Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Ice Buckets, and Generosity

In the midst of terrible news all over the place comes a wonderful hopeful heartwarming mania sweeping the nation.

Everyone is pouring ice buckets over their heads in a social viral fun outpouring of generosity to find a cure for a disease known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS for short.

The most famous victim of ALS was Lou Gehrig and for that his name will be forever associated with this disease.

ALS is a horrible disease. If we could find a cure for it, that would be an incredible thing.

It looks like the Ice Bucket Challenge will raise over $50mm for ALS research and possibly a lot more. That is real money that can fund real science.

I’ve been “challenged” a few times on Facebook and Twitter over the past few weeks and instead of pouring ice water over my head and then calling out additional people, I decided to donate $500 to ALS research via Ben Huh’s Ice Bucket Challenge on CrowdRise.

I am sure some of you will be disappointed that I “chickened out” and did not choose to get doused, but to me the important thing is the generosity that the Ice Bucket Challenge has unlocked.

That’s what I want to participate in, that’s what will ultimately make the difference, and I would encourage everyone to donate even if you have not been challenged.

#hacking philanthropy

Comments (Archived):

  1. Barry Nolan

    What’s striking about the inspiring ALS challegne is that it would be impossible a few years ago without:Smartphones – to capture.Youtube – to show.Social – so share.A simile to #ferguson, only the ALS challenge makes us smile.

    1. Mariah Lichtenstern

      I thought the same, Barry. I’ve both witnessed and experienced police aggression, corruption, and brutality. The latter was as a passenger during a racially profiled stop which resulted in illegal search and seizure of the car (there was not contraband). The driver – a young black male – was my real estate agent. The officers involved were Berkeley PD, a department I’d worked closely with as an undergrad serving as a Community Service Officer for UCPD.During the stop, I call my 24 hour Legal Shield hotline and was on the phone with an attorney giving an account of what was occurring (this is pre-camera days). An officer commanded me to put down my phone. I was not under arrest and the lawyer told me I did not have to comply. The officer lunged at me, twisted my wrist, causing the phone to drop to the ground, and injured me. I later filed a complaint, but guess who investigates? The department itself. And do you think the guy you eat lunch with everyday wants to put a negative report in your personnel file? The burden is definitely on the victim and I don’t think any police force has found itself guilty of wrong-doing.So, having experienced this personally, witnessing lots more experiences with profiling being married to a Black man (although less so now that we drive Mercedes Benzes), witnessing unwarranted hostility in the community, having relatives whose family was broken apart but ultimately received a settlement after the Oakland Night Riders case revealed widespread corruption and planting of “evidence,” and as an American with African heritage, I’ve been deeply concerned about the coverage of Ferguson and conscious of how important technology is in documenting that these are not isolated occurrences or circumstances that most non-Black citizens have to face.E.g – following the Mike Brown shooting, the fatal shooting of 18-year old St. Louis teen accused of lunging at police with knife – video here- http://bit.ly/KajiemePowelD…Compared to man suspected of burglary who assaulted two officers while trespassing in a woman’s basement to hide, but was arrested and granted due process rather than death: http://bit.ly/SuspectHidesI…As with ALS campaign, without video and social networks, the viral awareness and social discussion around the #MichaelBrown case and related issues (about which I’ve been very vocal), would not be possible.

      1. Barry Nolan

        Wow. What a note. Thank you for writing and sharing. We are, in effect, all news editors now. I saw twitter just re-decorated their HQ with #Ferguson, no doubt aware of their role.

        1. Mariah Lichtenstern

          I love that…this picture lifts my spirits. Thank you for sharing! Viva technology!

      2. LE

        I was not under arrest and the lawyer told me I did not have to comply.Listen it’s very simple. A police officer tells you to do something. He’s in a position of power. You are not. Why wouldn’t you comply? What do you stand to lose vs. to gain? The lawyer is at a safe distance over the phone. So he can look at things legally but not otherwise.In the end you have to separate what you may be legally entitled to vs. what is practical at a given moment.You did that when you decided to not go any further with your claim which was evaluated and you lost. You could have spent money (or more money) and hired more legal counsel, possibly with better skills, but you decided for practical reasons not to. Same goes for when someone like a police officer tells you to do something. The way I was raised I would comply and not put up a fight. And it doesn’t matter whether he is right or not but it’s the golden rule. He who has the gold rules. Officer has the gold in the end.

        1. Mariah Lichtenstern

          LE – “He’s in a position of power. You are not. Why wouldn’t you comply? What do you stand to lose vs. to gain?”Great question to ask our founding fathers, eh? Or how about the great attorney, Nelson Mandela? Reverend Martin Luther King? Fredrick Douglas, et al? What is there to lose? One answer is freedom. What is there to gain? One answer, again, is freedom.When I worked for the UCPD, I was an undergrad at UC Berkeley, a school with a history of Civil Disobedience without which many of the rights we enjoy as citizens would be compromised. I was part of many activities and causes addressing injustice and abuse of power.In the case I mention, above, I did not comply because I was within my legal rights and I did not expect to be assaulted. I didn’t expect any of it to happen. I was 20 years old. I’d seen some injustice, but I had worked with the police and believed that they were, at least, law abiding.Now your other comments are rather presumptuous. I filed a complaint, spoke with members of the department about the process and realized that the system was broken. I didn’t “lose.” I didn’t persist through the myriad of steps because it was inefficient and based on us against them testimony in regard to the assault. Balancing school and working 20-30 hours per week I realized it made more sense to work towards creating awareness and fixing the systems, which I continue to do.With all that is going on in the Ferguson case and elsewhere, with implementation of cameras on vehicles and now police uniforms, attention being called into the prosecution process, etc. I see the changes coming to fruition.Life involves suffering. Even intellectual pursuits cause “brain pain.” So why not be willing to suffer for a cause, whether it is working out to get a toned body , running a marathon for a charity, getting ice dumped on your head to give hope to those impacted by ALS, or to contribute to the protection of constitutional and human rights through exercising those rights or Civil Disobedience? If you think the only gain or source of power is “gold” I would argue that history has not shown that to be true. The Queen of England has vast reserves of Gold, but America is not her colony, is it? Freedom was not won with gold, it was won with resistance.Perhaps the way you were raised and the way I was raised differ. I understand that most people are complacent and if they can live with that, they have that prerogative. I’m an entrepreneur, a problem-solver, someone who is not afraid to go against the grain for a good cause…which is probably why I am writing about a controversial Civil Rights topic in an ALS threat on a prominent and widely read VC’s blog.

