Kony 2012

[Life]

Come at me.

[Jubby]

Kinda true. A whole bunch of my friends posted it on FB yesterday... We had a presentation at our school about this like, two years ago and no-one gave a crap then :/

[Helios]

So true. I actually did a social experiment with this today. I posted a link to the Kony 2012 video and right before I posted a photo about the Syrian genocide. I got 1 like (my brother) on the Syrian one and 5 likes, a few shares, and a few comments on the Kony one. People don't really care about this stuff; it's all just hype. But both causes are something to fight for. No one deserves what they go through.

[chococoke]

visiblechildren.tumblr.com

[Life]

So true. I actually did a social experiment with this today. I posted a link to the Kony 2012 video and right before I posted a photo about the Syrian genocide. I got 1 like (my brother) on the Syrian one and 5 likes, a few shares, and a few comments on the Kony one. People don't really care about this stuff; it's all just hype. But both causes are something to fight for. No one deserves what they go through.

Without getting too deep into politics, I'm not complaining about the status quo in Syria. Keeps them from attacking me. It ain't great to see innocents get caught up in that shit but I'm pretty sure the alternative isn't the better choice for Israel's current "peace".

EDIT: And I'm so sick of seeing this Kony shit all over my Facebook. It's exactly like MJ dying. Everyone suddenly becomes the biggest lover of peace and whatnot. It's kinda disgusting.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Cocaine

[Death']

visiblechildren.tumblr.com

yeah I was wondering what the Kony 2012 thing was supposed to accomplish. This explains a lot. :/

[Dr.Sholes]

Dear internet, the Kony 2012 thing, while admirable, is cool to raise awareness and stuff, but stop. Posting over and over on Facebook DOES NOTHING. This is way over our head. The government obviously doesn't give a fuck, or at least they haven't cared for the last 25 years. The US needs another war like I need a hole in my head. The UN tries, but let's face it: this fucker has done shit and will continue. Also, this guy masquerades as a religious leader, or prophet of sorts, and obviously has some people with ridiculously low IQs believing him. Here's my take: We are useless. Also, any one trying to "tag", or in English, graffiti this everywhere is not helping anything. Graffiti = no-no.

The comments were... Bad... And about 30 people de-friended him. But IMO everything he's saying here is right and unless you're actually going to Uganda and helping or at the very least donating something(It should be more than a dollar which is what most of my friends who donated, donated) posting it on facebook isn't gonna do shit. Sorry to the people who feel socially guilty for only posting it and not actually helping but they're wrong.

[Helios]

Skweezy Jibbs makes a good point about the whole thing. Even IF you donate, do you know what you're donating too?

Last sentence pretty much summed it up.

[Defeatist Elitist]

I'd argue sharing it on Facebook does actually accomplish something, which is raising awareness of an existing issue. Yeah, it's true that most people never cared about it and are just doing it as a fad, but at least they're actually fucking thinking finally. Almost nobody in our society cares about anyone they don't feel they directly know, so when people care even a little about shit like this I think it's good.

[Life]

I'd argue sharing it on Facebook does actually accomplish something, which is raising awareness of an existing issue.

Uh... uh... What awareness? Kony has been a known problem in Uganda since '92 at the very latest (technically earlier than that) and suddenly (and randomly) on March 7, 2012, people are concerned about it? Are you fucking kidding me? Invisible Children has been making movies about Uganda since 2004.

...

Let me repeat myself. Kony 2012 is the 11th movie about the LRA since 2004 and is only considered now as something that everyone needs to support.

Bullshit has been called out.

[Death']

I'd argue sharing it on Facebook does actually accomplish something, which is raising awareness of an existing issue. Yeah, it's true that most people never cared about it and are just doing it as a fad, but at least they're actually fucking thinking finally. Almost nobody in our society cares about anyone they don't feel they directly know, so when people care even a little about shit like this I think it's good.

I guess the awareness thing could be considered an accomplishment.

idk though, I don't know much about it, but so far I don't really understand how it's supposed to actually help the situation in uganda.

[Dr.Sholes]

Ok, but what good does awareness do if no one is willing to get off their asses and help? All it does is make people feel like their good people by telling everyone else that they're against it.

[Balcerzak]

This is the first I've ever heard of this Kony 2012 thing. huh...

[Defeatist Elitist]

Uh... uh... What awareness? Kony has been a known problem in Uganda since '92 at the very latest (technically earlier than that) and suddenly (and randomly) on March 7, 2012, people are concerned about it? Are you fucking kidding me? Invisible Children has been making movies about Uganda since 2004.

...

Let me repeat myself. Kony 2012 is the 11th movie about the LRA since 2004 and is only considered now as something that everyone needs to support.

Bullshit has been called out.

