Hasn't posed a serious threat to America maybe. He is a serious threat to many living in the Uganda/Sudan region.
Actually, it is 32 cents for every dollar to the cause. And that, by the standard of international aid organizations (who have themselves a reputation for extreme waste and corruption) is very, very low. The majority of the money Invisible Children, Inc receives goes towards promoting Invisible Children, Inc and film making. It is not a credible non profit organization, no matter how good the intentions may be. This whole KONY 2012 campaign seems like a bunch of crap to me.
Im not sure how seriously to take this....but if you're asking why all the fuss now, then it's obvious you didn't watch the video because it clearly explains it.
Yes, there is bad **** going on there. Am I gonna support an organization that gives 32 Cents on the DOLLAR? HELL NAW
"bad **** going on" wasn't the reason i was referring to.... FWIW, the support they're looking for isn't just monetary. If you wanted to help, you could, without giving money.
What's the reason? I don't have time to watch this video so please do inform... What are the other ways besides monetary? Me moving to Africa so I can abandon my way of life? Enlighten us...
You've posted in this thread 4 times beginning at 2:49. Sure, you might only be spending a couple minutes for each post, but it's not a long video, and you don't have to watch the full 30 minutes at once. Nor am I saying you can't still continue to have doubts after watching it, but at least watch it before commenting, right? I certainly don't know the whole story here. Doesn't sound like anybody does. But as noted, you don't have to contribute any money. Just participating in the recent social media blitz and yes, this thread, is part of the contribution they're looking for - which is getting the "word" out. You may also say this guy is effectively defeated already? Is it true? I don't know. It certainly SEEMS as if Obama contributed some help recently, and that the guy is recently/currently at or near the top of international "most wanted" lists. Even if the guy hadn't been active for years (which I'd find hard to believe), there is certainly a LOT of merit in capturing, prosecuting, punishing and making examples of these types of criminals and horrible human beings. The only credible argument that I can see being made for why this shouldn't get support would be that such support would somehow undermine a process that is going on in Uganda to bring about that positive change. Does our (America, non third-world country citizens) support somehow introduce a level of chaos into a peace process that is happening in Uganda right now? I don't know. If the charity itself is bilking money, don't donate, but if the cause is still legit it's still legit.
One reason this Kony movement is being criticized is because it seems to be pushing the assumption that if we were to just get rid of this Kony guy, the children in Africa would be saved. Focusing on one individual as the source of Central Africa's problems is terribly shortsighted. Kony will get arrested and thrown in jail, and everyone will celebrate and go on with their lives. Meanwhile, the real problems that plague Central Africa - an abundance of extremely valuable natural resources, terrible or nonexistent institutions, rampant corruption - go unchallenged. Also, the region is going to get all this money poured in by these Invisible Children donations, and once Kony gets captured, then what? I'll tell you what - that money is gonna go right away. We can't just capture one dude and call it a day. Central Africa needs multi-lateral, international support and attention, not just to rid itself of a bogeyman, but to develop the institutions necessary to prevent bogeymen from existing in the first place. There's a reason there are no Joseph Kony's in the United States. It's because we have institutions that don't allow it. Getting rid of Kony does nothing to prevent the next Kony from stepping up in his place, and in fact our myopic fixation on one individual makes it even MORE likely that another evil man will replace Kony, while the real, more boring / less sexy issues that plague Africa persist.
I agree with this, though don't think the push is entirely by the charity. i think it's just natural that once there's all this attention, if the guy is captured, the attention will go away. i'm not so sure I got out of the video that capture this guy and Africa will be great. What I got is that this guy is ****ing nuts, crazy and has committed some of the worst crimes in history, given the victims and nature of the crimes. Finding him can only be a good thing. Again, agreed. However, I would note that the solution (i.e. what Africa "needs") I have absolutely no clue on. I read an interesting piece a couple years back by a reputable person/paper that effectively argued they'd be much better off if all of the "help" stopped. Because while multi-lateral, international support and attention sounds wella nd good, in today's day and age, it effectively becomes lots of $$ going to who knows where, typically not good places...