          1. LE

            First, I appreciate that you took the time to write a long reply.Great question to ask our founding fathers, eh? Or how about the great attorney, Nelson Mandela? Reverend Martin Luther King? Fredrick Douglas, et al? What is there to lose? One answer is freedom. What is there to gain? One answer, again, is freedomWell if what you want to do is dedicate yourself to civil rights that’s fine. Likewise I’ve seen posting on FB about some friends going to Israel and risking their lives because “we have to support Israel”. Personally not my thing. I’d rather not risk my life for the greater cause. I think it’s stupid that someone would fly into a country being bombed to show support at the risk of your life (and this is a guy with family to support and children).In the case I mention, above, I did not comply because I was within my legal rights and I did not expect to be assaulted. Knowing what you know now would you make the same decision?Now your other comments are rather presumptuous.True.Perhaps the way you were raised and the way I was raised differ.I was raised by someone who survived the concentration camps and was further surrounded by others who did. They ended up being very practical in the way they saw the world and how they dealt with it. You have to think long and hard at giving a hard time to someone with power or authority over you no matter whether they are right or wrong and for what reason. If you want to live that is.Separately, and this is interesting, I can’t help but wonder how many people out there are prejudice not because of anything they believe and have experience but just because of some idea that was dropped into their head that they never questioned and going along with the crowd. That is kind of my issue with viral things like this. People just jump on the bandwagon because others are doing it. (I’m probably not stating that as eloquently as I’d want to but the point is it’s a version of the same “lemming” type behavior of people not thinking for themselves).With all that is going on in the Ferguson case and elsewhere,You can of course recognize what the Police are dealing with in some of these cases can’t you?

          2. Mariah Lichtenstern

            LE- it’s part of who I am … I appreciate your questions and comments.As a mother, I can relate to the risk-aversion associated with having a family. I would probably not be marching in the streets and risking my baby getting tear-gassed, but others may take a different approach (like the children involved in Civil Right’s movement of the 50s and 60s).Knowing what I know now, I would have to say, yes, I would still take steps to document what was happening.Part of my ancestry is Jewish. Although I do not consider myself Jewish, I’ve been to Israel (before motherhood and people still thought I was crazy) and I long to return. I have compassion for both sides of the conflict as did the members of The Jewish Federation, who sent me. Accounts of the Holocaust inevitably leave me in tears and the use of the term “ghetto” to describe poor Black communities is not lost on me. I’ve read many accounts of genocide in various parts of the world, including those published by a college professor who was the son of an Armenian genocide survivor (also a man who encouraged me to write).The response depends on the situation, whether it is a kidnapping rape, Civil Rights violation or other crisis. But I am reminded of a quote by Mamie Till, mother of Emmett Till (1955): “Two month ago, I had a nice apartment in Chicago. I had a good job. I had a son. When something happened to the Negroes in the South I said ‘That’s their business, not mine.’ Now I know how wrong I was. The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all!”Of course, we have to choose when and where to get involved.Yes, we all have prejudices (take tests, here: https://implicit.harvard.ed….I’m convinced that subconscious / implicit bias has to do with media and propaganda, among other things, which is why my undergraduate thesis was on representations of people of color in the media and mainstream Hip Hop as modern day minstrelsy. It is also why I went to graduate school for motion picture producing – to create sub-streams of distribution and to combat stereotypes with more inclusive, positive images including more examples of inter-ethnic harmony. It all started with growing up as a multi-ethnic person in an overtly racist, Klan-boasting, rural Californian area and later taking Ethnic Studies in an attempt to discover why people hate on the basis of ethnicity, color, creed, etc. Learning about Bacon’s Rebellion and the Giddy multitude in the late Ronald Takaki’s book, “A Different Mirror” http://bit.ly/ADiffMirror) was incredibly transformative and in many ways, healing.Nevertheless I’m often confronted by my own prejudices. Recently, I caught myself sizing up a young Black teen walking up the street toward myself and my daughter after story-time in a predominately Black community. He had a “mean mug” that was not that different from one I had at his age walking through my neighborhood. In a near last minute response, I flashed him a big smile and he lit up like a little boy. It was precious. Since I was called out by a fellow Black woman in my youth, I’ve made more of an effort to smile and greet people in general (lest I be perceived as an “angry Black woman.” But I pay special attention to how Black men, and especially young Black men respond to this subtle gesture of respect. My husband also does it and it is endearing. I encourage everyone to try it.Yes, I am also sensitive to what Police deal with – both in the stress and trauma of such civil service and in being victims of their own programming. I respect how Tupac Shakur summed it up in an interview at the end of a little known piece entitled “F#ck The Police” (lyrics and video on Genius, here: http://rap.genius.com/2pac-…[In regard to playing a cop in an acting role]”The good part about is, we get to show the human side of cops doing what they do. Cause, it’s always been my belief that cops are just a gang themselves – with the good and the bad. Like I believe the gang bangers on the street got both good and bad like the cops do. They got stress and they got character flaws that come from their lifestyles….If you look at it from a stereotypical view, like how people say, you know, ‘All your troubles with the law, how can you play a cop?’Just from a stereotypical point of view, who could play a cop better?I’ve seen them and their evil when they think nobody’s looking. I’ve seen the compassion, I’ve seen the anger, I’ve seen the jealousy, I’ve seen fear, I’ve seen respect and I’ve seen hate – from cops. More than anybody, know what I mean? I been there. I just got out of maximum [security] penitentiary.”

          3. LE

            I’m convinced that subconscious / implicit bias has to do with media and propagandaI grew up in Philly in the 70’s. As a result all I knew was what I knew on TV. My mother also had particular experiences which she related to me based on her experience growing up in the 30’s and 40’s in the same city. In high school I was lucky to get into a private school. At that private school the blacks were of the “type” that I had never been exposed to. And I didn’t even know existed. And one of my teachers was Hardy Coleman, this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik… who was the son of this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…. who was the US Secretary of transportation at that time.One of my classmates was Donzaleigh Abernathy http://en.wikipedia.org/wik… whose father stood was an associate of Martin Luther King http://en.wikipedia.org/wik… Those are the ones that I remember in particular.So I have to tell you that at the time I didn’t even know Blacks like that even existed.

          4. Mariah Lichtenstern

            This is very cool; thank you for sharing.Indeed, there are many more Blacks closer to the “type” you encountered in private school than the lumpenproletariat images we are bombarded with. Many live in predominately Black communities and attend Historically Black Colleges. I’ve been exposed to many subcultures and classes within “Black America” and have been sharing the story of Black Wall Street during this #Ferguson debacle to expose the paradox Black people have had to face in regard to whether to succeed or not to succeed, as well as a sliver the history of White riots (http://bit.ly/BlackWallStreet) since some have gone so far to call protestors “animals.” Only 22% of the Black population in America lives below the poverty line – a disproportionate rate, but not a majority. Of those, some are educated, and most are just everyday people trying to make it.There are volumes written by and about Black scientists, inventors, politicians and innovators in every area of life (a sampling here: http://bit.ly/BlackInventors ). Yet most Americans – including many Black Americans – are never exposed to them. I feel strongly that in a country as diverse and with such a racially divisive past as ours, Ethnic Studies should be required in high school curriculum to pave the way for mutual respect and harmony.