You're missing my point. Organizations were aware of it. Governments were aware of it. Some people were aware of it.

The vast majority of people had no fucking clue though. Am I making sense? I'm not trying to say it shed light on a previously unknown issue, I'm saying that it is at least making a number of people aware of a longstanding issue.

I guess the awareness thing could be considered an accomplishment.

idk though, I don't know much about it, but so far I don't really understand how it's supposed to actually help the situation in uganda.

I guess the idea is that if enough people know about something and get upset about it governments are more likely to act (though the US has already been acting for a while).

My point is I'm just glad that people are at least pretending to give a shit about an actual issue, even if it is fairly superficial and incredibly late.

[Nestling]

This reminds me a lot of that video about hating religion bot loving Jesus.

Pretty much, everyone started having religious discussions and stuff on Facebook. Everyone and their mother proclaimed "I HATE RELIGION BUT LOVE GOD." A lot of these people, after posting this, ended up not caring after a bit, or returning to just having religion instead of a relationship with God like the video praised. I guess it's not similar, because less people were informed of this whole "WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT HATE RELIGION, BUT LOVE GOD" at the time, but still :<.

The campaign has been going on for a really long time though o-o. I remember watching videos about it during like, 7th grade (I'm a junior in high school, now). I guess this just shows the power that social networking sites can have, or something.

[Galenforcer]

Lately, it's climbing up to the spam level of "arrow to the knee," and I hated that line.

[Defeatist Elitist]

My biggest concern here is that when it inevitably does start to crash, that people who jumped on will ignore other totally legitimate shit, but I guess they probably would have ignored it anyway.

[Ϲharlie]

This is the first I've ever heard of this Kony 2012 thing. huh...

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

[CrashGordon94]

I first heard about it from a DA comment on the page of a guy who runs a website I check out sometimes.

[Dat Nick]

Who else has read this letter? It's a real eye-opener... there was a critism video but I dont know how much of this it addressed...

KONY 2012: Causing more harm than good.

Dear Jason Russell,

After being bombarded with your KONY 2012 crusade, I have no choice but to respond to your highly inaccurate, offensive, and harmful propaganda. I realized I had to respond in hopes of stopping you before you cause more violence and deaths to the Acholi people (Northern Ugandans), the very people you are claiming to protect.

Firstly, I would like to question your timing of this KONY 2012 crusade in Uganda when most of the violence from Joseph Kony and the LRA (The Lord’s Resistance Army) has subsided in Uganda in the past 5 years. The LRA has moved onto neighboring countries like the DRC and Sudan. Why are you not urging action in the countries he is currently in? Why are you worried about Kony all of a sudden when Ugandans are not at this present moment?

This grossly illogical timing and statements on your website such as “Click here to buy your KONY 2012 products” makes me believe that the timing has more to do with your commercial interests than humanitarian interests. With the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and the waning interest in Invisible Children, it seems to be perfect timing to start a crusade. I also must add at this point how much it personally disgusts me the way in which you have commercialized a conflict in which thousands of people have died.

Secondly, I would like to address the highly inaccurate content of your video. Your video did not leave the viewer any more knowledgeable about the conflict in Uganda, but only emotionally assaulted. I could not help but notice how conveniently one-sided the “explanation” in your video was. There was absolutely no mention of the role of the Ugandan government and military in the conflict. Let alone the role of the U.S. government and military. The only information given is “KONY MUST BE STOPPED.”

I would like to inform you that stopping Kony would not end the conflict. (It is correctly pronounced “Kohn” by the way). This conflict is deeply embedded in Uganda’s history that neither starts nor ends with Kony. Therefore, your solution to the problem is flawed. There is no way to know the solution, without full knowledge of the problem itself. We must act on knowledge, not emotions.

Joseph Kony formed the LRA in retaliation to the brutality of President Museveni (from the south) committing mass atrocities on the Acholi people (from the north) when President Museveni came to power in 1986. This follows a long history of Ugandan politics that can be traced back to pre-colonial times. The conflict must be contextualized within this history. (If you want to have this proper knowledge, I suggest you start by working with scholars, not celebrities). President Museveni is still in power and in his reign of 26 years he has arguably killed as many, if not more Acholi people, than Joseph Kony. Why is President Museveni not demonized, let alone mentioned? I would like to give you more credit than just ignorance. I have three guesses. One is that Invisible Children has close ties with the Ugandan government and military, which it has been accused of many times. Second, is that you are willing to fight Kony, but not the U.S. Government, which openly supports President Museveni. Third, is that Invisible Children feels the need to reduce the conflict to better commercialize it.

