It's funny what grabs our attention.
Will Gadd wrote:When we wrap a naked woman in a feather boa, all we’re really trying to do is assuage the viewer’s guilt about liking porn. It’s much the same with adventure...
...what we need is less guilt and more pure, for-the-hell-of-it adventure. It’s worth it on its own terms. No feather boa required.
I'm not a big fan of oversimplification when taking a political stand, but sticking with the statement above might have been better than taking several simplified and confusing stabs at multiple complex issues.
Will Gadd doesn't know who I am, but I don't know who he is either. He doesn't strike me as an expert on psychology or on the vast array of human perspectives and motivations. I've honestly never heard of him, but his conclusion sounds like a good concept for a Red Bull commercial, so I'll think of his name the next time I see one. Hopefully his mantra will serve him well.
BTW, funny to hear the story about the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure personal connection. I remember the controversy mentioned. I also remember seeing all kinds of ads for the walk on local tv last year. I suspect those events and various walk-a-thons are more life changing, a bigger adventure, and more fun to
some of the participants than many more challenging hikes/runs/rides I do, and they are raising money for a cause at the same time. Some would prefer what may seem like a bigger adventure, some would prefer to just donate money/time, some over-estimate donations while only donating for a tax write-off, and some do none of the above.
Personally, I do tend to check out how efficiently a charity uses its funds before donating/getting involved. The internet often makes it easy to do (lots of sites for checking/ratings).
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This all reminds me that I was thinking about charities the other day when my kids begged for the last of the Girl Scout candy we had purchased via their cousin who lives in the next town down the road (the cookies were gobbled up months ago). I rarely like/eat cookies and candy, especially cheaply made, mass produced stuff. I try to avoid having that kind of stuff in the house. Several of the cousin’s school fundraisers also revolved around selling junk food. Luckily the schools in our town stopped selling that stuff, but many of the teachers/club supervisors weren’t keen on changing the fundraisers at the time. Sometimes I used to just make a flat donation if I wanted to support an activity/sport/club rather than a junk food purchase. It may be hard to convince my wife to do the same in the case of what the cousin peddles for Girl Scouts and her school. Personally, I find that more frustrating for a variety of reasons than people who have attempted to solicit donations toward adventures without peddling overpriced junk food. Red Bull probably isn’t any better than the Girl Scout cookies, especially if thought doesn’t go into timing of consumption. That’s one of the horses I’ve been known to ride.