KONY 2012 [seriously important you guys check this out]. Now with more facts!

[Mayhemski]

For all you getting caught up in this you should read this

http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

It explains how silly this whole Invisible Children thing is. The article is not about playing down Kony's atrocities, it's about pointing out how naive people can be. The 9/11 analogy is a great way to get the article's point across.

The video that is being circulated is sensationalist garbage. It's the type of thing that can capture the hearts of the masses, but those who care to dig a little deeper will find that it is nothing more than that.

It's a persuasive piece of film but offers little substance.

Interesting read and very apt as a counter to the video in the OP. Nice charity drive for them though.

 

[RagTagBand]

snip

I had not considered that, good point as well.

 

[Westaway]

No, not seriously important. If you want to help go to Africa and build s school. This does nothinh. The CEO makes $75 000.00 after taxes, by the way.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Ugh, so much spam about this, all over the damn internets.

He's been doing this shit for decades, why start spamming and "caring" about it today?

Regardless of whether it's a worthy cause or not, this has got to be the worst argument against this campaign.

It shouldn't matter how long he's been getting away with it, the fact is thousands of deaths are on his hands... If thats not a reason to start caring then i don't know what is. The reason noone cared before was because noone knew about it, which is the whole point of this campaign.

However there are other reasons to dislike this campaign, given the reports that the chairity
behind it only actually use somehting like 25% of the money donated to help people.

 

[DeathByCoconut]

Wow, some of the posts on this thread really do surprise me.

People aren't posting this stuff on Facebook to look really "cool" and "hip". They are doing this to raise awareness. Awareness for something that, yes, has been happening for the last 20 years or so and also has had some media attention. But nothing on the scale that has been showcased in the last few days. Kony is No. 1 on the ICC world criminals list because his crimes have been deemed worse than many of the other African warlords out there. It's not that people have not cared before this film was made, it's because it wasn't brought to people's attention.

Yes, Obama has passed through that act about his capture, but that is not the point of the video. The point is to keep awareness high so that America does not withdraw it's advisers from there. America does not want to be in Uganda, it doesn't want to help. But the sharing the link of the video shows that the people do want intervention, and they do want justice. To the people who say "Oh, just another evil guy will take his place.", what do you propose we do? Sit at our desks all day and do absolutely nothing? Because sitting down and not doing anything sure got people far in their lives. There are many other atrocities being committed, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't care. The west is taking action by making this guy famous, the people are playing a huge role here in influencing key policy makers.

Really, you may think this is selfish and close minded but no, I don't care. I'm not in Uganda I'm way the hell over here in the US and refuse to give a shit about every little idiot who comes around throwing his dick in the air.

I'd rather worry about myself and things happening where I live than pretending to be some big politically motivated person. If Uganda doesn't like him, let them deal with him.

This is probably the most ignorant thing I have ever read.

 

[sockhead]

It's just going to end up as another household name like Bin Laden, who will be mentioned from time to time every now and then. People just cant go 1 year without having some international figure to direct all their hate to. Truth is looking at the production values and merchandise there's probably some high budget backing already, either political or a large company. I'm sure by the end of it they'll be very much richer.

 

[corysagataw]

Even if Kony is no longer in Uganda, even if Invisible Children seem a bit shady, even if no person reading this will do anything more than just share a video, I would volunteer to go and stop Kony. He is still a criminal. If it means I get to give him a bullet between the eyes or a fair, public trial, I would still want to do something.

Silly, maybe. Impractical, possibly. But if someone were to try that in my part of the world, I'd want to stop it. Why shouldn't I help stop it in someone else's part of the world? It may not be my fight, but I can still choose a side.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Even if Kony is no longer in Uganda, even if Invisible Children seem a bit shady, even if no person reading this will do anything more than just share a video, I would volunteer to go and stop Kony. He is still a criminal. If it means I get to give him a bullet between the eyes or a fair, public trial, I would still want to do something.

Silly, maybe. Impractical, possibly. But if someone were to try that in my part of the world, I'd want to stop it. Why shouldn't I help stop it in someone else's part of the world? It may not be my fight, but I can still choose a side.

I think my favourite quote so far is thus: "If you want to write to your Member of Parliament or your Senator or the President or the Prime Minister, by all means, go ahead. If you want to post about Joseph Kony?s crimes on Facebook, go ahead. But let?s keep it about Joseph Kony, not KONY 2012."

Anyone who speaks ill of you for wanting to bring a stop to Joseph Kony is an idiot. Anyone who speaks ill of you for wanting to bring a stop to Kony by putting a bumper sticker on your car or updating your tumblr hourly about it is but a sane human being.

