The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the world by storm through its ever-growing spread on social media platforms. The internet phenomenon has helped to raise awareness for ALS -- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease -- as well generate over 100 million dollars in donations to the ALSA. The challenge varies depending on whos participating, but generally, the objective is to either donate $100 to the ALS Association or donate $10 and dump a bucket of ice water on ones head. Despite the challenge being heavily featured on both social and mainstream media, there are a small smattering of detractors out there. These folks seem to take umbrage with the Ice Bucket Challenge for being just another task that people complete for their own attention, as opposed to actually contributing to the cause at hand -- many folks on social media have dumped a bucket of ice on their head in lieu of donating any funds to the cause. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMg3Na1Rl80 However, theres one person out there who has vehemently criticized both the Ice Bucket Challenge and the ALSA itself. Former professional wrestler and champion of various promotions, Lance Storm has taken to his blog to share his thoughts on the organization and its social media challenge. Storm has proven his general grumpiness and downtrodden outlook on life through his Twitter account and website in the past few years. Theres a running joke on various wrestling message boards about what he dislikes -- heres a hint: everything. For the record, Lance Storm has publicly come out against libraries. Thats right libraries. He once stated that it seemed to him that book authors were being robbed, and compared public libraries to a sort of low tech file sharing. Therefore, its no surprise that Storm has voiced his disapproval toward the ALSA and their Ice Bucket Challenge. The Canadian grappler elaborated on his thoughts by stating that their were three flaws with the social media event. The first flaw, according to Storm, is that the vast majority of the money you are donating is not going towards research and finding a cure for ALS. He explains that, at best, a quarter of the money donated goes to actual research, while a great deal of it is put toward Awareness and Education -- or as Storm dubs it Advertising and Promotions. While its true that not every penny donated to the ALSA goes to actual research, this is generally the case with non-profit organizations. But dont forget, Lance Storm has spotted two further flaws. He further states that the Ice Bucket Challenge has become simply a vanity project for most people. There are a number of folks who care more about getting attention themselves, then spreading awareness or donating to the cause. While this is not strictly the case, there are some who fall into this category -- maybe Lance has a point here.\ The third and final flaw, according to Storm, is that the money donated is going to big pharmaceutical companies. He argues that millions of dollars are going into the pockets of some of the largest and richest corporations in the world. He argues that if a new treatment or cure were to be found for a debilitating disease -- in this case, ALS -- then Big Pharma would patent that cure and sell it back to at a huge profit. He adds that peoples good intentions are actually going toward increasing the profit margins of some of the richest most profitable companies in the world. Doesnt that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What do you think? Is Lance Storm just continuing his trend of being a Debbie Downer, or does he have some valid arguments? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
