Aran613 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Why is it that all problems have suddenly dropped in order to maintain peace within a tiny typically unheard of African country that most people had no idea that it existed prior to a week ago? Apparently people think this problem is larger than the worldwide energy crisis, the economic failure worldwide, a turbulent middle east that we depend on for our remaining amount of energy, and a bunch of political nonsense. Nobody shares anything for that cause at all, but why is this creating such a massive movement over a viral and rather unimportant (on the scale of the world level currently) video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) You wanna know what I think is the real reason? Because people are pathetic. I mean this in both its classical definition and its contemporary definition. People watch that one video that goes viral, and suddenly they're crusaders fighting for world peace and justice. It's their emotions that bring them to think this way. Other problems we have don't market themselves in this manner. This is what makes people pathetic; people don't actively inform themselves. But this also tells us some things: 1. People CAN care. 2. Marketing in a way that is easily understood, and informative, but not boring, almost certainly bring success. One must be persistent, though, as the first effort probably won't go viral. Just think if an organization felt this strongly for space exploration that had the talent and knowledge to market it in such a way that it gets people to care and to dream about tomorrow. We'd be at Mars by now. It's sad to come to terms with, but most people just aren't willing to be informed or take action or be original. So, people exploit those weaknesses and start to promote their own agenda. Of course, there's ethical problems involved with this type of promotional system, but quite honestly, I think that as long as the marketing is informative and truthful, I'm okay with the exploitation of those weaknesses. Edited March 8, 2012 by Phoenix Wright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawman Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 If Uganda is a tiny, typically unheard of country that most people have no idea exists, I'm a bit concerned for the state of the world right now. Also, I personally don't think that just because a country is small or typically unheard of doesn't mean its Human Rights problems should keep happening without anyone caring. On the matter of this Kony thing though, Invisible Children's info hasn't really been the most clear and up to date iirc, and I'm not sure Kony and the LRA are still actually even nearly as much of a threat as they were in the 1999 to 2004 time range. But trying to help people is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkhead Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 (edited) Because not all people are as insensitive as you. Edited March 10, 2012 by Soul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 There's oil in Uganda, that's why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapdragon Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Probably because everything about that video is meant to push emotional buttons and manipulate you. It's essentially propaganda, even if for a "good" cause. I'm all for spreading awareness but I probably wouldn't involve myself in the Kony2012 stuff directly, even if I had a soul, since, from what I've heard, Kony is small potatoes now and not as big of a problem as other stuff that's going on, even in that very location. Also I think they want to support Uganda's army, or something, and they don't exactly have a clean record themselves (and Kony might not even be in Uganda.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Probably because everything about that video is meant to push emotional buttons and manipulate you. It's essentially propaganda, even if for a "good" cause. I'm all for spreading awareness but I probably wouldn't involve myself in the Kony2012 stuff directly, even if I had a soul, since, from what I've heard, Kony is small potatoes now and not as big of a problem as other stuff that's going on, even in that very location. Also I think they want to support Uganda's army, or something, and they don't exactly have a clean record themselves (and Kony might not even be in Uganda.) He's absent in Uganda. He's active in Sudan and the Congo. However, IC's goal is not only to have him arrested, it's to also aid in the recovery. They don't support them...but they also don't reject them. The Ugandan military is their best bet for getting rid of Kony. It's hypocritical, and I think they should at least let the military know that they don't agree with their actions, and that they should stop. That's not going to get the IC organization anywhere, except give them more credibility. They also need to donate a much larger portion to the actual effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helios Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 As a few people have stated already, Kony is a small-fry now. I'm not saying what he has done in the past is right, but arresting him now would only heal some people's personal wounds, but not change the reality of Uganda. Taking out one person will not change the entire system. So why do we want to aid a system that creates these horrible outcomes? Then there's the theory that since Uganda has some nice resources in it, the US gov't wants a piece of it. However, the US can't invade Uganda and anger the citizens. So what do they do? They make a propaganda video to hit everyone's emotional buttons and have people start supporting US troops being stationed in Uganda. Sounds like the next Iraq war lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK-201 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 People need assurance that they're in line with morals. Even if they don't actually benefit the world in any way all they need is the feeling that they're accomplishing something by the posting of videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapdragon Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 He's absent in Uganda. He's active in Sudan and the Congo. However, IC's goal is not only to have him arrested, it's to also aid in the recovery. They don't support them...but they also don't reject them. The Ugandan military is their best bet for getting rid of Kony. It's hypocritical, and I think they should at least let the military know that they don't agree with their actions, and that they should stop. That's not going to get the IC organization anywhere, except give them more credibility. They also need to donate a much larger portion to the actual effort. Ah, I'm glad to hear they also intend to help with rebuilding. I don't think the video really dwells on that at all. Actually I think that's one of my biggest problems with the video. It spent plenty of time demonizing Kony, but not so much telling me exactly what Kony2012 was planning to do to get rid of him or any information about what was actually going on. It kinda felt like they took a complicated issue and turned it into a good vs evil Disney villain scenario. Once Kony's gone everything would just magically fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkhead Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 I have been told not to trust the video maker's story because he isn't a "reliable" source. According to them, they think it's fake and that the video maker made this campaign for money. I feel a little confused now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 As a few people have stated already, Kony is a small-fry now. I'm not saying what he has done in the past is right, but arresting him now would only heal some people's personal wounds, but not change the reality of Uganda. Taking out one person will not change the entire system. So why do we want to aid a system that creates these horrible outcomes? Uganda is recovering. Then there's the theory that since Uganda has some nice resources in it, the US gov't wants a piece of it. However, the US can't invade Uganda and anger the citizens. So what do they