Invisible Children and Kony 2012
 

Does anyone here remember the documentary "Invisible Children"? I remember watching it in my freshmen year of High School and being utterly appalled by the atrocities humanity allows to continue. Now a new campaign is forming, its time to stand up and spread the word.

KONY 2012 - YouTube

Once you watch, you can't forget, you must act.

I've heard of it, but haven't seen it yet. I'll watch the video tomorrow, but making a post now so I don't forget :P

Am I the only one who is suspicious about Invisible Children, the organisation behind Kony 2012? : DAE

Interesting.

Also, as I have seen recently,
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...58549628_n.jpg

Well then....seems I am an easily manipulated tool...hmm I think I may need to go home and rethink my life.


But in retrospect it could have been worse, I just spammed the video around, its not like I donated money or anything.

It's an interesting concept, a new way to use viral marketing (for something more than consumerism for once).

Best of luck to them.

See thirty minute video, become social activist.

None of these *******s even knew where Uganda was two days ago.

Kony was a monster, but from what I understand, some of the things the government/other powers there did were pretty monstrous too. Like they recruited child soldiers too. Also, I remember reading something about 600 people being gunned downed by some group, and in response to that, the LRA rose up. So no doubt the LRA has done horrible things, but there's more to it than that?

Isard, sometimes I feel that I should marry you.

And I assumed this is something that ToS would cream over.

http://i42.tinypic.com/25679xt.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/16m21ht.jpg

Condescending Wonka is best meme.

What's ironic is I really didn't do it from the "social activist" point...I did it to make other people do it so I can feel good....

Hurray Wonka.

It's not too common for millions of individuals from around the world to support a unified cause. So regardless of what that cause is, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. And if the effect - ending a monstrosity - is the same, what does it matter if the support is motivated by fashion or sincere interest?

No one gave a **** about it until the video. Cause now there's a chance for people to see you share the video and have people think you're a great person.

If people were so worried about problems in Africa, it takes 5 seconds to go on Google and find out what's going on there.

I agree. If it spreads the word beyond those who already were active about global politics (sadly a relatively small group), even if it must be dressed up as a "fad," that's a success in my book. It's a bit sad that this is what it takes to motivate people these days, but if it works it works.

Who knows, maybe it will make some people become true social activists? Even if this will pass over most people, or most people forget about it after it gets them a few points with their friends, maybe a few will become inspired to make a life of helping to stop global atrocities beyond Kony?

Or maybe I'm just giving people too much credit...

It's something that happened years ago.


Exactly. This is for the kind of person who finds a new cause every week and signs a petition, is all vocal about it for a couple of days, then moves on to something else and forgets the old idea.

http://pictube.ru/images/3YmZE.jpg

i read that close to 70% of donations go towards supporting the guy who's running the whole kony 2012 project. i don't see how buying a bracelet helps making this guy more famous, just send the video to people and that's it. maybe let the governments of the world do the rest?

Yes, nobody cared about it before they saw the video... but now its on the news. Now its a popular discussion topic. Now we're talking about it.

The purpose of the video campaign was to raise awareness of a problem. It did that. What does it matter if that objective was accomplished through fashionable facebook posts and trendy tee-shirt sales? If the outcome of this campaign is freeing child soldiers, then what does it matter if everyone in that campaign was a phony social activist? In the end, its all about the effect, not about how it was effected.

I should add that for the most part, I agree with you and HNM. These campaign are for those who... love fashionable campaigns. But, fashion or not, popular campaigns can sometimes add political awareness, even if it amounts to nothing. So, although I'm not a huge proponent of KONY (I actually know little about it), I wouldn't dismiss it just because its a fad.

*Raising public awareness is good - if it results in something meaningful and real (and not just numbers of people who "like" something)
* Viral marketing works, it feeds of the concept of internet memes and I feel that PR companies and lobbyists of all sorts are getting the hang of how to make such campaigns work successfully and exploit the trust people have in "the internet" as a true grassroots form of activism. See that "viral video" that was made by the EU that I posted yesterday for an example of something that mostly failed (but was a success in the target group by the way)
* Invisible children and Kony2012 seem to have a strong affiliation to christian missionary groups. As I understand it, they are collecting donations and use quite a bit of it to bring christianity and christian values to Uganda because they think that this will cause peace there. I will not give my money to any christian church...
* There is a RAP NEWS about this : RAP NEWS 12: Yes We KONY? - YouTube

Indeed, such fast postings on social networks (I include this forum for the moment for sakes of exemplification) for welfare causes and reasons appear being good... face-value: I did look it up, felt bad, did something to feel good again - and that's it, mainly: taking action to make me feel good - rather than the victims of atrocities, hunger, turbo capitalism rendering indigenous people homeless for building dams or needing their land to reap ores and oil from Mother Earth... you know the bad things happening, you know that there's communication means to make your voice heard...

That's the other face of the medal - web presence means a lot of news from different sources and the need arising from it is to scrutinize bits of news and create your own plan to help from it. Even more so, than just TV news are presenting their own truth, web news and blog postings are highly individual in their viewpoints - and that applies here, as well.

I say, that's a good thing - showing that we are a diverse community.. and also that we can voice our opinions, too...

