I dislike Christopher Reeves and Micheal J. Fox...

[BillyMadison]

For the record....

Celebs wouldn't give a penny to a charity before they come down with a disease, but once they get it they explain how important it is for everyone to donate an arm and leg for their disease.

[rexallllsc]

Sometimes people aren't fully conscious about certain issues until they're directly affected by them. That being said, I don't think they're forcing anyone to donate...simply getting the message out. If that's too much for you to handle, I would suggest locking yourself in a basement...life must be VEEEERY tough for you.

PS - How do you know that those two *didn't* give to charity? Do you have their tax receipts to prove it?

[BillyMadison]

I'm omniscient.

[SteelerFan448]

Most work that athletes/celebrities do doesn't get out there, maybe in the local area but not to the world. Plus, they aren't obligated to do something even though they have a disease or whatever else. Be happy they're trying to help.

[Blade]

To be honest, I never gave to money to Cancer research until my Grandfather died of it. With so many charities out there, it is unfortunate that you usually do not give money to a certain one until you know someone who is affected by it.

I am certainly not going to hold it against them if they did not donate a ton of money before getting the disease...

[BillyMadison]

Ow, and if you listen to anyone of their interviews, they aren't pushing "awareness" they are pushing for a cure, they state that their disease is the most important to find a cure for, mostly for their personal benefit.... that's the point I'm trying to make.

[rexallllsc]

Originally posted by BillyMadison
Ow, and if you listen to anyone of their interviews, they aren't pushing "awareness" they are pushing for a cure, they state that their disease is the most important to find a cure for, mostly for their personal benefit.... that's the point I'm trying to make.

Name one thing wrong with pushing for a cure.

[BillyMadison]

READ! I think it's wrong when celebs do not push for a cure when they don't have it.... but when they DO get it.... they encourage, almost to the point of putting pressure on people to find a cure, for their personal benefit.

[rexallllsc]

Originally posted by BillyMadison
READ! I think it's wrong when celebs do not push for a cure when they don't have it.... but when they DO get it.... they encourage, almost to the point of putting pressure on people to find a cure, for their personal benefit.

You're right. Christopher Reeve should've know he was going to break his neck. What a dumbass he is!

Like a poster above said...usually things don't matter to you until you're directly impacted by it.

[vtbub]

As someone who is disabled, and as a loved one of somebody who suffered for a long time from Parkinson's, the attention received from celeb sufferers adds needed research and monies to cure or slow down these life altering things done to your body.

I can't say much for Reeve, because his big stardom came when I was a little kid. Because he had nearly unlimited resources, he was able to receive treatment that might not have been tried. He has become a guinea pig with his own money. Will he be able to walk again? Probably not, but the research done on him will in time be helpful to those who suffer from old and new spinal cord injuries. Getting face time on Larry King and other shows demonstrates that disability can happen to anybody.

I know for a fact that Fox was heavily involved in Daniel's House in the Hanover, New Hampshire area. A place that dealt with mental retardation. The fact that he was struck so young, and the candor he has had dealing with it has been remarkable.

Reeve and Fox could have remained quiet like Rock Hudson was with AIDS, or Anette Funicello with MS and nobody would have said anything. They instead, have used their status in live to help others and to make others aware.

Personnally, the influx of money being spent on quadreplegic research doesn't do a thing for me. My disability won't get worse and it won't get better. However money raised to research Parkinson's might help prevent any one of us on this board from going through the tremors and shaking that my grandfather went through the last ten years of his life.

If something could be done to help with whatever you suffer from in life, you would push for it too. Hell, I am 31 years old and developed Type II diabetes from being really overweight from not being able to exercise because I really can't move very well. Would I like to see a cure, hell yeah. What have I done about it? I dropped 70 pounds and I'm the same weight I was in high school.

Being a quadreplegic or having Parkinson's does not discriminate. It doesn't care whether you are black or white, it doesn't care if you are rich or poor, it doesn't care if you are catholic or satanist, it doesn't care if you are gay or straight, it doesn't matter if you are young or old, and it doesn't matter if you are male or female. It just happens.

There is a tremendous push on the other side of the coin for these people to do MORE. Give more money and more time. I don't agree with that. If God, or Galt, forbid that this ever happens to you, the awareness and money raised on behalf of these two men reduces the suffering and anguish that you will go through. My word, I was in the mall the other day and a ten year old kid offered me a nickel, the night before, I passed a 100 question written public safety dispatcher test and a 25 WPM typing test.

Lets think a minute before giving celebs the finger before trumping their pet causes.

[kcchief19]

So I assume from your logic that you give all your money to charity. Since it's wrong not to donate money to charity for a disease you do not have, therefore if you don't give money to every disease you don't have you are just as guilty as the celebrities you dislike because they donate to diseases that do have. Unless you are going to whip out out the celebrity double standard card and say that just because they make a lot of money they should give to charity but you don't have to because you're an assistant grill chef at Burger King.

Michael J. Fox and Christopher Reeve are no different than most others who contracts a disease or suffers a severe injury. When it hits home is when you realize you have to do something. Based on your logic, it sounds like you would enjoy going down to the cancer ward and kicking some chemotherapy patients in the nuts.

It would also seem that someone omniscient such as yourself would be able to spell the names of people he was criticzing correctly, dumbass.

[Swaggs]

Excellent words vtbub!

