KONY 2012 (Uganda's Child Soldiers)

[Aviator Zero]

1. Apparently 30 minutes is such a short amount of time that they couldn't mention the fact that the LRA hasn't been active in Uganda since 2005.
2. Likewise, the LRA has shrunken considerably in the last couple years.
3. It also would have helped if they mentioned that the US Africa Command has been involved with the LRA for a while, and there had been an effort to eliminate the LRA in 2008 (which prompted the LRA to mobilize).
4. They purposefully omitted information to make Kony appear to be the ultimate threat to central Africa.
5. It also pretends that the LRA has been ignored by the US government, so they can credit themselves with any highly publicized effort.
6. It allows us to ignore many issues, including those unrelated to the LRA, that plague central Africa.

1. If you did watch the film and can remember something along the lines of the narrator mentioning Kony's move NW into South Sudan and the CAR, accompanied by a map that shows his red-colored territory shift from N Uganda to the aforementioned region, then maybe you'd remember that the film indeed does mention that.
2. That's like saying we shouldn't be concerned with genital mutilation just because it's declining on average. A problem's a problem no matter how much of a problem it is. KONY 2012 seeks to fix this problem.
3. So what if they want to help too? What, is it too much for them to be involved too? Also they've been at this for 9 years. Lastly, do you expect them to state the entire history of anti-LRA efforts, spanning 3 decades in 30 minutes?
4. That claim is groundless and undermines your whole argument.
5. They first state that the officials they went to all said that the USA would not be involved in a conflict that does not affect their security or interests. Later, they celebrate when President Obama approved 100 advisers to be sent to Uganda. They even showed footage of a few congressmen talking about how he must be stopped.
6. Totally incorrect. One: Raising awareness of the LRA does not detract from elsewhere attention. That's like saying supporting cancer research eclipses supporting AIDS research. Two: If anything, it reminds us of the how some places of the world are. It raises awareness of child soldiers, lack of education, lack of effective government, proliferation of weapons, and so on. It's like punching a bulge into cloth—the surrounding strands are also raised. Three: Society does not need any help to ignore the problems of the less fortunate, especially if they're in another country. We've gotten pretty good at not giving even a single damn.

 

[Garren]

Lastly, do you expect them to state the entire history of anti-LRA efforts, spanning 3 decades in 30 minutes?

That's actually one of the problems with this...many people are pretty much watching this video alone and immediately jumping onto the KONY 2012 bandwagon. It doesn't help how there is literally a scene where Russel has his cute, adorable boy tell us who the bad guy is.

I don't think people are criticizing the movement necessarily (even though, after reading about him, Jason Russel seems like an enormous narcissistic asshole who does good to feel good), but rather the fact that many of those posting the Youtube video like crazy don't take the time to read up on the issue, they didn't care about Uganda's numerous other problems before this, and ultimately it's pretty much a way to give America a new target post-Osama. There's also the issues I've seen raised where giving Kony notoriety isn't a positive thing and may cause him to go on the defensive...which, you know, won't be good for the child soldiers.

The whole campaign seems to rest on the notion that people knowing about a war criminal will instantly allow us to catch him, which is pretty bizarre considering there are plenty of equally villainous people in the public eye, who everyone knows about, that continue to oppress and commit human atrocities.

And as a counter to your last point, as people have stated, sometimes interfering in another countries' perceived problems isn't always the best course of action, especially when that country has a history of the west coming in and fucking things up.

On a less serious note, the first line description of the action kit on the official KONY 2012 website is "People will think you're an advocate of awesome". GUYS I'M PART OF SOMETHING BIG~

 

[Keldeo94]

This just feels like a scam. It plays on humans good nature to get you to try and donate money to a group that only got a 2 star rating for transparency and don't seem to say what they would spend the money on.

Invisble Children has received millions, 70% of which has gone on salaries. What do these people do exactly? Ok they've made this film to spread awareness, but what else? They didn't mention doing anything with the money raised, that was omitted, they just say that if we all know about him, somehow the government will act. However this is folly, as everyone knows the names Robert Mugabe, Mahmoud Ahmedinijad and President Assad, and yet governments haven't done anything about them.Ok they were vetoed on Syria, but haven't done anything regarding the other 2.

This to me just seems like a group who have found a noble cause and decided to exploit it for financial gain.

 

[DerMißingno]

This just feels like a scam. It plays on humans good nature to get you to try and donate money to a group that only got a 2 star rating for transparency and don't seem to say what they would spend the money on.

Invisble Children has received millions, 70% of which has gone on salaries. What do these people do exactly? Ok they've made this film to spread awareness, but what else? They didn't mention doing anything with the money raised, that was omitted, they just say that if we all know about him, somehow the government will act. However this is folly, as everyone knows the names Robert Mugabe, Mahmoud Ahmedinijad and President Assad, and yet governments haven't done anything about them.Ok they were vetoed on Syria, but haven't done anything regarding the other 2.

This to me just seems like a group who have found a noble cause and decided to exploit it for financial gain.

You kidding me? They give specific breakdowns of precisely where all their money goes right on their website.

 

[Shinobu]

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a scam, but they should consider where their donation is going. They used a media campaign to raise awareness and get donations. These donations would primarily be used to further bring awareness. But if they were already able to spend millions of dollars on a campaign to bring awareness, why is my money needed?

I spoke to a marketing director for a non-profit organization today who found the campaign interesting. She brought up how they have to make sure their fundraising efforts don't look too expensive, otherwise people will assume that their donations are going to fancy brochures (this actually creates a challenge for the graphic designer there). Sometimes making things look cheaper can make it more expensive. They also have to keep any videos short. They once released a six minute video and it didn't get many views. On the other hand, Kony 2012 has become successful without every trying to hide the amount of money being put into this (it's not too hard to figure out the budget for this film before even seeing their financial statements), and without trying to keep things brief.