          5. LE

            there are many more Blacks closer to the “type” you encountered in private school than the lumpenproletariat images we are bombarded with. Many live in predominately Black communities and attend Historically Black Colleges. I’m curious if any of the above, and to what extent, get involved in creating opportunity in the ghetto? I’m sure some might but it’s not as if I ever hear about it.I mean isn’t that really the root cause of the problem and why the problem with lumpenproletariat images isn’t going away anytime soon? I don’t think it’s a matter of “a black invented the traffic light” or “found a cure for “x””.Jews have a thing called “birthright Israel” for example. It’s a program where any young jew who has not been to Israel can be given essentially a free trip to Israel in order to connect with Judaism (and to keep them from straying). In other words they take some of their money and spend it in order to make the younger members of society grow up the way the older (with more money) see fit. Likewise, and although you don’t read about this I’m sure, they spend money to help poor jews and to benefit their community. I’m wondering if there is an equivalent in the black community? When I see successful blacks it’s typically in entertainment, politics or sports (lot’s of sports). I don’t see any connection to helping other blacks. Might very well be happening but I don’t see it. If it is happening it needs to be talked about. As in PR. Otherwise (in all honesty) it just seems like “whining” and “handouts”. (Trying to be honest the way I view it and hope that’s helpful in creating a solution..as I’m sure others see it the same way as well).

          6. Mariah Lichtenstern

            I’m a bit confused, are you asking if Black people are failing to support and create opportunities in poor Black communities? Or are you asking if poor Black communities are to blame for the way Black people are represented in the media? Either way, I find these questions quite curious and indicative of the blame-shifting that often takes place in the media. With Ferguson, and this sub-thread, the initial discussion was about tech exposing police brutality, resistance, and implicit bias. Now that shifts to a question of whether the Black bourgeoisie is doing enough in “the ghetto.” Nevertheless, since, as you imply, this mindset is so prevalent (and probably related to these statistics: http://bit.ly/DeFactoSegreg… ), it is worth addressing.For answers to these and other questions that seem to be common among White people, I recommend the short, entertaining videos in this playlist ( #4 in particular relates to your question of “giving back”): http://bit.ly/DearWhitePeop…And be sure to watch the Sundance Award-Winning film, “Dear White People”:http://dearwhitepeoplemovie…I also touch on these issues in my blog at http://www.TimesNewRomanEmpire.blo…The practice of the media’s hyper-representation of criminalized Blackness is not something easily countered, considering that the entirety of the world’s media is owned by 6 conglomerates.For example, it doesn’t matter how many positive and motivational rap artists produce albums if Clear Channel never puts them in rotation across the nation. Is it the fault of Black people at large that gangsta rap has influenced suburban White youth, who are the primary consumers of Hip Hip, to believe the lyrics (and corresponding video images) are an reflection of “the Black masses?’ I think not – I have no say in the matter at all (although the fallout from Don Imus debacle demonstrates another case of blame-shifting). If we are identifying the problem as the representation of Black people in media, then we have to look at who controls the media, not just a handful of opportunistic conforming artists who may not have a realistic alternative to said conformity to obtain wealth (as was the case Black people joining minstrel shows, referenced below).To be clear, the root cause of the images portrayed the Black community is the “otherness” imposed by institutionalized racism and the pathology of White Supremacy. There are many more White ghettos in urban, suburban, and rural areas plagued with meth, opiates, etc., where White-on-White violence and other crimes are rampant. The numbers within these communities far outweigh those of Black communities. As one of the short videos referenced above points out, Black people make up 22% of the poor, but receive 14% of the benefits, while White people who account for 42% of the poor in this country, receive 69% of the benefits. Of course, scapegoating Blacks probably makes it easier for the “powers that be” to impose austerity measures on poor White communities, since racism is really not about color, is it? And that is probably why we hear Black people referenced when topics like “food stamps” and “welfare” come up. But the world sees a much more diversified portrayal of “the White masses.”The criminalization of Blackness is part of the racial construct developed and perpetuated to justify chattel slavery, imperialism, and eugenics. Without the implementation of Slave Codes following the Giddy Rebellion, relegating Black to lifelong servitude and implementing harsh penalties for “miscegenation,” there would not even be a color-coded society. And if you study this critical part of American history, you’ll find the motives were political and economical means of maintaining control over disgruntled masses – once the 75% but now known at the 99%. http://www.understandingrachttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nov…It took centuries of rhetoric in the sciences, the arts, and in the legal system to create the racial construct we live in, from the notion of distinct races to legal precedents like Dred Scott. These were perpetuated with troupes of minstrels traveling the globe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in Blackface, depicting Black people as ignorant, simple-minded baboons (take a moment to peruse: http://bit.ly/MinstrelImagery ).Meanwhile, African-born abolitionists like Olaudah Equiano ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia… ) and Phyllis Wheatly ( http://www.poets.org/poetso… ) and American – born Fredrick Douglas ( http://www.frederickdouglas… ) – all published authors – defied laws prohibiting them to read and write in order to defend the humanity of Black people. Ida B. Well, Sojourner Truth, Mary McCleud Bethune, and countless other teachers, doctors, scientists, inventors, authors, artists, etc. endured the most egregious injustice to overcome the imposition of Black ghettos leaving their legacy for people like yourself to explore.I am actually quite familiar with the Birthright project and various Jewish charities by virtue of my connection to The Jewish Federation and Judeo-Christian affiliations.Whereas the Jewish population is .02% of the world population, it accounts for 11% of the worlds billionaires and 35% of America’s wealthiest citizens, yet, as you know, there is still poverty – yes, even crime, among Jews. Who is to blame for that?And while the general crime rate among Jews is proportionately lower than among other ethnic groups, there is a disproportionately higher rate of white-collar crimes (125% of other groups). So, it may be uncommon to hear of a Jewish citizen stealing from Walmart like this mother of two who was shot dead in front of two children:http://bit.ly/ShopliftingMo…However, one might not be surprised to hear of emails sent by a Jewish man man from prison where he serves a sentence for devastating thousands through securities fraud. Still, to portray Jewish people in the media as fraudulent, embezzling crooks at the rate Black people are criminalized would never be tolerated in this day and age (I can hardly stomach “The Merchant of Venice”). And when it was tolerated, it had deadly ramifications.

