So far, the ice bucket challenge – where people film themselves as they dump buckets of ice water over themselves, all to help raise money and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and a cure for same – has raised millions upon millions of dollars. Which is a good thing.
Sadly, the challenge has also been used – in at least one instance – to bully and humiliate an autistic teen.
Background.
In Bay Village, Ohio, a 15-year-old autistic teenager was asked by his friends to participate in an ice bucket challenge. The boy agreed, and the stage was set. The standard setup – get the cameras rolling, nominate other people to do the challenge, and then have ice water poured on yourself.
Well… this wasn’t ice water that was dumped on this young man. Far from it. And I should mention, this video is extremely disturbing.
You know what his “friends” dumped on that kid? Urine. Feces. Cigarette butts. And they took the video of this event and uploaded it to Instagram.
That’s right. An autistic young man not only became the target of a cruel prank, but then the event is magnified because the bullies took that humiliating video and shared it with their friends and anybody who they thought would be proud of the kid getting dumped on with bodily fluids.
The boy’s mother and family – whose last names are being withheld – were horrified when they saw the video, but then decided that justice needed to be served. From WJW in Cleveland:
Sick. Just totally, utterly, sick.
You know who else thinks this is sick? Actor / game show host Drew Carey. He stepped up and offered a donation / reward of $10,000 to the Autism Speaks charity for information leading to the arrest of the bullies.
You know what? I hate this. I hate that there are still bullies and hurters who see teenagers with special needs and with autism spectrum disorders as easy targets. I hate that these victims are not only attacked, but that the attacks are filmed and shared all over social media.
And trust me, this isn’t just about defending young men and women who battle autism every day and still continue to lead productive lives. There are people every day who get hurt and bullied and shamed by people who think this kind of action is funny.
That poor kid thought he was helping out to raise awareness for ALS.
Instead, it’s raised awareness that there are terrible, horrible people in our world who have nothing better to do with their lives than to embarrass and shame others.
Pathetic.
Chuck The Writer 
Just think. Someday, these rodent’s will become adults and be able to have children of their own to pass their genes to. Isn’t that a pleasant thought.
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Thanks for bringing this to wider attention. Almost like a scene out of Carrie. They must know who did it.
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God Bless Drew Carey. $10,000 should loosen someone’s tongue.
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distressing; not entirely surprising, unfortunately.
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