Well said...that's what i was thinking as i watched the video. I can't imagine just capturing one guy solves it all. It's not like he's alone and holding the most powerful, or only, weapon in the world. Once he goes down, someone else will step up in his place. You continue to poke fun at it, without even knowing what it is....pretty ignorant on your part, regardless of how real or worthy this cause is... They're trying to go "all in" and get him captured now, this year, before the help, which Obama sent, goes away. They're creating this fuss to keep attention on it and keep raising awareness internationally, so that others may also act, not just the White House. So, if the point is to raise awareness by letting people know who he is, then you can also help by "making him famous", which is why people are trying to spread the word, put posters up, etc...
I think it would probably be cheaper and more effective to just put an open bounty on his head. It won't solve the ills of Africa, but it would get the b*stard out of the way.
If Kony is captured/killed won't his second in command just take over? I mean won't they have to dismantle the whole LRA leadership to change what is going on?
Although I applaud the efforts of awareness groups to target a problem and attempt to raise attention, maybe we as a society would be more successful if we took care of our own local problems first. There are enough cities with gang leaders/shady underworld dealings that kidnap kids right here in America and force them into prostitution rings. Let's clean up our own backyard where our $1 donation can be used much more than .30 to the dollar. I would be interested in an American organization helping clean up America. To be honest, the "Kony" problem is a worldwide problem, not just an African problem. There's middle eastern Konys, Asian Konys, Irish Konys -- point is that acting like Kony is the Osama of the world won't make that a true fact. This pic is funny but depicts the mass hysteria/hipster hype (caution its spoiled because its one of those long comic strip types): Spoiler
Wish something could be done to raise awareness about Assad in Syria and his massacres. They did a great job getting the word out. I wouldn't support them monetarily as there are other more reputable organizations that do work in Uganda.
Like I said. Oversimplification of a problem. Not to mention them siding with the Ugandan army would just replace the LRA with them. No political change whatsoever, the crimes against humanity will still happen... But all the "activists" can go home and pat themselves on the back and call themselves true humanitarians. The organization is severely mismanaged and misinformed.
Wow - there's a lot of criticism here. Several comments: 1. I have no idea where or how IC spends their money, but a large part of what they do - and how they've had an impact - is through creating awareness. So the fact that they spend a lot of money marketing and producing their movies is not surprisingly, nor is it necessarily an inefficient use of their funds. 2. IC may not be the most efficient organization and certainly can't - and isn't trying - to solve all the problems of Africa. But a handful of people who had no power have made a huge impact and changed policy in the United States. They deserve a huge amount of credit for that. They created a movement and brought awareness and information to a lot of people who didn't know about it, and they got a government to take real action in response to that. That's incredibly impressive by any measure. 3. This idea that capturing Joseph Kony would just result in someone just as bad replacing him is insane. Kony is not just any evil rebel leader - he's the worst of the worst. There are rebel leaders all over the globe doing all sorts of horrible things - but they aren't all Joseph Konys. Removing him doesn't mean someone just as bad will replace him. And if it's someone half as bad, that's potentially tens of thousands of lives that IC will have had a hand in saving. That does matter. People can't fix the whole world, but that doesn't mean they should do nothing at all. 4. Another factor to this is that people like Kony are able to do what they do because they have no fear of repercussions. If and when you capture these people and try them in front of the world, that serves as a deterrent to the next guy. We saw it in the Arab Spring. Once some dictators started toppled, others started making reforms to try to prevent the same to them. People generally are rational and adjust to reality - they do what they can get away with. You change the equation by making capture a possibility, and they'll change their behavior. There's no doubt, like most non-profits, IC has its faults, flaws, weaknesses, and critics. It was started by a bunch of random people who were trying to make a difference rather than experts in non-profit management. But there's also no doubt that they have had an impact and they have been able to change the lives of many thousands of people. For that alone, they get credit. I have no idea if this campaign will be effective or if its worthless, but they are at least trying - and they have a pretty impressive track record. And if what they do helps stop or slow Kony from doing what he does, they'll have changed the world in a hugely positive way. There's not a lot of people that can say that.