          7. Mariah Lichtenstern

            The African-American population is more than triple that of the world’s Jewish population – with a fraction of the wealth. Why? In addition to being enslaved and denied the rights to own property and transfer wealth, housing covenants restricted access to real estate in areas of high appreciation, miscegenation laws barred marrying into wealth, Black soldiers were denied the GI Bill to buy homes and pay for college. Laws were enacted to allow for the disproportionate targeting, arresting, prosecuting, conviction, and harsh sentencing of Black people into the Prison Industrial Complex (thereby enslaving and disenfranchising them under loopholes in the 13th and 14th amendments), thereby incentivizing corporations and police forces to further criminalize blackness. All of these have residual effects on the ability of the Black community to re-invest in itself. Much of this persists in both subtle and blatant ways.And unlike Jewish Americans, Black Americans descend from a continent of over a billion people with thousands of dialects. The connection to that heritage was literally stolen. Enslaved Black Americans were not allowed birthdays, not allowed to speak their indigenous languages, separated from tribesmen, torn apart from their families, denied literacy – punishable by death, dehumanized in every imaginable way from rape to torture… And yet, coming together after emancipation, were able to create economic prosperity such as that referenced in Black Wall Street in various parts of the country, only to be attacked by jealous mobs! Still, as Maya Angelou so eloquently proclaimed “We rise.”Now, as broken K-12 schools, funded by property taxes, ill-prepare youth for college, Affirmative Action is eroded state-by-state, and fees for education (let alone housing in a college down) skyrocket. Meanwhile, collectively, Black people continue to strive to close the income and wealth gap (59.2% that of Whites in 2013 compared to 55.3% in ’67 http://bit.ly/BlackWealth ). Poor Black students in DC Charter schools outperform other Charter school and public school students. And despite all the “barriers to entry” Black people continue to not only reach back, but reach across in a myriad of ways. Considering all of this, the fact that African Americans have made the immeasurable contributions to society and civilization, and that more have not succumbed to poverty, drug abuse, and crime should be applauded and celebrated, not called into question.If the response to Ferguson hasn’t demonstrated the solidarity of the Black community, one only has to look at the history of the NAACP, or national and regional Urban Leagues that have broken down walls, while provided training, resources, and support. Programs from President Obama and Attorney General Holder’s “My Brother’s Keeper” to Van Jone’s #YesWeCode and Jessie Jackson’s Rainbow Push, continue to uncover exclusion and create opportunity. If you aren’t hearing about it, you are being passive or complacent. One need only look. http://bit.ly/BlackAffinity…Affluent and average Black Americans alike are doing as much if not more than any group to benefit not only ourselves, but other minorities and disadvantaged Whites – be they women or the working poor despite not only constant criticism received for doing so, but also opposition by bad apples in every institution that citizens are subject to (e.g. policing, public schools, financial institutions, military…).The problem is not what Black Americans fail to do for themselves, but what is imposed on and stripped from Black Americans at every chance. The problem is disparities that persist due to what has been imposed while being denied restitution and opportunity. So, I think the way you (and purportedly others) see it should be called into question, diagnosed and treated for what it is, whether it be brainwashing, denial, implicit bias, or some other pathology.http://www.huffingtonpost.c

          8. LE

            He had a “mean mug” that was not that different from one I had at his age walking through my neighborhood.Much to be said about that. See “red feathers” and Cialdini, here is quick link that I just brought up:http://changingminds.org/te…For example your name and your look don’t trigger any particular negative response in my brain. Plus obviously you write and communicate well.Now of course it would be nice if everyone could be given the benefit of the doubt and not take into account triggers “red feathers” which we have been programmed over the years to use to protect us. System generally works. But that’s not going to happen. I can tell you that I get treated better if I wear a suit than if I dress in tshirts and dungarees. Except at the Porsche Dealer where they’ve been conditioned to know that people who can buy their cars do dress that way. Now I’m also white. But at certain high end dealers they are also used to rappers buying so maybe they get treated well also.It is also why I went to graduate school for motion picture producing – to create sub-streams of distribution and to combat stereotypes with more inclusive, positive images including more examples of inter-ethnic harmony. I think that’s great. That’s putting your (money) time where your mouth is. Much much much better than just sitting and “whining” that things should be different. I really like that. That’s the type of thing that people should be doing. Using their brain to form a solution to a problem.

          9. Guest

            LE- it’s part of who I am … I appreciate your questions and comments.As a mother, I can relate to the risk-aversion associated with having a family. I would probably not be marching in the streets and risking my baby getting tear-gassed, but others may take a different approach (like the children involved in Civil Right’s movement of the 50s and 60s).Knowing what I know now, I would have to say, yes, I would still take steps to document what was happening.Part of my ancestry is Jewish. Although I do not consider myself Jewish, I’ve been to Israel (before motherhood and people still thought I was crazy) and I long to return. I have compassion for both sides of the conflict as did the members of The Jewish Federation, who sent me. Accounts of the Holocaust inevitably leave me in tears. I’ve read many accounts of genocide in various parts of the world, including those published by a college professor who was the son of an Armenian genocide survivor (also a man who encouraged me to write).The response depends on the situation, whether it is a kidnapping rape, Civil Rights violation or other crisis. But I am reminded of a quote by Mamie Till, mother of Emmett Till (1955): “Two month ago, I had a nice apartment in Chicago. I had a good job. I had a son. When something happened to the Negroes in the South I said ‘That’s their business, not mine.’ Now I know how wrong I was. The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all!”Of course, we have to choose when and where to get involved.Yes, we all have prejudices (take tests, here:https://implicit.harvard.edu/i….I’m convinced that subconscious / implicit bias has to do with media and propaganda, among other things, which is why my undergraduate thesis was on representations of people of color in the media and mainstream Hip Hop as modern day minstrelsy. It is also why I went to graduate school for motion picture producing – to create sub-streams of distribution and to combat stereotypes with more inclusive, positive images including more examples of inter-ethnic harmony. It all started with growing up as a multi-ethnic person in an overtly racist, Klan-boasting, rural Californian area and later taking Ethnic Studies in an attempt to discover why people hate on the basis of ethnicity, color, creed, etc. Learning about Bacon’s Rebellion and the Giddy multitude in the late Ronald Takaki’s book, “A Different Mirror”http://bit.ly/ADiffMirror) was incredibly transformative and in many ways, healing.Nevertheless I’m often confronted by my own prejudices. Recently, I caught myself sizing up a young Black teen walking up the street toward myself and my daughter after story-time in a predominately Black community. He had a “mean mug” that was not that different from one I had at his age walking through my neighborhood. In a near last minute response, I flashed him a big smile and he lit up like a little boy. It was precious. Since I was called out by a fellow Black woman in my youth, I’ve made more of an effort to smile and greet people in general (lest I be perceived as an “angry Black woman.” But I pay special attention to how Black men, and especially young Black men respond to this subtle gesture of respect. My husband also does it and it is endearing. I encourage everyone to try it.Yes, I am also sensitive to what Police deal with – both in the stress and trauma of such civil service and in being victims of their own programming. I respect how Tupac Shakur summed it up in an interview at the end of a little known piece entitled “F#ck The Police” http://rap.genius.com/2pac-…[In regard to playing a cop in an acting role]”The good part about is, we get to show the human side of cops doing what they doCause, it’s always been my belief that cops are just a gang themselves- with the good and the badLike I believe the gang bangers on the street got both good and bad like the cops doThey got stress and they got character flaws that come from their lifestyles…If you look at it from a stereotypical view, like how people say, you know’All your troubles with the law, how can you play a cop?’Just from a stereotypical point of viewWho could play a cop better?I’ve seen them and their evil when they think nobody’s looking. I’ve seen the compassion, I’ve seen the anger, I’ve seen the jealousy, I’ve seen fear, I’ve seen respect and I’ve seen hate- from copsMore than anybody, know what I mean? I been there. I just got out of maximum [security] penitentiary.

        2. CJ

          And that’s really the problem. Cops have too much power without having appropriate accountability. Those who are charged with upholding the law should not be allowed to break it.I’ve been in this position, it sucks. I’ve had my vehicle searched illegally, I’ve had my person searched illegally. In both cases the reasons given were BS but what do you do? Get shot or comply. At least if you’re a black man.

