All proceeds go to 'charity'

For a finale that tied up loose ends, I felt an immense dissatisfaction after the “Breaking Bad” credits rolled one last time.

This roiling fury, however, had nothing to do with what happened within the space of the episode.

I took issue with something lead actor Aaron Paul announced immediately afterward in an interview.

Fans had charitably raised $1.8 million as part of the finale’s contest, hoping to win prizes ranging from cast meet-and-greets to Haz-mat suits worn on the show.

The proceeds will be donated to the anti-bullying “Kind” campaign headed by Paul’s wife.

These funds will be used to fly this woman all over the world to speak out against “girl-on-girl crime” in schools as part of her organization’s effort to “bring awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects” of bullying among young girls.

Upon hearing this, I felt like Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler were about to show up and launch into a segment of “Really?!”

I’m not a monster.

I’m not grieving the financial loss of those who hoped to have an all-expense-paid excursion to cook with the cast of their favorite show.

I don’t think fans were duped.

This was a well-executed charity fundraiser, capitalizing on one of the most successful shows in television history.

But given that immense influence, “anti-bullying” is a superficial and unrealistic “charity” to have piled all of nearly $2 million into.

Particularly with Paul averaging $150,000 an episode — meaning he earned almost the same amount as the charity fund did in just half a season.

I feel like he could have contributed to his trophy wife’s pet project himself and put the fans’ money toward something more effective, or even relevant.

For a show about addiction and disease, wouldn’t it have made sense to donate to drug abuse prevention or cancer research?

I’m not undermining bullying as a serious concern. I don’t mean to demonize this issue in an age where suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans
ages 10 to 24.

Bullying is something schools should do more to proactively eradicate. But spending millions of dollars on plane rides for a woman to essentially give kids the equivalent of a Christian retreat Jesus high is ludicrous.

One speech one day out of the year is not going to resolve deep-seated social dynamics, especially if the focus of the campaign is only half the necessary audience.

If the monetary resources from this fundraiser were to truly create positive change to stop bullying, it should designate stronger guidance counselor programs or book donations or almost anything other than a “presentation” and “interactive activities” to merely “create a casual and conversational atmosphere” for girls to “feel comfortable about talking about their experiences.”

The Kind Campaign as it stands — a documentary and series of public apologies — is most likely not going to be as “life-changing” as the website advertises.

Maybe the originally projected amount of $750,000 could have been a justifiable donation to that cause. But not $2 million.

­— ashhendr@indiana.edu