Say No to Kony 2012

[rdubwiley]

I think the Kony 2012 movement is destructive, and inefficient at getting resources to Africa. What do you guys think?

[Schema Thing]

1. their stated goal, in that short film, is not to "get resources to Africa".

Their goal is to make the world aware of Joseph Kony so that the world's political will (and especially America's political will) will follow through in the effort capture or kill Kony.

It seems likely they will be successful. Whether it is the most efficient use of funds to do that I don't know, nor do I really care. He somehow managed to do the worst of his crimes without becoming a household name in the west.


I was turned off by the propaganda nature of their film (and later found out it is a christian group and was like "oh, so that's why it seemed so negatively familiar&quot but watched to the end and agree that what they are doing is important and good.

[Warpy]

2. "Getting resources to Africa" is not the direct aim

The direct aim is a one year campaign to make Joseph Kony's name infamous, a household name known by everyone, to shame governments into doing the right thing to relieve central Africa of this piece of shit.

I support them in that campaign. Only when Kony is as infamous as Pol Pot was will there be an international campaign to get rid of him and his business model of kidnapping children to use to support his power as a warlord.

Once his organization is no more, NGOs that specialize in getting resources to Africa will have a decent shot at having them do some good.

In the meantime, I contributed to this effort. I will also lend to the brave people who have businesses in this part of the world through Kiva. And when I kick off, everything I have will go to Doctors Without Borders, a presence there when no one else was.

[CJCRANE]

3. I'm glad the LRA is getting some attention.

I haven't watched the video and don't intend to...but if the publicity around the video makes more people aware of the situation then that can only be a good thing.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. I think it's a great way to get attention

Their response to the media bru-ha-ha and misinformation can be found here
http://www.invisiblechildren.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/critiques.html

[Loki]

5. On Monday I didn't know who Joseph Kony was.

Now I do and so do millions of others. I think it's far better to know than to let him continue to operate without the eyes of the world watching. We may not be able to change the past, but Joseph Kony's future will be a lot more dangerous and difficult.

[Robb]

6. Indeed. Six months ago, many DUers thought we wanted Uganda's oil.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5027080

The more sunlight on the LRA, the better IMO.

[Inspired]

7. How is it destructive? n/t

[rdubwiley]

8. Re: How is it destructive?

It's destructive in two ways:
1) it makes people engage in slacktivism instead of participating in projects that could help Africa. Because only 37% of expenses goes toward Central Africa, IC gets money because of these documentaries, which they use in turn to make more documentaries. I don't think this is IC's fault, but rather a societal problem that we like projects like IC because we can feel like we're helping people while we could be doing something more powerful

2) it paints a false view of Africa. Kony is a bad dude, but once we get Kony, Africa is still a disaster. The simplification in Kony 2012 could lead to a "mission accomplished" rationalization when there is still much work to do.

[MindMover]

9. Keep up these ridiculist messages....jealous of the attention and want some....well...here...

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6551305609/" title="asshole by pbmus, on Flickr"><img src="" width="475" height="357" alt="asshole"></a>

[rdubwiley]

10. What?

We're supposed to agree with Kony 2012 because?

[MindMover]

11. Agree or disagree?? Your input is still getting the message out there....so thank you....

The continent of Africa needs all the help it can get and calling attention to a child murderer in all ways possible without hurting more people is just alright with me......money spent on advertising or travel or whatever it is, is better than many other ways to spend our money......so why not read a wee bit more about Kony 2012 here and then get back to me with your observations....

http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html

[rdubwiley]

12. My main critique is in IC's finances

IC only spends 37% of its expenses toward Central Africa. Doctors Without Borders spends 82% of its expenses directly on medical services. If you want to support Africa, your dollar will go much further with Doctors Without Borders, and none of it will go to supporting misleading documentaries. That's pretty much the point of my video.

[rdubwiley]

13. I have read and researched the organization

I have read the criticisms. Once again, don't assume I'm anything until I prove otherwise. People who state IC supports Ugandan's military are wrong. In fact, IC doesn't support any military.

[MindMover]

14. If you read the link, yours and others percentages are wrong.....

Invisible Children's financial statements are online for everyone to see. Financial statements from the last 5 years, including our 990, are available at www.invisiblechildren.com/financials. The organization spent 80.46% on our programs that further our three-fold mission; 16.24% on administration and management costs; and 3.22% on direct fundraising in Fiscal Year 2011. Invisible Children is independently audited every year and in full compliance with our 501(c)3 nonprofit status.

because you failed that part of the test, I will ask what is their mission hint: it is threefold....