          1. LE

            Cops have too much power without having appropriate accountability. Those who are charged with upholding the law should not be allowed to break it.Is that really the case or is that a point of view based on survivorship bias (let’s call it).In other words for sure you have been treated the way you have and I haven’t. And I don’t doubt for one minute that you would get treated differently than I would in the same situation. No question I do buy into what you are saying.But otoh if you looked at it as far as how often it happens to you are you sure that removing certain powers from Police wouldn’t cause a bigger problem? I mean you can’t expect perfection otherwise there is and will be a downside.From what I can tell you are saying that your vehicle was searched one time and your person searched 1 time illegally. And I know you will have stories of others this has happened to. So it seems like “it happens to everyone and all the time”. But in the course of 365 days per year and 20 years how often has t his happened? I mean not weekly and not 10 times per year or even 4 times per year, right? Or?

          2. Mariah Lichtenstern

            There are statistics on this that you should research. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Black man who has not experienced it. One time is one time too many and unfortunately it is often more than that depending on a myriad of factors including car, class, and where you are at the time. Even MC Hammer, who has graced this thread, had a very distasteful experience in recent history.The question is not about removing powers, it is about holding people in authority accountable and not tolerating abuse of power or the factors contributing to it such as the “Black tax” and “poor tax” of deriving municipal funding from court fees.

    1. fredwilson

      awesome news

      1. Avi Deitcher

        Yeah, I try not to get too excited too early – friend of mine has kid with hemophilia, been waiting for a cure for years despite hearing about amazing stem cell work; my father died of lung cancer while hearing that amazing new drugs are imminent; etc. – so it won’t be next year, but we can imagine days when many of these diseases will not take so many from us.Better move SpaceX quickly to find room for all of us on other planets! 🙂

  2. jason wright

    nice one.next month will mark thirteen years since my mother was diagnosed with als. i remember it like it was yesterday. sufferers live on average for 3-5 years. my mother is still here. she’s a fighter, and she can be a bit of a monster at times, but she will always be my mother. a cure would make it all worthwhile, and that giving up is not an option. hope is what people need.

    1. fredwilson

      oh man. i am sorry to hear that

      1. jason wright

        it’s the lucky person who goes through a full life without being touched by something or other, either directly or through a family member. the longer she’s still here the more chance she has of a cure. Avi’s links are encouraging news.

    2. Aaron Klein

      Best wishes to your mother and prayers to find a cure soon!

      1. jason wright

        thank you for your kind words Aaron.

    3. Elia Freedman

      I’m sorry, Jason.

      1. jason wright

        Thank you Elia

    4. William Mougayar

      You are both brave. Hat off.

    5. awaldstein

      so sorry to hear this.i lost a best buddy to als. the process was truly heart breaking.

      1. jason wright

        i’m very sorry to hear you lost someone close to this disease. i’ve yet to experience that feeling. i hope i never have to.

        1. awaldstein

          He had no interest in continuing. One of the brightest (early device physicist in the valley) and creative (piano player and furniture maker) i knew.

  3. LIAD

    Interested if people think senior politicians should be doing this.On one hand clearly it brings attention/donations to a good cause (and has side benefit of PR for politican themself). On other hand it can be seen as degrading the office.I said on twitter early in the ALS campaign I thought it would be a disaster, and I would be mortified, if someone like Obama did this. The President needs to portray control, gravitas, dignity, power at all times (especially during current world events). Having someone pour water over your head is the antithesis of that, even if for a good cause.- let’s not even get into the right/wrong of the commander-in-chief playing never ending golf and doing photo ops grinning on the golf course moments after talking about the savage murder of a US citizen and the rapid advance of a barbaric foe who has disregard and contempt for all we hold dear.Pissed me off. Big time.

    1. Richard

      Really? This is certainly more constructive than the selfie.

    2. kidmercury

      nobody cares, he’s a good orator, uses apple products, and fills out march madness brackets, that’s all that matters

      1. Richard

        When it comes to whether ” A President” does the IBC in 2014, you had me at “nobody cares”.

      2. LE

        You forgot that in the first week of office he went to visit his kids school teachers after all he cares about their education and because his Harvard educated wife couldn’t handle it and besides they really need a good elementary school education not like they will be given a free ride because their dad was Potus.

    3. Aaron Klein

      I’m not sure how I’d feel about the President dumping the ice water.But good heavens, you’re 100% correct about golf. The NYT freudian slip headline said it all: “Obama, Outraged Over Beheading, Vows to Stay on Course.”

    4. Lucas Dailey

      I used to feel the same. Now I’m an elected official (though I was appointed after a mid-term resignation) and I’ve come to see things a little differently. We don’t allow politicians to have human needs and we expect them to be immune to the very sorts of burn-out we regularly caution startups against. Burn-out leads to poor decision making, it’s that simple. Worse, the very structures of our government can be antithetical to exercising good judgement. As an entrepreneur and UX designer I spend a lot of time thinking about how to create systems and orgs to allow people to flourish, and that seems to be nowhere in government.I agree that optics matter, but I think the expectation that our President and politicians be superhuman-omnipotent-saint-kings isn’t helpful.I would much prefer offices humanized, even if it does degrade them.

    5. LE

      Interested if people think senior politicians should be doing this.On the Nightly News with Brian Williams last night they did a feature on the challenge. It was specifically mentioned by Brian that both member of Congress and Diplomatic officials are specifically forbidden from doing things like this for any reason “no matter how good the cause”. (I will try and dig up if I can the collateral material to support this.)Anyway to answer your question, and without regards to my previous paragraph, absolutely positively not.

      1. LIAD

        i read that state dept. officials were banned from doing this.

  4. William Mougayar

    The ALS challenge has become a global phenomenon, as it spread to Canada, UK, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.IF they were a startup, we’d say they finally figured virality (thanks to social media), and they are blowing their numbers, up from only $2M in the same period last year.

    1. LIAD

      There’s a thing in growthhackers where they deconstruct the challenge into his key elements. Clever stuff

  5. aminTorres

    Someone needs to match Fred’s donation if he posts the video. 😉

  6. pointsnfigures

    I was challenged and did a video: link here http://pointsandfigures.com… I forgot that my buddy Scott was good pals with the golfer Tom Watson’s caddy who died from ALS. He did his ice bucket challenge on a golf course.No doubt every charity in the world is thinking up ways to do a viral challenge. If I were a charity, I wouldn’t. I’d let it settle.

    1. William Mougayar

      At the heart of the success of this social media campaign is the virality factor, but not only that, they made each one of us a content contributor- that’s the genius of it.I think there is room for more creativity to emerge. Have you seen the Molson Beer Fridge video from last year. 2.7 Million views https://www.youtube.com/wat

  7. Richard

    Some argue that charitable giving is a zero sum game and that the ice bucket challenge giving my be at the expense of other charities? Anyone have evidence on this ?

    1. pointsnfigures

      http://philanthropy.com/sec… I don’t think people will make a conscious choice. It’s more about emotion, being a part of something bigger than themselves and participation with some peer pressure thrown in.

  8. eli

    People either don’t bother or just chip in money to raise funding and awareness. Well, that’s good, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Who is going to do the actual hard research?! Nobody. Everyone passes it to the others. At the end, it’s graduate students, most of them foreign nationals, who work. They are also called nerds and socially inept. They make 20k per year and don’t even get recognized for what they do; their professors are recognized instead. It’s striking to note how this system works. I don’t foresee a good future for science as long as the system promotes profitable disciplines, business, law, medical practice, you name it. And how much funding is wasted in silicon valley to write bike-sharing apps for smartphone and facebook?! Yeah, superficial work with pay off kept in mind, but then Mr. Jobs shouldn’t complain if he dies of cancer at 50 something.