 

[Qitz]

-Snip-

No, it's because it's the next Big Problem that people can seem great by giving two shits about. Remember the whole "Starving Children in Africa?" or "Save the Rainforest?" The list goes on. People stopped giving a shit because something new comes out. Celebrity Activism at it's finest. People will only care about something till the next big deal comes out.

So you'll have to forgive me for not caring about the new Bad Man To Hate This Week.

 

[corysagataw]

There isn't anything you can do. The authorities are already working on it. You'd just get in the way. The best thing you can do is focus on helping your own neighbors and not spazzing out about people half a world away that you're powerless to help.

I am very sorry you feel that way, and you are entitled to your opinion. As such, I am entitled to mine as well. As I see Africa as my neighbors, along with every other continent, I still feel like I should help in some form or another. Even if it means starting a flame war with you, I am still publicizing his name.

 

[Loiterer]

If I cannot drive to their home they are not my neighbor, and that's in the broadest sense of the term. Normally, if you're more than an hour away, you're not my neighbor.

The word 'neighbor' is pretty well established as having a broader meaning than that, man. 'Love thy neighbor' and all that, y'know?

I'm not going to participate in a flame war with a naive soul who thinks spamming videos with his name and donating to a charity that's confirmed to be more corrupt than the US Government, RIAA, Mafia and Putin COMBINED is a good idea.

You're wasting your time, both in trying to flame me into wasting my time and money, and by supporting this 'charity'.

For one thing, that hyperbole is not helpful (more corrupt than the US governmnent or Putin? Seriously?). For another, this sort of awareness raising exercise can indeed be helpful. Kony has been the ICC's most wanted man for years and most people still have no clue who he is. If that changes, it's definitely a good thing.

 

[Macgyvercas]

And? If he's captured, another will take his spot. And it will take another twenty years to catch that person because they'll hide themselves behind their child soldiers, hindering any effort to get him.

I feel the Rules of Engagement hinder operations more than they help. It's a sanitized version of war to save public face, but all it does is prevent people from doing their jobs. Thousands of child soldiers have been killed under this man, but if any NATO troop was seen killing a kid, it would be a PR disaster.

Even if the entire rebel army was annihilated, children and all, it would at least stop the problem for good, but still tarnish NATO countries' reputations.

Needs of the Many outweigh the needs of the few. But the Rules of Engagement prevent that from being an option.

Fuck the rules of engagement. I opperate under the rules that if you shoot at me, I don't care who you are, you're getting shot back at. End of story.

 

[Loiterer]

Being considered a neighbor still isn't a guarantee I'll give two shits about ya. I'm one of those people that doesn't care at all about anyone they don't directly know in some manner.

And I don't directly know anyone involved with the LRA from either side.

That's certainly one way of looking at it...

For one thing, that hyperbole is not helpful (more corrupt than the US governmnent or Putin? Seriously?).

I've read them, and was already aware of Invisible Children's dubious record. They're still not remotely comparable, in my view, but that's a personal assessment.

This, of course, assumes governments care about the thoughts of the average person.


News flash. Brace yourself, this one's gonna shatter your reality. They don't give two shits about what the public says or thinks. They only care what their shareholders think, what their lobby friends think. Those people aren't crying about one dime-a-dozen injustice in a war-torn shithole half a world away. The only things those people are crying about are how music piracy is going to cause the world to end this December and about what they're going to have to give up to buy their next Rolls Royce.


Honestly, I'm surprised Obama bothered committing anything at all towards dealing with LRA. A hundred troops and a law saying he's shoot-on-sight is more than anyone sensible would expect Washington to do about it, especially given how fucked up things are back home. Is it gonna do anything? Probably not. But it's still more than a sensible person would expect him to do.


Should the LRA be dealt with? Sure. They're a bunch of dicks. Bitching about it on Twitter is not going to do anything useful.

Do you dispute the assertion that media raising issues in the popular consciousness can ever result in positive government action?

 

[Zenode]

So.....most of you are supporting military action against Kony, which will inevitably get the child soldiers that you are trying to save...killed.....riiiiiight, he has been in hiding since 2006 and hasnt had much activity, why has this come about all of a sudden????

 

[WanderingFool]

This has gained a hell of a lot of traction over the course of today, has 120,000 notes on tumblr the last time I saw. Nice to see a person such as this get so much scorn over such a short amount of time.

Will the attention stick is my question. Will people forget about this within a week and have this just be a flare up of the internet only to be forgotten once the next big thing comes out?

Im curious about this as well. I find it hard to take a movement seriously when it just happens. I guess im kinda cynical to things like this. Guys been active since the 80s, will a bunch of people on facebook and twitter really do anything to change that?