[rdubwiley]

15. Yes, but

37.4% went to central Africa. The 80% that they state includes the awareness tour, awareness merchandise, and the relief programs. We're talking about the same data.

[MindMover]

16. Had you heard of Kony a week ago? Please answer honestly......

[rdubwiley]

17. You're missing the point:

No, I didn't hear about Kony. I was somewhat familiar about the Ugandan genocide. However, how many people know that the Syrian government is killing civilians? How many people know about the human rights violations in North Korea?

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against IC spreading awareness about Kony. If IC produced documentaries that were much less misleading, I wouldn't have any problem that a majority of the expenses goes towards either making the films, or promoting the films.

We've seen this story before. Public opinion swayed by misleading information lead to Iraq, and I think it is a much more productive use of money to support Doctors Without Borders, as it helps children that are dying right at this moment, not recovering from a terrible atrocity that happened some time ago.

Opinions aren't black and white. The world is complex. Should we stop Kony? Absolutely. Should we allow a group that gets people to support stopping Kony by misleading them, and uses a majority of its expenses to continue doing so? I don't think so, but maybe you disagree.

[MindMover]

18. Misleading? OK, I will ask, what is misleading in KONY2012 ?

Last edited Sat Mar 10, 2012, 02:15 AM - Edit history (1)

Today's culture is about PRESENTATION and KONY2012 is about presenting a child murderer to the world.......what is misleading about their presentation of KONY...??

[rdubwiley]

19. I would read this:

I am not a Ugandan expert, but the location and severity of his actions have been misrepresented. Once again, the guy is a bad dude, and I hope he is sentenced as a war criminal.

In a grander sense though, the movement misses the central problem of Africa. One day, we will get Kony, and I'm afraid many people will high-five each other, and claim Africa is better, when in fact problems like poverty, civil war, corruption, and AIDS leads to environments that cause people like Kony to rise to power.

Also, this is an interesting article to read:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/uganda/9131469/Joseph-Kony-2012-growing-outrage-in-Uganda-over-film.html

[MindMover]

20. Interesting indeed.....according to your link and report, the point that Mr. Opolot is making is

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/uganda/9131469/Joseph-Kony-2012-growing-outrage-in-Uganda-over-film.html

"There has been outrage, as I already mentioned. The country is completely peaceful and what the Invisible Children is doing is to castigate or rather reflect Africa as a dark continent," says Ugandan government spokesman Fred Opolot.

Well the fact is, that the country is not completely peaceful, it is actually the opposite according to the CIA...

From CIA Factbook....https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ug.html

Uganda is subject to armed fighting among hostile ethnic groups, rebels, armed gangs, militias, and various government forces that extend across its borders; Uganda hosts 209,860 Sudanese, 27,560 Congolese, and 19,710 Rwandan refugees, while Ugandan refugees as well as members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) seek shelter in southern Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Garamba National Park; LRA forces have also attacked Kenyan villages across the border

They say conditions are not as bad in central Africa as they were when Jason Russell started shooting the documentary nine years ago.

and From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Uganda

Conflict in the northern parts of the country continues to generate reports of abuses by both the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan Army. A UN official accused the LRA in February 2009 of "appalling brutality" in the Democratic Republic of Congo.[60] The number of internally displaced persons is estimated at 1.4 million. Torture continues to be a widespread practice amongst security organisations. Attacks on political freedom in the country, including the arrest and beating of opposition Members of Parliament, have led to international criticism, culminating in May 2005 in a decision by the British government to withhold part of its aid to the country. The arrest of the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and the siege of the High Court during a hearing of Besigye's case by heavily armed security forces – before the February 2006 elections – led to condemnation.[61]

===============================================

I would say that Mr. Opolot has a lot to gain or lose from what he is saying inaccurately or falsely.....and you?

You can read more realistic news here about just how to capture Kony if you get in the mood someday....

http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/09/how-catch-joseph-kony

[rdubwiley]

21. I'm not saying Uganda is peaceful

The point is Uganda is improving, and we should be careful of thinking White Man's burden.