This brings me to my third issue, the highly offensive nature of your video. Firstly, it is offensive to your viewer. The scene with your “explanation” of the conflict to your toddler son suggests that the viewers have the mental capacity of a toddler and can only handle information given in such a reductionist manner. I would like to think American teenagers and young adults (which is clearly your target audience) are smarter than your toddler son. I would hope that we are able to realize that it is not a “Star Wars” game with aliens and robots in some far off galaxy as your son suggests, but a real world conflict with real world people in Uganda. This is a real life conflict with real life consequences.

Secondly, and more importantly, it is offensive to Ugandans. The very name “Invisible Children” is offensive. You claim you make the invisible, visible. The statements, “We have seen these kids.” and “No one knew about these kids.” are part of your slogan. You seem to be strongly hinting that you somehow have validated and found these kids and their struggles.

Whether you see them or not, they were always there. Your having seen the kids does not validate their existence in any shape or form or bring it any more significance. You say “no one” knew about the kids. What about the kids themselves? What about the families of the kids who were killed and abducted? Are they “no one?” Are they not human?

These children are not invisible, you are making them invisible by silencing, dehumanizing, marketing, and invalidating them.

Last year I went to Gulu, Uganda, where Invisible Children is based, and interviewed over 50 locals. Every single person questioned Invisible Children’s legitimacy and intention. Every single person. If anything, it seemed the people saw Invisible Children as a bigger threat than Joseph Kony at the time. Why is it the very people you are trying to “help” feel more offense than relief with your aid?

“They come here to make money and use us.”

“It makes us feel terrible to be presented as being so stupid and helpless.”

These are direct quotes. This was the sentiment of the majority of the people that I interviewed in varying degrees. I definitely didn’t see or hear these voices or opinions in your video. If you are to be “saving” the Acholi people, the very least you can be doing is holding yourself accountable to them and actually listening to what they have to say.

This offensive, inaccurate misconstruction of Ugandans and its conflict makes me wonder what and whom this is really about. It seems that you feel very good about yourself being a savior, a Luke Skywalker of sorts, and same with the girl in your video who passionately states, “This is what defines us”. Therefore, I can’t help but wonder if Invisible Children is more about defining the American do-gooders (and making them feel good), rather than the Ugandans; profiteering the American military and corporations (which Invisible Children is officially and legally) than the conflict.

Lastly, I would like to address the harmful nature of your propaganda. I believe your actions will actually bring back the fighting in Northern Uganda. You are not asking for peace, but violence. The fighting has stopped in the past 5 years and the Acholi are finally enjoying some peace. You will be inviting the LRA and the fighting back into Uganda and disturbing this peace. The last time Invisible Children got politically involved and began lobbying it actually caused more violence and deaths. I beg you not to do it again.

If you open your eyes and see the actions of the Ugandan government and the U.S. government, you will see why. Why is it that suddenly in October of 2011 when there has been relative peace in Uganda for 4 years, President Obama decided to send troops into Uganda? Why is it that the U.S. military is so involved with AFRICOM, which has been pervading African countries, including Uganda? Why is it that U.S. has been traced to creating the very weapons that has been used in the violence? The U.S. is entering Uganda and other countries in Africa not to stop violence, but to create a new battlefield.

In your video you urge that the first course of action is that the Ugandan military needs American military and weapons. You are giving weapons to the very people who were killing the Acholi people in the first place. You are helping to open the grounds for America to make Uganda into a battlefield in which it can profit and gain power. Please recognize this is all part of a bigger military movement, not a humanitarian movement. This will cause deaths, not save lives. This will be doing more harm, than good.

You end your video with saying, “I will stop at nothing”. If nothing else, will you not stop for the lives of the Acholi people? Haven’t enough Acholi people suffered in the violence between the LRA and the Ugandan government? Our alliance should not be with the U.S. government or the Ugandan military or the LRA, but the Acholi people. There is a Ugandan saying that goes, “The grass will always suffer when two elephants fight.” Isn’t it time we let the grass grow?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Amber Ha

The bolded part is what really gets to me... can anyone honestly say that they're doing this for all the right reasons after hearing that?

After reading that letter... the Invisible Children doesn't seem a whole lot better than Kony himself. Those who would do good only for the praise and not the deed itself... it concerns me, you know...?

[CrashGordon94]

You're right, that is an eye opener...

On a less serious note this whole thing has apparently become magnet for a particular kind of trolling. People on various sites have started posting this picture of Carl Weathers in his role from Predator talking about how awesome he is, people would then mistake him for Kony and get really outraged before the original poster reveals who it actually is.

[Junkhead]

We didn't, and it's because we didn't know.

Blame us because we're not everywhere at once.

[Raven]

I too have heard nothing on the matter until now. I think that the time and effort that's been put into this by all the people who are part of this organisation can be nothing but a good thing, and advertising the problem and the efforts being made couldn't possibly harm anyone. While I won't be getting involved myself, kudos to those who are trying.