My issue with the whole Kony 2012 thing going on right now.

[Something Amyss]

But why are people so up in arms about this?!

A tear-jerking video is a guaranteed support getter.

That and we love the feeling of doing stuff and hate the feeling of working towards it. Retweeting about some sob story makes us feel like we've done something without that actual work.

Real changes in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia would come at the expense of our lifestyle, and We can't have that.

 

[Patathatapon]

My opinion is best expressed through questions:

Do we need to be aware about it? Yes I think we should.

Do we need to make videos about it? uh, sure I guess...

Do we need to spam "KONY 2012 OMFG BLBLBLBLBLBL" on every YouTube comment area, Facebook, twitter, and any other social media site (especially if its unrelated to the discussion/video)? NO! Honestly, on YouTube, I report as spam the "KONY 2012"(if unrelated to the video) comments.

Should we be losing friends over it? Hell no! If i threw away my friends because they had a different opinion, Id be the loneliest person ever!

EDIT: Quite a few people don't even know where Uganda is on the map (and saying its "in Africa" doesn't count, and don't say "You're wrong because I know where it is), because I didn't say EVERYONE).

 

[Gamer_152]

I've seen people smugly put down those supporting the Kony effort, but nothing worse than that. I really don't think this thing is facilitating people hating each other. If there is a problem here I think it's less to do with the Kony cause itself and more to do with the much larger problem of emotional hysteria, people not thinking realistically, and people not doing their research on the causes they support.

 

[ianeddy44]

I was kind of into it at first, after I watched the video. Then the next morning, I read a few articles about it to get to know it better, and I've decided not to take part in anything. I might do the posters if somebody makes/buys any, but that's because I love hooliganism late at night on the campus.

A few points to consider: The Invisible Children don't claim to be an aid organization, apparently. They've said that their whole mission is to make people aware and to start a "movement," which they have. The fact that 65% or whatever goes to their film making is quite justified. It also goes to transportation costs, which are costly of course. Flying hundreds of people around for filming and for awareness tours or whatever they do is expensive.

Now, I try to be an activist without doing it for moral fame. I feel like most of the "omgggg stop Kony 2012! He's so bad!" posting on Facebook is completely false. Just about all of those people are totally misinformed. I was for a few hours until I woke up the next morning and did some research. Now, I'm not going to take part in the sensationalism surrounding the issue. I'd love to see good things happen regarding the issue, but encouraging people to misguidedly dump money into things is not something I'll participate in.

On another hand, I'll agree that this guy has done some very, very nasty stuff and that he deserves to be reprimanded for what he's done. What we should do, is along with petitioning government people, we should petition Invisible Children to donate more money to the cause, since.. You know.. Their film has spread like a fire during a drought.

 

[Terminal Blue]

I understand that a lot of people are up in arms about how this is a serious problem and that it needs to be fixed asap.

It's really not though.

That starvation you made a post about is still torturing and killing more kids in Uganda than Joseph Kony did even when that video was made, and nowadays things have moved on.

What I find so fucking irritating about this is what it says about the role of human drama in people's reactions to their fellow human beings. Half a million children starve to death in horrible agony in a country and everyone takes no notice. Why, because there's no clear moral drama, it's an entrenched set of economic and social problems which are difficult to place easy blame on.

One militia tortures 60,000 children in the same country, and suddenly it's an immanent humanitarian crisis (despite the fact that the footage of it was shot 9 years ago and the person held responsible isn't though to be in the country right now) which everyone needs to pay attention to. Why, because there's a clear human drama, human agency created the crisis, and there are clear lines between "good" and "evil" (or at least, there appear to be, although in truth that's not really the case).

There's something a bit disgusting about that. It bothers me that in order to catch our interest something needs to be packaged with a clear moral and narrative structure like that.

 

[NightHawk21]

Here's the thing though. Do you see people posting messages on facebook like "Fuck the starving children in Africa" and ever getting a positive response? No. Its a similar situation. Kony is in the wrong. Whether or not you agree with IC is pretty much irrelevant, and is unnecessary to see that the man is pretty evil (I mean he forces children to kill their parents). If you don't support it that's fine, but you shouldn't stand in the way of people that are trying to make a positive change, IMO that makes you an asshole.

Agreed.

But don't forget that the overwhelming majority of people who keep putting up bloody Facebook statuses or posting links to that video aren't trying to make a positive change. They're doing it to basically say "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I CARE!!!" when in reality they didn't give a shit 24 hours prior.

Ya I know and its sad to see all the attention whoring going on, but if there is anything that comes from it I suppose is they might have someone who sees their status and genuinely does want to make a difference.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

Yeah, I've seen people arguing lots about Kony 2012 too.
Ironic, really; the video was supposedly meant to "spread peace," but instead has caused many passionate, angry arguments...