[MindMover]

22. This new catch phrase, White Man's Burden, is a load of shitzola....

we have a HUMAN BURDEN, we are all colors of the rainbow and we are all our brothers keeper.....and this BS catch phrase is really just that, Bullshit.....



<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/5583217875/" title="web-image-b1ed2e44f6fe76ed38895008ce2039ea by pbmus, on Flickr"><img src="" width="500" height="267" alt="web-image-b1ed2e44f6fe76ed38895008ce2039ea"></a>

[rdubwiley]

23. I'm done

The idea of white man's burden exited during the era of imperialism. Leaders felt imperialism was justified because the natives couldn't rule themselves. If you think this is just a new catchphrase, you're in denial.

[MindMover]

24. White Man's Burden is a poem written by Rudyard Kipling....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Man's_Burden

it is a new catch phrase for some of the 1% that decided that they were not going to spend anymore of there hard earned money on helping some heathens.......to get caught up in that imperialist trap again........like hunting a child murderer is imperialistic...????

there are differing interpretations of the poem which when written by Kipling the word Burden was included for the 1% of that day......

please do yourself and others a favor and keep this post up as long as you can.....and thank you very much....goodnight......

"It is just a song I made up, the words rhyme and have no meaning"....as said by John Lennon to a follower at his estate in England.....one very foggy day in May.....many years ago...

[rdubwiley]

26. Sigh...

"imperialists within the United States understood the phrase "white man's burden" as a characterisation for imperialism that justified the policy as a noble enterprise."

Because Africans are so disabled that they have no ability to fix problems with their own resources? We should aid Ugandans and other African peoples, not do things for them because we think it's best for them.

[MindMover]

32. Oh yea, I just bought my parachute and am buying my one way ticket to Uganda tomorrow....

jumping into the country with both feet and at the deep end.....Imperialism my ass..... This monster Kony has been murdering for 26 years and some charity organization shines a beacon on him and people are crying about takeover or misrepresentation or whatever.....I do know more now about this human hyena than I did yesterday and the world will soon know more tooo.....that is fantastic in my book....one less monster in our world is fine with me.....

[ProgressoDem]

33. +1

THANK YOU. "Human burden" basically sums up the bullcrap garbage I hear from my friends and associates who think they can be super-progressive by being hyper-deconstructionist. When you make a parallel between White Man's Burden (which was real in 1800s) and efforts to get rid of Kony today, you don't end up super-progressive but super-contrarian. No one likes that.

[MindMover]

34. Your friends and associates thankfully are not mine and who is super contrarian posting something...

that I didn't say.....the original poster was making parallels, pas moi, monsieur, read all the posts and get back to me......and I am contrary, and sometimes my friends do like that......

[EmeraldCityGrl]

25. This movement started with young American teenagers

passing it along via Facebook. Anything that stimulates the interest of teenagers regarding
the inhumanity existing in the world is worthy of my respect.

[HopeHoops]

27. I like the half-hour video, but I'm not sure it is a legitimate charity.

I'm torn on the issue. My youngest two daughters are hooked on it and I'm proud of them for being socially aware of such issues, but I don't know enough about the organization. Just because he had his son in the video doesn't make it legitimate. Thoughts?

[MindMover]

28. Legitimate...http://www.invisiblechildren.com/financials

le·git·i·mate? ?[adj., n. li-jit-uh-mit; v. li-jit-uh-meyt] Show IPA adjective, verb, -mat·ed, -mat·ing, noun
adjective
1.
according to law; lawful: the property's legitimate owner.
2.
in accordance with established rules, principles, or standards.
3.
born in wedlock or of legally married parents: legitimate children.
4.
in accordance with the laws of reasoning; logically inferable; logical: a legitimate conclusion.
5.
resting on or ruling by the principle of hereditary right: a legitimate sovereign.

[1monster]

29. These guys are doing far more than anyone else has done or is doing.

I didn't know of Kony before seeing the documentary. Now I do.

They are doing precisely what they said they were doing. And giving 34 percent of what they collect to helping the Invisible Children. Ask them if they are unhappy to be receiving that help.

Or in other words, if you are not happy with the way this group is doing things, offer an alternative. If there isn't one, create one. Then criticize.

[bitchkitty]

30. What kind of person starts a b.s. thread like this?

Are you proud of yourself?

[RebelOne]

31. CNN just now did a segment on Kony 2012.

And there was nothing negative in the coverage.