    1. pointsnfigures

      @pmarca tweeted about this just the other day. It doesn’t matter that they are creating bike-sharing apps. Bike sharing apps might become something else. Try not to keep thinking inside a box or linearly. This doesn’t always equal that. Everything isn’t a function that spits out the same answer. When Twitter was invented, did anyone see it as a force to overthrow a dictator? Did anyone see it as an instant communication device for companies to interact with customers?There are plenty of PhD’s doing research on drugs. I meet them at ChicagoInnovationMentors.org all the time.By the way, as someone pointed out, without Twitter and Facebook ALS wouldn’t have been able to raise $50M bucks.

      1. kidmercury

        has twitter really overthrown a dictator? is it even a business that can stand on its own earnings and cash flow, or does it rely on the wall street house of cards to continue? (twitter’s TTM free cash flow ending june 2014 was negative).technology will change the world, as it always has, though i think we are taking the scenic route, due largely to political and macroeconomic factors.

        1. pointsnfigures

          ask the eqyptians

        2. ErikSchwartz

          Of course it was twitter. It wasn’t the self immolation. Nor the people in the streets. Nor the military coup.Sometimes the narcissism of the tech industry is truly amazing.

      2. eli

        It was the rise of the Internet itself that enabled widespread communication. And that technology was invented by an army of clever mathematicians, physicists and engineers (starting with Claude Shannon that laid the foundation in 40s). Text-sharing applications are admittedly still needed, particularly in the entertainment sector, but they hardly qualify as invention. Certainly, not the crucial part. It’s like you have a tool, you do a lot of things with it. And that’s tweeter; we haven’t even talked about all sorts of texting apps that raise milions and milions of dollars, that could otherwise help find a cure for cancer. And the investors invest in them.

      3. LE

        without Twitter and Facebook ALS wouldn’t have been able to raise $50M bucks.Don’t agree with that at all. Look at all the money that Komen sucks from the charity world. Given the right approach to fund raising $50m isn’t a big number (doesn’t have to be all at once either).Here is how I might approach doing this if I wanted to raise money for ALS.I would figure out a way to find all the celebrities who had relatives that died of ALS. Hire some college students to look at death notices or something else like that (I’d need a bit to figure other viable approaches). Then I would try and use that info to get the celebrity on board with supporting the cause. I don’t have to convince all of them just a few of them. I would then use the fact that they agreed (however little they did) in a letter to other celebrities and other people. And so on. Anyway that’s just an off the top idea (that I haven’t vetted more than a simple comment here).(Before you write off this idea as not possible I have done things that have gotten front page mention in the WSJ and USA today and other places that were, in the end, publicity stunts.) Way before social media and twitter.

        1. pointsnfigures

          I think it’s hard to raise $50M for charity or for whatever. Others have done it, and the Komen one used corporate partners and the 3 day walk. Of course, most of the money they raise goes to support the organization and doesn’t go to charity!David Meerman Scott wrote a book called World Wide Rave. It’s a good primer on how to do a viral campaign.

          1. LE

            The women who cuts my hair told me her husband (a professional salesman) just got a new job. He’s in “sales” for the Red Cross. (My words, not hers.) He’s a good golfer, a man’s man, good looking, and his job apparently (from what I can tell) involves using all those skills to keep the donations coming from their legacy donation sources.Komen crossed the “marcom” rubicon way back. Once a place gets the slick marketing and starts to protect their brand in the way they do (just try to use “for the cure” in anything) you know they are pissing money out left and right.Non charity (but non profit) years ago I had a sales call that I made to the AARP headquarters in DC. Was a really nice fine building. If my memory serves me correctly had marble like you see in government buildings – built to last a revolution. Not a soup kitchen.

  9. Jeff Judge

    I did the same thing yesterday and posted in FB to encourage people to donate money. I’ve enjoyed watching the videos, but the money is what counts.

  10. falicon

    Good stuff…the modern name, and probably more historically important, to associate with the disease would be Stephen Hawking…I’m actually surprised he hasn’t gotten more of the spotlight from all of this as well…

    1. awaldstein

      hmm…never thought of this.i met him in the 90s as i published a series of cd roms for him. honestly at that time, never thought that much about his disability as he was so shrouded in the power of his thoughts, i honestly came away thinking about them more than anything.

  11. MC Hammer

    Awesome, Fred! Very generous. But for someone who preaches the network effect, I’m surprised your not nominating anyone, which I think is one of the most important aspects of the ice bucket challenge.

  12. Tracey Jackson

    I will donate to this Fred. At first I found it silly. Lots of shots of people on Instagram standing on their boats in the South Of France dumping water on their heads. Then I was a bit disappointed no one asked me to do it. But I think the combo of raising the awareness, the money and making people literally do something physical a bit uncomfortable and silly gets attention. So my feelings are it is a great way to raise $ and awareness.Now I wonder what the copy cats will do to try and up the stakes.

    1. David A. Frankel

      I did the challenge & donated & have been pretty vocal about your point as well — the awareness generated by all of the ice bucket dumpers was key (regardless of whether or not they donated), as ALS affects far less people than other diseases, but is no less devastating. However, there was a very interesting post earlier this week by Seth Godin on the negative effects of “slacktivism” (doing a stunt like this for narcissistic reasons & not really taking action) & how charities are now going to feel compelled to raise the stakes in an attempt to gain the same exposure. Worth reading: http://sethgodin.typepad.co

    2. LE

      At first I found it silly. Lots of shots of people on Instagram standing on their boats in the South Of France dumping water on their heads. Then I was a bit disappointed no one asked me to do it.Like the party that you didn’t want to go to but were bothered when you weren’t invited to it.I actually wondered about the makeup of people that go along with the tom foolery of something like this vs. those that don’t.So my feelings are it is a great way to raise $ and awareness.Now I wonder what the copy cats will do to try and up the stakes.You just reversed engineered the rationality of it. Your first instinct was right of course. I would guess that the large majority of people who did the challenge didn’t even think twice about it. They didn’t even come close to suffering Fred’s dilemma. Was no “Sophie’s Choice” to them at all. They heard the idea and they immediately thought “hey that’s cute and I’m in”. You can tell by how they look on those videos and how happy they are to say “I’m a follower”.

  13. markslater

    its a true phenomenon……People from all walks ( i mean all walks – did you see George W????) find a common cause – even if for a moment and potentially crowd source a horrific disease in to extinction…….it should be noted that this disease had no chance prior to this – the “addressable market” if you could stoop so low as to call it that – is just not big enough to gain the attention of big pharma…….this is literally one of my favorite cases ever of technology allowing humanity to shine……

  14. Brandon Burns

    Something this campaign-of-sorts has shown is the power of awareness vs. donations.Granted, gaining awareness only serves to get donations, but where’s the threshold where one is worth more than the other? If I, in lieu of a $25 donation, pour a bucket of ice water on my head and 1000 Facebook friends see it, if 0.5% of them donate $10, then the pouring of the water is worth double what I originally planned to donate. And that’s a very feasible likely scenario.It’s possible that pouring ice water on your head would have been worth more than the $500 donation you made, Fred. Or maybe not. But its still interesting to think about. And I’m sure some data will show the numbers soon.

