KONY 2012

[D3ads]

I had briefly read up on the LRA sometime ago last year, so I have a kind of understanding of this, unfortunately as the video points out most people don't, so I'm posting this for everyone to see;

Joseph Rao Kony (born 1961 in Odek, Uganda) is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government based on the Ten Commandments throughout Uganda. The LRA say that God has sent spirits to communicate this mission directly to Kony.

Directed by Kony, the LRA has earned a reputation for its actions against the people of several countries, including northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. It has abducted and forced an estimated 66,000 children to fight for them, and has also forced the internal displacement of over 2,000,000 people since its rebellion began in 1986. As a result, in 2005 Kony was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court at the Hague, but has succeeded in evading capture since.

Further reading;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army

Let's stop having fits over Iran not having any nuclear weapons and put our full attention to catching this evil man once and for all!

[Skjalg]

A little more digging makes this whole KONY thing look like a scam.

http://www.reddit.com/r/DAE/comments/ql ... ous_about/

http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/ql ... s_a_fraud/

Of the $8.9 million they spent in 2011, this is the breakdown:

• [*:u1cexr38]$1.7 million in US employee salaries
  [*:u1cexr38]$357,000 in Film costs
  [*:u1cexr38]$850,000 in Production costs
  [*:u1cexr38]$685,000 in Computer equipement
  [*:u1cexr38]$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)
  [*:u1cexr38]$1.07 million in travel expenses
  [*:u1cexr38]$400,000 in office rent in San Diego
  [*:u1cexr38]$16,000 in Entertainment etc...

Only 2.8 million (31%) made it to their charity program (which is further whittled down by local Ugandan government officials) - what do the children actually get?

[D3ads]

The campaign is to raise awareness of Kony in order to help capture and arrest him. It is not to actually provide lots of money to the children who have been victims. That's a seperate effort and there's a link in the video telling you how to donate if you want to. I think you've seen my political views on things like Syria, Libya, Kosovo etc to know that I don't "follow the crowd" as it were but to me this is black and white...it's about catching the worst kind of war criminal who's responsible to killing and arming innocent children.. no one should have to be forced into that situation... the poor kid in the video saw his brother killed because he refused to do what they wanted. It's pretty heartless for someone to say that it's a fraud because they pointed out out the amount of expenses that are required to make this a reality. Besides.. reddit.. seriously? It's full of people who post things about 9/11 being orchastrated by Jews and other such nonsense.

[Skjalg]

reddit is also full of people like you and me who at times post (and upvote) decently researched material.

Disregarding everything on a site as massive as reddit because there are some controversial or dumb shit there is pretty dumb in itself. Imagine if people took one look at EOT and decided mapcore is all like that.

edit;

Besides, what do you really expect to happen? That the UN/US march all their armies into the african jungle to get to one man... ? One man who has already been reported dead (rumors, but still) and also reported to have stopped abducting children and/or moved out of kongo.

[D3ads]

I'm not disregarding it but really... if it was a scam, the guy who made the video would be subject to a massive witchhunt from all those people in the video, millions that have supported the campaign since it began... Invisible Children has been a registered charity since 2004, if they were corrupt I'm pretty sure they'd be gone by now.

For the record, I haven't donated, for now at least I'm just spreading awareness of it... like I said I had read up on the LRA awhile ago but like most people I knew it was just another evil in life that can't be stopped because people don't care. They clearly do.

Besides, what do you really expect to happen? That the UN/US march all their armies into the african jungle to get to one man... ? One man who has already been reported dead (rumors, but still) and also reported to have stopped abducting children and/or moved out of kongo.

Well NATO invaded Libya to get one man, so I think that answers that question.

It isn't just one man though is it, it's the entire LRA. His followers believe that he was delivered a message from God and he is carrying out the lord's wishes.. if their "disciple" was taken out/arrested it would be a lot easier to stop the LRA once and for all.

There was a massacre carried out by the LRA in Congo in 2009, so unless he's died since then (I doubt it), he's still operating somewhere.