I also say, however, be careful! Make up your own mind, before following and liking it - and don't just hang out in front of the computer... Even though a German celebrity blogger and tweet person just wrote today: "The only way out of this society's self-induced immaturity is nerdification" (Original German quote: "Aus unserer selbstverschuldeten Unmündigkeit kann uns nur Nerdigkeit retten. " - Sascha Lobo, tweeting his own article on Der Spiegel online...).

Oh, and yes, I wouldn't want to back up an initiative working on Christian mission, either, leaving the people alone with a fear-mongering religion (old-testament style...).

Wiggling bare toes, finding worthy initiatives and projects to back up on my own, thank you,

~*Txim Asawl*~

P.S.: The Piratenpartei in Germany just issued a tweet, needing 100,000 signers of a petition fighting ACTA... one good cause, isn't it...?
https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/ind...petition=22697

I find it ironic also that I saw so many on facebook precede the Kony video & other stuff with an advisory not to repost unless you really know about the issue and are 100% behind it :xD:

I dont know how christian and missionary these people are. I hope not as bad as these guys here:
Joshua Project - Unreached Peoples of the World

If any of you have the chance to do a DDOS attack or hack a site, it would be good work, I think. I have to puke even reading all the stuff...

Obligatory anonymous is not your personal army.

:xD:

Nice one... but sometimes, we can't hide behind or perhaps - when very brave - within armies... sometimes we have to take steps on our own two feet...

Just making it clear, Agents, that I'm not officially condoning to DDoS attacks. No one in here does!!!
;)

Hey, by now, those spooks and feds are reading along.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

That's even worse... scum like that who pose as charities to get funding, the 'Salvation Army' is a prime example :(

Terrorist.

"Yeah, but he said Jehova!" *pelt*
:P

I don't think you know what you're talking about...


Salvation Army volunteer here, confirming that they do in fact feed and clothe the needy.

I don't think you know what you're talking about...

Why You Shouldn't Donate to the Salvation Army Bell Ringers | The Bilerico Project

Salvation Army Complaints, Reviews - Religious Discrimination

The fact that they do help homeless people doesn't change the fact that it comes with strings attached and people they deem 'not worthy' often can not access anything.

Don't live in the bible belt.

Of course these missionaries DO help people. They do bring food into places and they build schools and spread clothing. And if the books in these schools then dont mention evolution that is a minor drawback, right? And of course next to the school there will be a church and it would be kind of rude to not go there on Sundays after all these people are doing, right? And then when you know about Jesus, you also think that it is a good idea to help others - with food and faith,... This whole charade is centuries old - People have always been bribed into converting to Christianity. Look at the European culture - the christian missionaries even accepted and incorporated local rituals and gods in the form of the christmas tree, the dates for christmas and easter, the easter symbolism of egg and rabbit instead of lamb, plenty of local saints that have "assignments" like being a "saint of safe travel". But without this adaptation plus bribery they would never have made most of Europe christian. Ok and then there is also the sword in more severe cases like the southern baltic states...

http://willyloman.files.wordpress.co...2012.jpg?w=468
XD

You know the saying about one bad apple fouling a whole bunch...? The parents of Sabine Kuegler were employed by a Christian mission, her father Klaus ("Klausu" among the Fayu, since all names there have to end on a vowel) being a linguist, studying the Fayu language and being the first person to do so in detail and her mother Doris, a fully-trained medical nurse... Sabine describes both as linguists and missionaries...

Even though they intruded into Fayu life, especially the Iyarike tribe, by showing Christian values (new-testament style) of love, forgiving and compassion and making them lose their original tribal custom of a vicious circle of blood feuds between tribal groups.

This is just one example, but a prime one, I think, to prove that there are indeed good people on a mission.

Just to cheer up, not all is lost. ;)

Sabine Kuegler | Facebook

Wiggling bare toes, beaming a smile at Aurora - just 'cause,

~*Txim Asawl*~

That could start an entirely new debate about whether or not it's ever morally just to intrude in the lives of people in other cultures because you think your culture's better.

Thats a tough one indeed, Moco. A term for that is "cultural relativism". Basically the choice is to leave other cultures alone even if they do things that we regard as horrible - or to intervene in favour of the value we hold dear. The problem of course is when to do what. If women are mistreated in some North African country because the present day culture tells men that they are the bosses and women are their slaves - it certainly feels like we should do something about it, give women the power to stand up, show them how it works in our culture. But of course the missionaries in the 18th century had the same idea when it came to almost the opposite - imposing their highly valued cultural morale on tribal people like "be fruitful and multiply" and some nonsense about subdueing the earth and all that. Christian missionaries are to a large part to blame for the overpopulation of Africa because of their intervention and by teaching the people that birth control is immoral. So it is hard to say - presently I think the values that I hold important are freedom, self-governance, equality, protection of minorities and peacefulness. But who knows - in 100 years people may find this idiotic.

How about this -- in the event of genocide, it's okay to intervene :P I'd say it's more about letting people do what they want as long as they aren't torturing or murdering each other.

Just in the event of genocide?

get ****ed, ******.

Needs to read: Bush-Tony 2012.

You quoted my second sentence, but apparently didn't read it.