[Fonzie]

Billy, you seem to be arguing that these afflicted individuals are doing something wrong by acting in their own interests. But don't we all act in our own interests the vast majority of the time? Wouldn't you do the same in their shoes? Wouldn't it be kind of silly not to?

And as for the "putting pressure on people" argument: I would argue that what Reeve and Fox are doing is much less invasive and manipulative than your run-of-the-mill advertising campaign promoting some "new and improved" product. If you're going to rail on someone for raising-awareness-for-personal-gain-via-manipulation-type behavior, you need to start with the most aggregious culprits, the advertising and marketing departments of corporate America. Not these poor guys.

edited for grammatical purity.

[CamEdwards]

If this is the only thing in your life that you can bitch about, let's trade places.

[vtbub]

Thanks.

[Dutch]

Most of "the better half" do put a lot of their money towards charities because of the tax breaks they receive.

I remember watching Larry King when he had Bill Gates and the former NY mayor, Mario Cuomo on for an interview.

The basic idea of the show was for Mario to bash Bill about donating money to charity.

Mario says paraphrased, 'Mr. Gates, you are the richest man on the planet, you could feed whole countries by yourself, why don't you do more for charity?'

To which Bill Gates replies calmly, "Excuse me, sir. I donated more money last year to charity than you have ever made or will make in your lifetime."

Sure we could all give more, but that was a comeback I wish I could have for the mayor of New York City. :)

[BillyMadison]

Bill is evil.

[SunDancer]

Hmmm..a cure over raising awarness? I personally rather have a cure. I love how everyone bashes Bill Gates. I give him credit for running with his idea and is worth all the money he has earned through his idea. The monopolistic ideas, well that's another view.

I am looking at launching a non-for-profit charity in dealing with cancer.

[vtbub]

You need to have awareness of something before you will have enough push to get a cure.

Look at what Magic Johnson did for HIV awareness. He obviously did some things in his life and marriage that were not kosher, but he did two very positive things by coming forward. First, HIV isn't JUST a gay men's disease, I don't think that hit home for Joe and Jane Sixpack before he announced it.

Second, and most important, he talked about the dangers of that lifestyle. Kids learned that it was preventable. He has saved lives by being honest about being slutty.

And, as an added bonus, he's still in good health almost twelve years after being diagnosed. He is proving that you can have a reasonable life after receiving that devastating news.

Remember, cancer wasn't even discussed thirty years ago, we have come a long way.

[Daimyo]

Kirby Puckett

[SunDancer]

Originally posted by vtbub
You need to have awareness of something before you will have enough push to get a cure.

Look at what Magic Johnson did for HIV awareness. He obviously did some things in his life and marriage that were not kosher, but he did two very positive things by coming forward. First, HIV isn't JUST a gay men's disease, I don't think that hit home for Joe and Jane Sixpack before he announced it.

Second, and most important, he talked about the dangers of that lifestyle. Kids learned that it was preventable. He has saved lives by being honest about being slutty.

And, as an added bonus, he's still in good health almost twelve years after being diagnosed. He is proving that you can have a reasonable life after receiving that devastating news.

Remember, cancer wasn't even discussed thirty years ago, we have come a long way.

True...I agree...But it seem he was against finding a cure.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by BillyMadison
I'm omniscient.

I believe the word you were looking for was "imbecilic"

[Subby]

Is this thread really happening?

[BillyMadison]

Draft Dodger... for someone who has 2000+ posts on a message board... I'd keep my mouth shut.

[Subby]

Originally posted by BillyMadison
Draft Dodger... for someone who has 2000+ posts on a message board... I'd keep my mouth shut. Does this mean you will shut the fuck up when you get to 2000 posts? If so...post away, cuntsly...

[FrogMan]

wow, Billy is making friends in here too...

FM

[cmp]

Does Billy hate everyone?

[BillyMadison]

No... I just like to act tough over the internet.

[Daimyo]

BillyMadison = HornsManiac.. or else he's very good at impressions.

[Vince]

I don't feel nearly so bad about demolishing your arguments over in the Hattrick forum now. Thanks for clearing my conscience.

PS - I second kcchief's thoughts. How is it fair to criticize celebrities when you yourself most likely don't donate to anything at all? Aren't you just as guilty?

[SunDancer]

Originally posted by Daimyo
BillyMadison = HornsManiac.. or else he's very good at impressions.

Nah, he's cocky, but not funny.

[damnMikeBrown]

Yet another insightfull BillyMadison thread. I really have to pay more attention to the name under "thread starter".

[sabotai]

"Hell, I am 31 years old and developed Type II diabetes from being really overweight from not being able to exercise because I really can't move very well. Would I like to see a cure, hell yeah. What have I done about it? I dropped 70 pounds and I'm the same weight I was in high school."

Kind of off topic, but I remember reading someing in Science News awhile ago about some "research breakthrough" for a cure for diabetes. But I can't remember if it was Type I or Type II. I'm leaning towards that it was Type I, but I'd have to look it up to be sure.

[vtbub]

Type I which is juvenile onset is the most critical to cure, your pancreas doesn't produce insulin. They are close to slowing the blindness associated with diabetes.

[TroyF]

vtbub,

Terrific post. Very well put.

He probably didn't deserve that good of a response, but I'm glad you posted it. :)

TroyF