Forums → WEPR → KONY 2012

It is also rather depressing to see people suddenly jumping around all morally outraged and flushed to hear about such an issue, without looking at the whole picture.

Is Invisible Children as an organization really that clean, that admirable, that courageous?

As a registered not-for-profit, its finances are public. Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services , with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production. So you know, your donations? Only a third will get to Uganda. And the response to such a criticism by Invisible Children supporters that the group has to travel to and fro to raise awareness? I call bull on that; so what if you tell more people that such a person exists? What can they do? Wouldn't the money be better spent on aid to Uganda?

Not to mention that the finances and transparency of the IC are rated rather low by various charity watchdogs.

The group is also in favour of direct military intervention, and their money supports the Ugandan government's army and various other military forces. These groups aren't exactly the brave liberators imagined by people; they too commit horrific abuses. Not to mention that they continue to ply aid to the Ugandan Army when Kony already left Ugandan soil in 2006, and hasn't since returned, which the IC admitted by themselves.

Not to also mention the fact that the IC manipulates and wildly inflates the threat of the LRA, as verified by the American Foreign Affairs Department. Kony is certainly evil, but exaggeration and manipulation to capture the public eye is unproductive, unprofessional and dishonest.

Moving along, the IC seems to be forgetting that the much more reliable American army has been stationed in Uganda for years under the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). In late 2008, AFRICOM was even involved in a military push to take out the LRA once and for all, Operation Lightning Thunder. It failed because Kony evacuated before hand, and because of Uganda's military inadequacies. So clearly, the problem ISN'T AWARENESS, the problem lies in the depth and sufficiency of the actions taken.

America has already stepped up commitments in Uganda, we don't need an NGO, one that isn't transparent, exaggerates and lies, and supplies and funds yet more groups who commit such atrocities themselves when we should leave it to the professionals.


And the last point? The LRA is estimated to only have 250 members left; clearly the IC is making a mountain out of a molehill. Wake up, and stop all this rather repelling and sudden spate of moral outrage; this false optimism that by clicking a like on FB actually does something other than fund an organization that is best left off the front line and better spent just pressuring and lobbying the government for a stronger approach. After all, can most of us honestly say to our conscience that we will remember this as a major event and not just a passing one a month from now?

I fully support the action of bringing Joseph Kony's wrong doings to light and I hope that he gets caught and trialled one day, along with the majority of others on the list. However, I don't like how awareness of Kony is being raised via the Invisible Children organisation. What they stand for is moral, but their plans and tactics are actually much less immoral than they make out.

In a way I'm just going to regurgitate the above tl;dr post..
I very much like the idea that the guy in the video wants to start a world movement where the people have more of a voice, because that can only be a good thing. Tell me I'm wrong but I've always thought that if a majority of people are asking for something to be done for the good of humanity, then usually what their asking really will benefit humanity? Millions upon millions of people can't be wrong.
I don't like how the guy seems to be turning the situation into a war against Kony. Kony should be brought to justice and he deserves to be hunted down and trialled. But there must be a more peaceful way to do this? The guy wants to get the Ugandan military involved, which means a bunch of gun-wielding Ugandans running amongst innocent Ugandans (namely the recruited kid-soldiers of the LRA), and we all know this means that at least a few of these people are going to be in the firing line. Besides, once they fine Kony, who are Kony's bodyguards? The young men he recruited, the young me who are going to be needlessly slain to capture Kony.
My ideal situation would be to have the LRA infiltrated and have all the innocent kid-soldiers told that if they all refuse Kony's orders at once and all turn on him instead, they'll bring him to justice and will be free. Sadly this is real life and that is never going to happen.

I highly doubt this will end well if the sketchy Invisible Children organisation remain involved. I mean the guy in the vid pushes for peace yet there's a picture of him and colleagues posting with the Ugandan soldiers, holding weapons, with silly looks on their faces!?

I swear this guy is all about the money.

The only good thing he has going for him is his ADORABLE son :3

Oh one last point, Kony is sick. I mean really sick, apparently his illnesses have stopped him in his tracks anyway.

And the last point? The LRA is estimated to only have 250 members left; clearly the IC is making a mountain out of a molehill. Wake up, and stop all this rather repelling and sudden spate of moral outrage; this false optimism that by clicking a like on FB actually does something other than fund an organization that is best left off the front line and better spent just pressuring and lobbying the government for a stronger approach. After all, can most of us honestly say to our conscience that we will remember this as a major event and not just a passing one a month from now?