    1. LE

      It’s possible that pouring ice water on your head would have been worth more than the $500 donation you made, Fred. Or maybe not.I’ve considered this angle as well by the way. The point of the ice is the PR spread after all it’s already made it to the Nightly News and it’s all over the place. It definitely is in an important factor. Reason that Bill Gates decided to dump the water on his head. Glad to know he cares! Reason that celebs do PSA’s.Problem is that given limited resources should the causes that we support be the ones where the person has the most compelling viral gimick [1] or the one where the need is greatest? Donation money doesn’t grow on trees. (I will fully acknowledge even that the majority of people doing the challenge aren’t giving to charity by the way).Seat of the pants by the way the true test would be for someone like Fred to make up a new challenge and see what could be raised with that challenge.[1] For example Fred makes a video standing up in a fancy restaurant and singing “New York New York” and challenges others to do the same or they need to donate $dollar_amount amount to $some_charity. My guess is that the money raised by doing that would be quite a large sum. Not to mention the people in the restaurant would surely mention it to others for even further effect.

      1. Brandon Burns

        I like the karaoke version of the idea. I think you should start the trend. 🙂

        1. LE

          I’ll pay $1000 for Fred’s, Joanne and two friends dinners as well as someone to do the video of Fred and get it up on the web.

        2. LE

          Re: comment below – Actually I’m working with two film directors now that I know I could probably convince to attach their name to “the project” that might give it some legs. (Both documentary and feature credentials).

  15. Elia Freedman

    Apparently the speed at which the disease kills is also the speed at which it comes on. I guess age when contracted has an impact as well.Most people don’t realize but Steven Hawkings has ALS and has since he was a teenager, I believe. I think Hawkings could give Gehrig a run for his money in the “famous” scale.Also the incidents in the military is higher than in the general population. Last I read there is belief this is because of heavy metals — being around them more — but it is not known if this is actually the cause.I have a college friend who was diagnosed with the disease about eight years ago in his early 30s. I see him every few months, in fact was out at the coast this past weekend and stopped by. He has lost most control in his hands now and scoots around in a desk chair. He has a scooter coming soon.What amazes me about Adam is how well he has taken it. He came home when he was first diagnosed. We went to lunch and he told me. He wasn’t mad, he wasn’t upset, he didn’t curse the world. He has stood up to this disease with incredible bravery, far braver and far more stoic than I would have been. Before it got bad he traveled the world and did all the things he could. I haven’t asked but I don’t think he has any regrets about his life and, now in his early 40s, has accepted his fate.

  16. Salt Shaker

    When I worked for a sports media company we collaborated w/ the ALS Association of Greater NY in a Lincoln Center charity event screening of an original 35m print of “Pride of the Yankees” (frequently referred to as The Lou Gehrig story). In attendance that evening was the last surviving cast member, Teresa Wright, who was nominated in 1942 for an Academy Award for her role as Mrs. Lou Gehrig.Sadly, the gentleman who was my boss at the time was diagnosed w/ ALS about a year and a half ago. A mench of a man w/ a loving wife and five kids. The salt of the earth. A real role model for how one should conduct their lives, both personally and professionally. He’s still relatively early stage and a fighter, and hasn’t (yet) lost his sense of humor. A dyed-in-the-wool Boston Red Sox fan he tells close family and friends, in jest, pls. say I have ALS and not Lou Gehrig’s disease, as he doesn’t want any association w/ the dreaded Yankees. I’m not the least bit pious, but I do pray for him–and quite often. ALS is a insidious disease.

  17. saadiq

    It seems Tilt is matching donations up to 10k and they’re currently a little over $3k. https://www.tilt.com/campai

  18. Mariah Lichtenstern

    I was challenged yesterday and my first response was “That’s cold; I think I’ll just donate.” Last night, my sister posted this video about why it matters and I was ashamed of my trite response:http://www.upworthy.com/the…I remember listening to an NPR segment on rare diseases and how finding cures to rare disease can actually lead to cures for more common disease. And as I watched the video, I thought of my mother who, while able to speak leading up to hear death, suffered an encephalitis that ultimately rendered her quadriplegic. When she went to see a special neurologist after losing use of her right arm (and thus her ability to write), her general practicioner refused to approve any tests, telling the neurologist “She’s going to die anyway.” This treatment discouraged and traumatized my mother and the caregiver who was with her. She was incredibly resilient over the years, but the worst part of the disease was the anxiety it inflicted.Hearing the young man in the video talk about how the challenges impact him convicted me and I woke up pondering how to do the challenge and who to call out. I’d seen a handful of challenges and thought, they should GIVE, not ice. Then Jimmy Fallon assured his audience that he was doing both. I get it now.The challenge demonstrates the willingness to do more than just give; to humbly put oneself in an uncomfortable situation and make that extra effort – while challenging others to do the same – is more than just gamification of a cause. It reminds me of Hunter Walk’s post about incorporating giving into corporate life. We can learn a lot as entrepreneurs and philanthropists from the “Kiss my ALS” campaign.

  19. Dave

    Love the concept of this and raising the profile for ALS. Whether you do the challenge or not, raising money and awareness is the key so I donated while my kids (who had all been challenged) did the ice bucket. But these sorts of causes also make me sad as I think of how ineffective and small minded our Federal government has been on disease research.Ultimately, early stage research into the basic dynamics of a disease is almost a government funded role. Once the basic research is done, then private industry, government funded researchers or a combination may do research into cures (typically drugs) but even that only works for single drug cures and works in some diseases not others. Non-drug therapies simply do not have the economics to make private research worthwhile. Governments role is even more important in many disease with smaller populations.$50 million is wonderful but is fairly small potatoes in the world of biotech and research. I can think of multiple biotech companies where I know executives well that have spent several hundred million dollars each just to get to their first approved therapy.

  20. matthughes

    $50 million is no joke.Internet, for the win.

  21. LE

    I am sure some of you will be disappointed that I “chickened out” and did not choose to get doused, but to me the important thing is the generosity that the Ice Bucket Challenge has unlocked.Actually, the way I think, the exact opposite. It’s great that you didn’t succumb to peer pressure.

