Subject matter may contain sensitive material to some readers, my apologies as I mean no offense. 

Typically I do NOT discuss a few things:

  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Abortion
  • Racism

However, today I’m going to touch on a subject that is very sensitive to some but I can’t hold back and for the first time, I don’t feel like I should.  I have mentally prepared myself for some backlash on this blog post as well.

By now I’m sure you all have heard or seen the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. If you haven’t, you’ve been living under a rock. In case you have, let me enlighten you. For starters I would like to say that on the ALS website for the Ice Bucket Challenge can you find NO information on the definition of the challenge so I had to do some digging. Score 1 point for being thorough ALS. From what I understand (and I honestly don’t care if I’m wrong), there are two options:

  • You donate to ALS, and from what I read it’s supposed to be $100

OR

  • You dump a bucket of ice water over your head and post the video to wherever and nominate 3 others to do so

My Facebook feed has been completely taken over by this movement to the point where I can’t handle it.

I was going to keep my mouth shut until I was nominated (if I would be nominated) and I was. I refused it. I refused to donate to ALS and I refused to dump ice water over my head and record it. This has upset quite a few people and I’m sorry it does. I do not feel that I should be told who to give my money to, why, and be told what to do if I don’t. I’m sorry but I think this challenge is becoming extortion and that’s just MY opinion.

So I didn’t do the challenge and I donated to ASPCA instead because I’m an avid animal lover and they can’t speak to ask for help so I want to help be their voice. This did NOT agree well with others and in the end I ended up signing off of Facebook for a while because I didn’t feel like I should be criticized for my opinion. I work hard for my money I don’t feel that I should be told where I need to put it. I get told that monthly by my mortgage lender, credit card companies and other collectors. It’s called a BILL.

I realize this is a touchy subject for some of you that read this and I need to further explain my actions. I am fully aware of ALS, how many people it affects and how progressive the disease is. I pray that my loved ones and family members never get the disease. I feel completely awful for those that have the disease (and yes I have seen the video of the young man who just was diagnosed with the disease and his mother and grandmother have/had the disease). I’m not dead inside. I have a really bad guilty conscious and the following things run through my mind on a constant basis with donations to charity:

  • What if someone you loved got the disease and you didn’t donate to the cause?
  • What if you got the disease and you never donated to the cause?

Well that’s something I need to burden if it comes to it.

I’ve lost many loved ones to diseases. I lost my mother to cancer when I was 16 years old. I watched cancer take over her entire body in a month’s time. I know what loss feels like when it hits close to home. There are many diseases that run in my family and I’m sure one of them will be the death of me too. Cancer, mental illness, heart disease, obesity, etc…. Do I donate to all those causes? No, I don’t have that kind of money. Do I start a charity for any of those causes, no cause I’m lazy. These are all the things that run through my mind so no one needs to inform me of any of it. I’m very well aware of it all but I CANNOT let it all get to me otherwise I’ll just end up giving all my money to everyone and have nothing left for my personal bills and myself and my family will end up on the streets because my conscious got the best of me.

There are many, many illnesses out there that have no money to be able to conduct studies to find a cure. ALS got lucky and are getting theirs because someone cared enough to get a viral charity going and in a few months, it will all be forgotten about and something else will take the media by storm. So for now, just let people have their opinions and if they want to do the challenge they will, if they don’t, don’t criticize them because that makes you NO better than anyone else who doesn’t want to do the challenge.  

Just sayin.