I hope the term “raise awareness” isn’t overshadowed by the
simple novelty of getting your friends to dump cold water on their head and say
a few swear words on camera. If that’s really all it has done for you being
nominated, then “awareness” has not really been raised, and you are just
seeking to fit in among the fads on the internet.
Awareness is truly raised if a cold bucket of water will
continually motivate you to volunteer your time to help people ailing from
disease, to give a little extra to charities that help combat these diseases,
or even to just be more compassionate to people undergoing a life changing
struggle. That’s what fuckin awareness is, folks.
Also, the world’s pretty dire right now at this present
time. Let’s spread some awareness around the board here, because to be
well-informed, compassionate, and to possess a well thought out thesis on
things, is to be a citizen of the world who is “aware”.
Here are a few more bucket challenges with a small
non-opinionated stance to briefly help you become more “aware” before diving
back in to the trendiness of ice-water dumping. If we all connect and
start discussion about issues like these, in the same way that is currently
thriving to put an end to ALS, we're going live in a truly more aware world.
1.
#FireHoseChallenge
On August 9, a Ferguson Police officer gunned down an
unarmed 18 year old (black) teenager, Michael Brown while he had his hands up
in surrender. Brown was shot 6 times; twice in the head. The population of
Ferguson is 2/3rds black, while there are only a microscopic proportion of
black officers serving on the entire police force there. Protests and riots
erupted upon the death of Brown and police responded with a militarization that
should have most freedom loving people shitting their pants. All roads were
blocked entering the city by police tanks and armoured vehicles. Protesters
were treated with tear-gas, fire-hoses, and German Shepherds by a police force
decked out in camo fatigues and assault weapons that looked like they were
ready to invade Afghanistan, not serve and protect. Protests still on as
we speak.
So, spray down a friend with a high pressure hose to raise
awareness for racial equality and the militarization of local police!
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| chrisinmaryville.net |
2.
#BowlCutsForEbola
One of the worst and most mysterious diseases known to
mankind has re-emerged in several (3rd world) West African countries. Ebola is
an extremely contagious and extremely painful disease that basically causes
your insides to feel like they are being doused in acid until you eventually
hemorrhage out of your eyes, dying from a tormenting ordeal with internal
bleeding. The most recent strand of the disease has shown a resiliency to even
be spread through airborne means, not through contact alone, which makes a
rapid pandemic spread very possible through air travel if a vaccine/cure isn’t
found soon. Despite the World Health Organization’s effort to quarantine
the outbreak, several victims have been flown to the USA for experimental
treatment and patients in Southeast Asia have shown symptoms that they may have
contracted the disease as well.
So challenge your friends to get a bowl cut to raise
awareness for finding a cure to one of the deadliest and dangerous diseases
known to man!
 |
| hausa.rfi.fr |
3. #ISISBucketChallenge
ISIS is an extremely organized, intelligent, and brutally
violent group of Jihadi group currently recruiting globally to attract Muslims
to come to their currently occupied conquered lands and live as a nation-free Muslim
while imposing Sharia Law, which is pretty f’d up. They have easily taken over,
pillaged and are governing about 1/3rd of war-torn Iraq, and large
portions of the equally unstable Syria.
ISIS is a Sunni Muslim group who basically will give a quick
and merciless death to anyone who is not a Sunni. Shia Muslims, Kurds and
Christians are all being persecuted and beheaded with complete disregard for a
human being’s right to live.
ISIS have seized oil producing regions and other exportable
industries in their conquered lands and are estimated to have a current net
worth of 2 billion dollars with about 80,000 total members worldwide.
These Jihadis are using social media and propaganda to
recruit and radicalize Muslims to fight to establish and keep a Muslim
autonomous Sharia Law region, and it is working at an alarming rate. It is
estimated that there are twice as many British Muslims who have left to fight
alongside ISIS than there currently are serving in the British Armed Forces.
If you don’t think this concerns you yet – realize that ISIS
has vowed to raise its flag over western nations and kill everyone in them who
opposes them. American journalist James Foley was recently beheaded on film by
a suspected British Jihadi who on the tape vowed more violence in the near
future.
So challenge a friend to dump a bucket of crude oil over
their head to help raise awareness to the world being on the brink of the
largest theological conflict since the great crusades!
 |
| mirror.co.uk |
4. #UnibrowsForUkraine
In a conflict that started from protests against government
corruption in the capital city of Kiev, came conflicts of autonomy from Eastern
Ukraine after the pro-Russian president was ousted and exiled. Many cities in
the eastern regions of Ukraine are made up of a majority of ethnic Russians
because of the many different borders that have been imposed in the past,
stemming from even pre-soviet days.
In response to this shift in political power, Russian
President Vladimir Putin started arming and funding Russian separatist groups
in an attempt to grab more direct influence in Ukraine.
Starting with the mostly unopposed annexation of Crimea,
Putin moved a fleet of warships to its port and banished every Ukrainian public
servant out of the area. In the
following months after the annexation, several factions emerged claiming
independence as well from the newly formed, west backed Ukrainian government. The
most predominant, militant, and most heavily Russian backed of these groups is
known as the DNR or Donetsk People’s Republic who took a brief hold of the
eastern cities of Donetsk and Lugansk and is fighting with the Ukrainian
military to this very day.
How does this affect you? A commercial plane has been shot down over the
conflict zone, economic sanctions and alliances have been created in a very
cold war fashion, and this sociopolitical game of checkers creates a powder-keg
divide between western nations and the rest of the world.
So get your friends to grow a unibrow to help raise
awareness to the plight of restoring peace, liberty and stability to the people
of the Ukraine.
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| ibtimes.co.uk |
5. #GolfingForGaza
Hands down the most complicated and ongoing conflict in the
entire world is the Israel-Palestinian war that seems to never end. Israel is
heavily technologically and militarily backed by the USA and as a result boasts
the world’s 34th largest military force - all in a country not even
close to as big as Vancouver Island. Makes sense when you consider every one of
its neighbours wants to see them wiped off the face of the earth. Palestinians are basically held captive and
helpless in the Palestinian ran areas to prevent them from arming themselves
and spurring a violent uprising. Therefore,
Palestinians can’t flee the conflict
because there’s no way out.
The problem is that Hamas, a terrorist organization, is the predominant
governing party in the region and will not budge in futile acts of violence
towards Israel. As a response, Israel’s army enters areas of the attack and
brutally cracks down, while killing civilians along the way. No one is right in
the conflict, but everyone thinks they are.
So challenge your friends to a game of golf to help raise
awareness of the ongoing brutal violence and hatred happening in the Gaza
region right now!
 |
| independent.co.uk |
The ALS ice bucket challenge shows regardless of where the
media chooses to focus its attention, we can all connect to gain an
understanding of the issues that go on around us.
I don’t mean for my #hashtags to come off as crass or
insensitive, or even to make light of the other issues; I just want to
illustrate that the connectivity is possible.
Maybe this ice bucket challenge is the wakeup we all need as
to “spreading awareness”. Once we beat this disease, imagine what else we can
do once we are all “aware”.