  22. LE

    I’ve been “challenged” a few times on Facebook and Twitter over the past few weeksSee now this is a core problem with society. I was waiting for my stepkids to get the challenge so I could use it as a teachable moment [1] [2] and explain how you don’t have to go along with the flow for fear of being an outcast or because you think if you don’t comply that people won’t like you. “Sure my goal in life is to make everyone else happy but myself”. I wanted them to be able to stand up and say “Sorry I’m not interested” and see exactly what the results were. I don’t think you have to be, or can be, afraid of someone thinking that that means you don’t want to support a cause, no matter how worthy. Separately $x toward this cause is in theory $x out of another causes pocket or the local hardware store.I mean look if someone shows up at your door and asks you to buy girls scout cookies so you buy them it’s deminimis and no big deal. If a coworker walks up to you and wants you to donate money to some cause that their mother died or is suffering from I would, for one, give them the $$. Otoh if someone wants you to dump cold water on your head what’s next? There is no personal connection. What if I sent emails to everyone on AVC about some disease that some family member died from asking if they would make a donation? What if it wasn’t even a family member? What is my right to do that to make someone feel obligated or uncomfortable? I’d not sooner do that then I would ask if I could use JLM’s Austin ranch while he was away on vacation. (I expect a fully stocked refrigerator and maid service by the way..)This is, in a sense, the same reason that so many kids end up on the wrong side of the tracks in life. A bunch of friends or peers are doing things and they cajole and get a child to try something that they either hadn’t thought of or don’t really need or want to do. They don’t know how to day “no” even though they want to say “no”. Lemmings wanting to be accepted.By the way all those people who think you had chickened out will forget if you do this and don’t comply on the next craze that is sweeping the nation.(And yes I knew and saw someone die from ALS..)[1] Low and behold they had already taken part in this and it was to late.[2] Hate to mimic Obama but the phrase works.

  23. JLM

    .Do y’all remember bringing Tinker Belle back to life in Peter Pan? Did you clap your nasty little impressionable hands to bring her back to life?I did. Of course, I was very, very gullible in those days. I was a young idiot. I am now an old idiot. There is a common thread there somewhere.Now join me in starting to clap. All AVCers start clapping right now until our Freddy takes the ice bucket to the head. If you clap hard enough and loud enough, Fred will change his mind and he will not only pour a bucket of ice water on his head, he will immerse his head in ice water.If you believe, clap.If you don’t believe, do it anyway to see if miracles can really happen.Clap, AVCers. Clap hard. Clap long.Freddy, don’t foresake us. Don’t disappoint us. Don’t break our hearts. Don’t diminish our unfathomable and immeasurable love for you.[Plus, Fred you’re at the beach and all, so it won’t be too tough?]The bar’s open and the drinks are on me.Clap.JLM.

    1. LE

      What about you Brutay?Where is thine water bucket and ice video?

      1. JLM

        .I am filling my swimming pool with ice as we speak. I will be doing a back one and a half with a full twist off the sago palm planter. I am waiting for the videographer to arrive.Et tu, Brute?JLM.

        1. LE

          I give you credit for at least putting in effort to do something with a, um, “twist” and more original. [1]Et tu, Brute?No way. Goes against all my principles. However see my thread below with Brandon re: $1000 and dinner for 4.[1] Mention Rick Perry in the video and challenge him to stop by.

  24. JLM

    .On a very serious note, there is something obscene about the amount of money being spent on crazy shit like wars when we have diseases (cancer and all of its shitty friends) which are still killing us all wholesale.It is incomprehensible that some blood sucking politician has not taken up the mantle of curing cancer (add your personal favorite) as a political cause.I would likely vote for that SOB.JLM.

    1. Salt Shaker

      Couldn’t agree w/ you more, JLM. How about starting with simple legislature that changes the box on the 1040 tax form where $3 can be donated to cancer research vs. the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Hard to quibble with which is a far more noble and worthy cause.

      1. LE

        Well you can immediately see the issue with that. Why cancer? Why not something other than cancer? And if there are 20 check boxes why not 100 check boxes?

        1. Salt Shaker

          Oy, you are literal LE:) Heart disease and cancer leading cause of death by a wide margin. Can easily address Top 5 and, of course, all donations are optional. No piece of legislature (or biz decisions for that matter) satiate all.

          1. LE

            Nope can’t do it. No way you can have all these organizations raising money and then single out 5 as being “more equal than others” even if the reason is that they kill more people.Besides, then you get into the issue of who disperses the cancer money and to what cancer.Closest thing I’ve seen is with drivers license organ donation checkoff box.Perhaps the solution is to simply say “donate to medical research” then you just need a way to get the money in the right hands. (But that is already happening with the NIH).

    2. LE

      spent on crazy shit like wars when we have diseasesHas the Pope invaded ‘yer body?Forgetting first even the “benefits” of war (the transistor, bell labs, the internet etc.) [1] and assuming you are wiling to accept that not all decisions that the politicians will make can be perfect (nor can you expect each and every police officer to make 100% the right decision under pressure [2]) you have to believe that there is more than ego and american “imperialism” involved in some of the conflicts that we get into. Like protecting our interests to keep things good over here by stopping the spread of things that threaten us.Separately, I’m pretty certain that in the 60’s all the students protesting the war had less to do with us being at war but rather because they didn’t want to serve in the military and put their own lives at risk. Has there been a time since the draft ended that young people had said anything? Less staged big protests against the war? No skin in the game so no protests. They are on to more important things.Separately I hope we get the surveillance state hooked back up now that ISIS is going to be stopping by for a visit here and there. Then people will realize that “Daddy” some times has to do things that might be objectionable to protect against a greater evil.Separately assumption of “giving money to medical research” assumes there is a place for that money to go and that money is the reason the problem hasn’t been solved. That’s like assuming that if Fred had more 20x money to invest he’d be able to make 20 times the investments. He wouldn’t.[1] Said advances have helped greatly with modern medicine more than if the same money were spent on medicine and certain things had never been invented.[2] I walked up to an officer yesterday and told him “just so you know there are people who support what you do and the judgement you use to do it and would give you the benefit of the doubt if you were protecting life even if it was your own”. I don’t expect perfection. You can’t expect perfection in decision making.

      1. awaldstein

        ‘pretty certain’ that the spirit of the 60s was self serving’?please share the data on that.

        1. LE

          Had I said “the fact is” that would have indicated that there was a written data basis (subject to making numbers say anything of course) for the point that I was making.Saying “pretty certain” is a conclusion based on a) common sense and b) observation of news accounts c) knowledge of human nature from dealing with people over the years.Of course I could use this as support of what I am saying:http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…Or people going to Canada to avoid the draft. Because they didn’t want to die. Know of several people from that era who became school teachers specifically so they wouldn’t get drafted. I don’t think that’s isolated either.I would also conclude that there is a much higher percentage of people who support legalizing pot who stand to gain by it being legal than those who don’t.That doesn’t mean that people will always want something that they will gain from.I personally would like to be able to drive my car 100 mph or faster on public roads. However I wouldn’t support anything close to that type of speed limit. You may feel that you can drive if your BAC is over .08 but you might not support raising it to .10 etc.Lastly, are you claiming that the threat of military service didn’t get many people to protest the war in Vietnam? Because it seems common sense that that played a huge role.

    3. Carl Rahn Griffith

      Indeed…

    4. CJ

      I would likely vote for that SOB.JLMI’m in Chicago, I’d vote for him twice.

      1. JLM

        You and all your dead friends?

        1. CJ

          And those yet to be born too!

  25. Keenan

    You coulda done both!!! But who am I to talk. I’m donating and not dousing myself either. I’ve chickened out too. That being said, if you do it Fred, so will I. Great viral response to worthy cause.

  26. David Albert

    Interesting that someone so invested in network effects didn’t embrace bucketing themselves to create more impact :)Do both!

  27. Anson Kao

    Fred, I took the ice bucket challenge as an opportunity to reflect on social media from a tech perspective. Here are some thoughts on the topic: http://www.ansonkao.com/blo