do? They make a propaganda video to hit everyone's emotional buttons and have people start supporting US troops being stationed in Uganda. Sounds like the next Iraq war lol. No one supports this. Combat military aid is out of the question... Ah, I'm glad to hear they also intend to help with rebuilding. I don't think the video really dwells on that at all. Actually I think that's one of my biggest problems with the video. It spent plenty of time demonizing Kony, but not so much telling me exactly what Kony2012 was planning to do to get rid of him or any information about what was actually going on. It kinda felt like they took a complicated issue and turned it into a good vs evil Disney villain scenario. Once Kony's gone everything would just magically fall into place. Yeah, it sucks that the video was so sensationalist and uninformative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deranger Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 ...this also tells us some things: 1. People CAN care. ... I think this point has been sold short. Yes, theres a lot of shit surrounding the video and all, but the fact that people can care is a huge one. If people care enough, they can figure out the best way to help, or at least keep in mind that there are people less fortunate in the world that we should help. So I think the fact that it is possible to have a world where giving a shit about other people is both the norm and cool is hopeful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celice Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 (edited) Do the multitudes supporting this actually care for reasons they understand, however? What use is blind driving towards some end you're not even fully comprehensive of? If anything, it just points out how easy people can be led on by various propaganda, without little effort at all, so long as they are stimulated enough to do so. That's not hope. That's terrifying. Edited March 12, 2012 by Celice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandjackal Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I have been told not to trust the video maker's story because he isn't a "reliable" source. According to them, they think it's fake and that the video maker made this campaign for money. I feel a little confused now. Confused? I'll simplify the wording then: It could be a giant scam. Now I'm not sure of it myself, but some university or other did make a statement in that this campaign shouldn't even be trusted in the first place. Screw the reasoning for people donating if that turns out to be true. Generally speaking though, most charities based around helping out Africa tend to backfire, because of the channels used to bring that money into Africa's monetary system, namely it usually falls into the hands of the various African governments first, and from there more often than not it goes nowhere cause they just decide to keep it. So chances are that even if this campaign is legit, how would we know it would go to the people it's meant for rather than this Kony fellow himself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenrir Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Sorry if this is a little off topic since I haven't read most of the responses. This whole Kony campaign is gassed up. I have seen a quote of a man who lives in Uganda and said they need more help with food, medicine and overall poverty. Makes me sick to see people living in my hometown(And current town) of Houston rant about this shit when they're to blind to see that our own city is one of the biggest human trafficking spots in America. I have seen people's responses as almost, 'oh my the poor african kids who get kidnapped' in a condescending way. They don't understand the realness of this situation here, or really, even there.(Hate to beat the dead horse, but watching a 30min video doesn't make you any nicer or cooler than me) Basically, it's a way for a fake person to go do something that seems generous(Paying 20 bucks or posting a video) then going back to being a fake-ass motherfucker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) Do the multitudes supporting this actually care for reasons they understand, however? What use is blind driving towards some end you're not even fully comprehensive of? If anything, it just points out how easy people can be led on by various propaganda, without little effort at all, so long as they are stimulated enough to do so. That's not hope. That's terrifying. Whilst the picture painted by the video is not completely accurate, it does get some of the true issues across. But agreed. However, I would also say that most people can be very reasonable when the issue is not god or politics. You and I may sit down and regard a white power advocacy video as a detractor to progress for the human species (I'm assuming you would), but then again so would many, many others. People, I think, ultimately DO care--but any particular issue just never feels urgent or powerful unless people are talking about it often and in all settings. If IC is being operated by smart people, they'd use this as a stepping stone for people, and would make another more informative and logical video detailing the issues in Africa to get people to understand the more complex issues. Education always starts small. Confused? I'll simplify the wording then: It could be a giant scam. Now I'm not sure of it myself, but some university or other did make a statement in that this campaign shouldn't even be trusted in the first place. Screw the reasoning for people donating if that turns out to be true. Generally speaking though, most charities based around helping out Africa tend to backfire, because of the channels used to bring that money into Africa's monetary system, namely it usually falls into the hands of the various African governments first, and from there more often than not it goes nowhere cause they just decide to keep it. So chances are that even if this campaign is legit, how would we know it would go to the people it's meant for rather than this Kony fellow himself? They don't actually fund any governments, or so I have read. Unless you can claim otherwise? Sorry if this is a little off topic since I haven't read most of the responses. This whole Kony campaign is gassed up. I have seen a quote of a man who lives in Uganda and said they need more help with food, medicine and overall poverty. Makes me sick to see people living in my hometown(And current town) of Houston rant about this shit when they're to blind to see that our own city is one of the biggest human trafficking spots in America. I have seen people's responses as almost, 'oh my the poor african kids who get kidnapped' in a condescending way. They don't understand the realness of this situation here, or really, even there.(Hate to beat the dead horse, but watching a 30min video doesn't make you any nicer or cooler than me) Basically, it's a way for a fake person to go do something that seems generous(Paying 20 bucks or posting a video) then going back to being a fake-ass motherfucker. This is the huge problem with the video--they don't get into the fact that they also aid with the recovering aspect of the African nations they wish to protect. Edited March 13, 2012 by Phoenix Wright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erk Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 my feelings on the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandjackal Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 They don't actually fund any governments, or so I have read. Unless you can claim otherwise? You mean IC or any other charitable group towards helping Africa (mostly in trying to topple dictators, such as Kony)? Well no, they don't INTEND to, but some have been reported to fund the wrong side of the argument by accident since the money mre often than not goes through the government first. Not meaning to say IC specifically here, nor that it's purposeful. Just charities have been reported to derpishly forget about that detail when it comes to the delivery of funds to those said nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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