Asshole Bashing Make-a-Wish

[nekosensei]

There was a real gem posted some time last night over on stupid_free.



Apparently, somebody thought it would be cute to bash Make-a-Wish and granting sick children last wishes in general.

...

I'm at a loss for words. Really? Geez. How callous can you be? How can someone be against making a sick kid's life a little brighter? I'm sorry, but kids don't have the life experiences that most adults do. If they have a last wish, if it's at all in your power, you give it to them.

So, because I'm feeling particularly bitchy about this, I headed on over to Make-a-Wish and made a $50 donation to my local chapter. doomsey and I have the money and we can afford it. I'm encouraging others to donate. Anybody else with me on this one?

Also, if you don't have the money, spread the word. In fact, spread the word anyway. Let's see if we can how much money we can raise for these guys.

Comments

[drl909.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't necessarily call it "bashing" Make-a-Wish, and she definitely doesn't say "Fuck Cancer Kids" as the stupid_free poster contended.

brennakimi's position is that the money would be better allocated towards finding a cure for lukemia than towards staging a fake wedding which, judging from the comments I've read, most people seem to find moreso "creepy" than "cute". And I'd say that's a perfectly valid opinion. She may not have expressed it as tactfully as a lot of people might have liked, but that doesn't make it less valid.

[misswitch.livejournal.com]

Dude! That is fucked up. Seriously.

[bkwrrm-tx.livejournal.com]

I'm not even able to go look at that, but thank you for your donation. Shay's wish was an amazing experience for all of us.

[malicat.livejournal.com]

Holy shit o_O That's so sick!!!

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

It's a "fake wedding." Honestly, it seems more like kids playing dress-up to me than anything else, and that's perfectly normal behavior for an eight year old. And it's what the little boy wanted. The kid died the very next day, and if a fake wedding was going to help put him at peace, I don't see what's wrong with it. That, and it didn't seem like it cost very much. It looks like they shelled out money for a small party at home, a dress for the girl, and a suit for the boy. That's really a drop in the bucket.

That, and I would argue that that "fake wedding" would have given his friend a sense of closure too provided it was her decision to participate and that the adults didn't force her into it. Instead of standing by and watching her friend die, she was able to do something for him that made his last days a little brighter. Really, that was very charitable of her, and she sounds like a true friend. One could argue that it may help her cope with her friend's death over the long run because it gave her some semblance of control over the situation.

It also sounds like fulfilling a wish through Make-a-Wish doesn't cost that much if airlines really do donate seats and theme parks waive the price of tickets to make it happen. Practically speaking, a cure for many childhood cancers is a long way off. What harm would spending a little money to give solace now to a kid who won't live long enough to see that cure do?

[sphix.livejournal.com]

Because, don't you know, every penny that someone spends on themselves and their family and NOT ON A CURE FOR TEH CANSORZ is a mortal sin and everyone who's ever been a little bit selfish when they bought themselves an iPod instead of donating that money to cure AIDS in Africa should be executed.

*rolls eyes*

There's being realistic, and there's being insane. The fact that this guy was convinced that because of the money we've donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation (instead of using it to PERSONALLY research a cure for cancer), we haven't cured all disease and created a perfect world leads me to believe that he's completely separated from reality. You can only do so much to help people in Rwanda, but you CAN do a lot to make sure a kid gets to have some fun before he or she dies.

[drl909.livejournal.com]

It's not that I think that the pro-"fake wedding" arguments are invalid either. I just don't see how not agreeing with the position makes anyone stupid or an asshole, or how holding the contrary opinion equates to "fuck cancer kids."

[jlindquist.livejournal.com]

It's one thing to say that matter-of-factly. It's another thing to say it with the double helping of contempt the way brennakimi does. The opinion is fine, the contempt is contemptible. What that says is, "We can't save you yet, but it's not worth it to do anything for your comfort". You read something like that, and you have to ask, "What, should he go sit in a corner and die quietly?" It isn't merely tactless. The tone adds dimension to the words. Yes, it's a bash.

Whether a pretend "wedding" is creepy or cute depends on the particular kids in question. The point of Make-A-Wish is someone gets a chance to do something they could otherwise do in the course of a normal life, except the clock won't run that long, no? So he gets to put on the clothes, gather the people, and say the words to someone he's close to, and have it mean something to him, to the degree that it does to an 8-year old. Bully for him.