 

[Oswin]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

 

[Keldeo94]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

Giving my money to an organization so they can mis spend it shows im less self absorbed, than if i used that money to actually bring about real change to someone else's life somewhere else?

 

[Oswin]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

Giving my money to an organization so they can mis spend it shows im less self absorbed, than if i used that money to actually bring about real change to someone else's life somewhere else?

No I meant about how everyone is gathering to cover the towns and do what they can to help others in need. It shows that people do actually give a damn about others, and not just a small percentage.

 

[Keldeo94]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

Giving my money to an organization so they can mis spend it shows im less self absorbed, than if i used that money to actually bring about real change to someone else's life somewhere else?

No I meant about how everyone is gathering to cover the towns and do what they can to help others in need. It shows that people do actually give a damn about others, and not just a small percentage.

See I disagree. I think providing homes for the homeless, food for the starving, heating for the cold, shows people give a damn more than just putting up some posters. There is already that US force mentioned in the video out there.

You dont show you care by one night of putting up posters, you show you care by doing charity work and making a real difference on a regular basis.

 

[DerMißingno]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

Giving my money to an organization so they can mis spend it shows im less self absorbed, than if i used that money to actually bring about real change to someone else's life somewhere else?

I think you'll find that a percentage of all charity organizations go to worker salaries. You may or may not understand this, but this is their job and they need to put food on the table just like your family does. That said, if you actually look at IC's financial breakdown, you'll find that far less than 70% of their donations go to worker salaries.

 

[Shinobu]

Even if it is a scam, it shows that humankind can band together to help others, and that we aren't totally self absorbed.

The campaign really shows that if you put together a campaign with a simplistic goal that people can detach themselves from, throw in a feel good factor, and package it in a way designed specifically to speak out to "middle Americans", it will be successful. Imagine if some one tried to make a viral campaign that talked about how cell phones affect turmoil in Central Africa. Now you have lost multiple elements of what made the Kony 2012 campaign successful.

 

[Headless Whoreman]

Personally, I'm thinking of covering up the "Rick Santorum 2012" sign by my school up with one of these.

 

[Badal]

I think KONY 2012 not only aims at bringing down someone as bad as Kony, but also is a huge push to showing how the new world, the 21st century, with all our technology and stuff, is still a world where change occurs, where people care. And thanks to our technology, people act. This is an important message to the whole world about the power of the internet. 76 million views, in a week. It is popular in pretty much every country.

If Kony is brought to justice, not only will the world be a better place, it will be a place where the true power and reach of a medium such as the Internet is shown to the world. The youth will be the biggest vector in this process.

 

[Garren]

Jason Russel got arrested for masturbating in public.

Invisible Children Co-Founder Detained: SDPD | NBC San Diego

Guy came across as a huge creep. Of course there's the irony in him getting arrested for this while Kony runs free, but it's still funny.

 

[DerMißingno]

Jason Russel got arrested for masturbating in public.

Invisible Children Co-Founder Detained: SDPD | NBC San Diego

Guy came across as a huge creep. Of course there's the irony in him getting arrested for this while Kony runs free, but it's still funny.

He wasn't arrested... It says so right there in that article. Multiple times, actually.

 

[Garren]

Detained, arrested, whatever. He was still masturbating in public which is the main point here.

 

[Our Wasted Years]

I hope this dies quickly. I don't understand why everyone is suddenly so fascinated by warlords killing children in Africa. This, and worse, has been happening in those third-world countries for a very long time now. Either people are really oblivious, or just really stupid.

 

[eat]

Jason Russel got arrested for masturbating in public.

Invisible Children Co-Founder Detained: SDPD | NBC San Diego

Guy came across as a huge creep. Of course there's the irony in him getting arrested for this while Kony runs free, but it's still funny.

What a wanker.

 

[Aviator Zero]

I hope this dies quickly. I don't understand why everyone is suddenly so fascinated by warlords killing children in Africa. This, and worse, has been happening in those third-world countries for a very long time now. Either people are really oblivious, or just really stupid.

So it's better to ignore it, right? Better to have somehow naturally known about such problems without hearing about it from somewhere and do nothing, than to hear about it now and try to do something positive? I like your attitude!
I first heard about Kony when news broke that Pres. Obama was sending 100 advisers to help the Ugandan military in their fight against the LRA. Obviously I decided to care about it just then, instead of when I'd never heard of it, like I should have.
I, like you, am sick and tired of all these stuuuuupid charities* and laaaaame efforts to fix the world's problems. Like with anything in life, the best solution is to simply ignore it and it will go away (from you having to hear it). Of course, some problems will eventually affect us, but these little scuffles and troubles in faraway lands populated by a different race are contained, controlled. Why make another's problem your problem? That sounds problematic. Everything works out in the end anyway. I mean yeah, the Armenian genocide killed 1-1.5 million people, andnearlyanentireculturewaswipedoffthefaceoftheplanetbytheOttomanswhosoughttonotonlydestroythewholeArmenianracebutalsotheirhistoricalmonumentsplacesofworshipandtraditionalrelics, but there are still Armenians around, no? So why get one's panties in a bunch trying to care?

*I do not support Invisible Children in particular.

 

[Adil]

Invisible Children Co-Founder was found masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and possibly under the influence of something.

[video=youtube;32PBZ870ymg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32PBZ870ymg&skipcontrinter=1[/video]