[Skjalg]

yeah but the thing is, its easier to find a general/president in a country than the correct African rapist/child molestor in the African jungle. The African jungle is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (theres not enough a's) aaay bigger than Libya.

And when you say "the entire LRA" you do realize that you actually really mean at most 100 people, right?

[Thrik]

I do think this cause is legitimate and is most probably genuinely out to take down a very bad man who AFAIK continues to go around with his glorified gang killing innocents across Africa, which is great. I would like to see some well-funded vigilante mercenaries get on his ass. This, however, is hilarious:

[Skjalg]

haha indeed.

Dear Jason Russell,

After being bombarded with your KONY 2012 crusade, I have no choice but to respond to your highly inaccurate, offensive, and harmful propaganda. I realized I had to respond in hopes of stopping you before you cause more violence and deaths to the Acholi people (Northern Ugandans), the very people you are claiming to protect. Firstly, I would like to question your timing of this KONY 2012 crusade in Uganda when most of the violence from Joseph Kony and the LRA (The Lord’s Resistance Army) has subsided in Uganda in the past 5 years. The LRA has moved onto neighboring countries like the DRC and Sudan. Why are you not urging action in the countries he is currently in? Why are you worried about Kony all of a sudden when Ugandans are not at this present moment?

This grossly illogical timing and statements on your website such as “Click here to buy your KONY 2012 products” makes me believe that the timing has more to do with your commercial interests than humanitarian interests. With the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and the waning interest in Invisible Children, it seems to be perfect timing to start a crusade. I also must add at this point how much it personally disgusts me the way in which you have commercialized a conflict in which thousands of people have died.

Secondly, I would like to address the highly inaccurate content of your video. Your video did not leave the viewer any more knowledgeable about the conflict in Uganda, but only emotionally assaulted. I could not help but notice how conveniently one-sided the “explanation” in your video was. There was absolutely no mention of the role of the Ugandan government and military in the conflict. Let alone the role of the U.S. government and military. The only information given is “KONY MUST BE STOPPED.”

I would like to inform you that stopping Kony would not end the conflict. (It is correctly pronounced “Kohn” by the way). This conflict is deeply embedded in Uganda’s history that neither starts nor ends with Kony. Therefore, your solution to the problem is flawed. There is no way to know the solution, without full knowledge of the problem itself. We must act on knowledge, not emotions.

Joseph Kony formed the LRA in retaliation to the brutality of President Museveni (from the south) committing mass atrocities on the Acholi people (from the north) when President Museveni came to power in 1986. This follows a long history of Ugandan politics that can be traced back to pre-colonial times. The conflict must be contextualized within this history. (If you want to have this proper knowledge, I suggest you start by working with scholars, not celebrities). President Museveni is still in power and in his reign of 26 years he has arguably killed as many, if not more Acholi people, than Joseph Kony. Why is President Museveni not demonized, let alone mentioned? I would like to give you more credit than just ignorance. I have three guesses. One is that Invisible Children has close ties with the Ugandan government and military, which it has been accused of many times. Second, is that you are willing to fight Kony, but not the U.S. Government, which openly supports President Museveni. Third, is that Invisible Children feels the need to reduce the conflict to better commercialize it.

This brings me to my third issue, the highly offensive nature of your video. Firstly, it is offensive to your viewer. The scene with your “explanation” of the conflict to your toddler son suggests that the viewers have the mental capacity of a toddler and can only handle information given in such a reductionist manner. I would like to think American teenagers and young adults (which is clearly your target audience) are smarter than your toddler son. I would hope that we are able to realize that it is not a “Star Wars” game with aliens and robots in some far off galaxy as your son suggests, but a real world conflict with real world people in Uganda. This is a real life conflict with real life consequences.

Secondly, and more importantly, it is offensive to Ugandans. The very name “Invisible Children” is offensive. You claim you make the invisible, visible. The statements, “We have seen these kids.” and “No one knew about these kids.” are part of your slogan. You seem to be strongly hinting that you somehow have validated and found these kids and their struggles.

