in winter and one of my favourite health regime while I lived in Finland was to spend time in the sauna then jump in the frozen lake. This is just a normal pass-time, social activity and a health regime in many Scandinavian countries.
The other that made me quite upset is that pouring a bucket of iced water on your head is just a dare, just fun for most of these people who participate in the challenge. This is not raising awareness. It is just fun, if you jump, I jump type of game. A celebrity who filmed himself doing it in a bath tub even stayed in the iced bath to show how cool he is.
What they don't realise is that for many of the people who live with the disease or live with chronic pain this challenge is an insult. Nobody can imagine what it is to live with the disease. Nobody can imagine what it is to live in pain every minute, every day, every week, every months of your life year after year. Nobody can imagine what it is to live your life in pain not knowing if it will ever end, live your life in so much pain that you want to end it. Nobody can imagine what it is to not being able to live the life you used to or live the life you want to because you are stuck in a body that does not serve you anymore.
People who participate in this challenge only get an insight what it is to live with the disease or live in constant pain if they keep pouring that iced water on their head 24/7 but that none of them would dare to do that. None of them would cope with it.
Donate money if you want to help. So please, respect those who live with the disease and live in pain, stop insulting them with your adrenalin rush games. What's more, please stop wasting clean water for this nonsense. In many parts of the world that bucket of clean water would save lives. Get a grip. Get a life.
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