So, basically, talk about it, but don't give them money. Kony still needs to be found, but we can help by supporting the efforts of our government, rather than giving to an organization that may be corrupt. That's my opinion.

Kony already left Ugandan soil in 2006, and hasn't since returned, which the IC admitted by themselves.

The Ugandan governmentâs army, the UPDF, is more organized and better equipped than that of any of the other affected countries (DRC, South Sudan, CAR) to track down Joseph Kony. Part of the US strategy to stop Kony is to encourage cooperation between the governments and armies of the 4 LRA-affected countries. The LRA was active in Uganda for nearly 20 years, displacing 1.7 million people and abducting at least 30,000 children. The people and government of Uganda have a vested interested in seeing him stopped.

It is also rather depressing to see people suddenly jumping around all morally outraged and flushed to hear about such an issue, without looking at the whole picture.

I don't know about your friends, but mine appear to be smart enough to figure this out for themselves. After every link to the Kony video, they talk about how you should pressure the U.S. government, not donate not IC. Here a post that seems to represent the trend:

250 people is still a lot of people. Kony, even if he isn't as powerful as he once was, still should be brought to justice.

In this case, the Kony video seems to be rather effective are putting pressure on the U.S. government.

The "there are worse problems in the world" argument is baloney. There will always be a problem worse than the one people are talking about. So, what, we shouldn't try to fix anything ever?

How is becoming more aware of the world a bad thing?

So what is your solution? Shouldn't we be trying to limit the American Military's involvement in foreign affairs?

It is also rather depressing to see someone so cynical that they think they are the only person capable of seeing the whole picture.

Ugandan military which has proven itself useless for thirty years?

Isn't it called infamous?

Right. So what if more people do?

I'm rather amused by the fact that, a month ago, almost all the people I know who are all Kony Twenty Twelvers didn't even know about the LRA.

Besides, in six months, everyone will have forgotten about him. Thats just the way the world works.

That's the whole point. What you lived 1941 and you had never heard of Hitler?

Also, there's probably thousands of these private "armies" all over the world. Sure, this may be one of the few with children being the main "soldiers", but it will make no significant difference in the world if we stop this 1 "army".

Never used that argument. Don't know where you think I did.

Also, there's probably thousands of these private "armies" all over the world. Sure, this may be one of the few with children being the main "soldiers", but it will make no significant difference in the world if we stop this 1 "army".

Not everyone actually is smart enough to. Seeing days of joyful hashtags doing nothing is quite enough.

Actually it doesn't. Whichever friend you got that quote from, is merely now being aware of it, and being an armchair critic. Is that exerting pressure? No.

It isn't. But it isn't the ''good'' thing that people make it out to be, because raising awareness amongst the majority of people does jack squat when the military and relevant authorities are already doing what they can about it all.

It's not exerting pressure because all he did is issue an opinion. Posting something on FB isn't exerting pressure.

I'm an armchair critic as well! Isn't that obvious? and so what if I am? Doesn't do anything about him not being one.

I didn't say awarness was good or bad, it's just a thing. I do think hat what he IC is doing is going to be ineffective apart from awareness; but the hype that people I hear from and see, I feel is over inflated selfindulging conscience cuddling.

My humanities class were watching the video and we were discussing a few things about him. One thing for sure is that hes a terrible man indeed, but what I dont get is how he wasnt famous for doing those things from the past 10 years. I mean, if somebody commits a crime, shouldnt it be seen to straight away? Or has people been hiding it from us since then?

sorry to say this, but nothing in that video really stirred any of my emotions. does that make me a bad person? I sure hope not.

in reality, it didn't stir my emotions because of the fact that I recognize rhetoric when I see it, especially rhetoric TAILOR MADE to stir your emotions (pathos rhetoric is its proper name).

yeah sure, if I was a little less intelligent, I would've eaten it up like a starving animal, but the fact is, I saw so much pathos in there that I wanted to cry that people were actually eating this up. I saw the real reason why the video was posted, and it was to get money, simple as that.

call me a cynic, but I'm rather confident that kony is only in the back of his mind, while gaining money (not funding, money.) is his #1 priority. it was especially obvious in the middle when he suddenly became a salesperson selling the action kit for an ignorant teenager, with no real understanding of money's value, to buy it like the world would end if he didn't.

like nicho said, we will probably forget about this in a few months, but I won't forget how foolish the people who bought these things will look when they realize that they were jipped.

-Blade

That's the whole point. What you lived 1941 and you had never heard of Hitler?

Also, that thing on 30 April will make sense.