Whether you see them or not, they were always there. Your having seen the kids does not validate their existence in any shape or form or bring it any more significance. You say “no one” knew about the kids. What about the kids themselves? What about the families of the kids who were killed and abducted? Are they “no one?” Are they not human?

These children are not invisible, you are making them invisible by silencing, dehumanizing, marketing, and invalidating them.

Last year I went to Gulu, Uganda, where Invisible Children is based, and interviewed over 50 locals. Every single person questioned Invisible Children’s legitimacy and intention. Every single person. If anything, it seemed the people saw Invisible Children as a bigger threat than Joseph Kony at the time. Why is it the very people you are trying to “help” feel more offense than relief with your aid?

“They come here to make money and use us.”

“It makes us feel terrible to be presented as being so stupid and helpless.”

These are direct quotes. This was the sentiment of the majority of the people that I interviewed in varying degrees. I definitely didn’t see or hear these voices or opinions in your video. If you are to be “saving” the Acholi people, the very least you can be doing is holding yourself accountable to them and actually listening to what they have to say.

This offensive, inaccurate misconstruction of Ugandans and its conflict makes me wonder what and whom this is really about. It seems that you feel very good about yourself being a savior, a Luke Skywalker of sorts, and same with the girl in your video who passionately states, “This is what defines us”. Therefore, I can’t help but wonder if Invisible Children is more about defining the American do-gooders (and making them feel good), rather than the Ugandans; profiteering the American military and corporations (which Invisible Children is officially and legally) than the conflict.

Lastly, I would like to address the harmful nature of your propaganda. I believe your actions will actually bring back the fighting in Northern Uganda. You are not asking for peace, but violence. The fighting has stopped in the past 5 years and the Acholi are finally enjoying some peace. You will be inviting the LRA and the fighting back into Uganda and disturbing this peace. The last time Invisible Children got politically involved and began lobbying it actually caused more violence and deaths. I beg you not to do it again.

If you open your eyes and see the actions of the Ugandan government and the U.S. government, you will see why. Why is it that suddenly in October of 2011 when there has been relative peace in Uganda for 4 years, President Obama decided to send troops into Uganda? Why is it that the U.S. military is so involved with AFRICOM, which has been pervading African countries, including Uganda? Why is it that U.S. has been traced to creating the very weapons that has been used in the violence? The U.S. is entering Uganda and other countries in Africa not to stop violence, but to create a new battlefield.

In your video you urge that the first course of action is that the Ugandan military needs American military and weapons. You are giving weapons to the very people who were killing the Acholi people in the first place. You are helping to open the grounds for America to make Uganda into a battlefield in which it can profit and gain power. Please recognize this is all part of a bigger military movement, not a humanitarian movement. This will cause deaths, not save lives. This will be doing more harm, than good.

You end your video with saying, “I will stop at nothing”. If nothing else, will you not stop for the lives of the Acholi people? Haven’t enough Acholi people suffered in the violence between the LRA and the Ugandan government? Our alliance should not be with the U.S. government or the Ugandan military or the LRA, but the Acholi people. There is a Ugandan saying that goes, “The grass will always suffer when two elephants fight.” Isn’t it time we let the grass grow?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Amber Ha

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blo ... tid=pm_pop

http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/should-i ... 012-or-not

[insta]

Can you please put that in comic form.

[D3ads]

You know what I'll admit that this is looking kinda hinky, so I've probably made a mistake putting this here I hold my hands up, so I've gone and deleted it from other places. As for the possibility of American wanting to invade/control Africa.. I didn't want to think it but it's not exactly unreasonable when I think of other conflicts... I would like to think for once that the US will do something without a hidden agenda but I guess not.

If anything, this has educated people as to who Kony is and what has been happening.

Go ahead and lock this anyway...

/e Skjalg can you link me to where that big open letter is? Cheers.

[Skjalg]

it was on reddit that I found it

[-HP-]

edit: oops, image was already posted, it wasn't loading for me. deleting my post!

[Evert]

That's like 3 replies old

[Pampers]

Edit by Thrik: You tried to link to an imgur gallery page instead of the image itself.

[Minos]

Hey d3ads is war the only thing you care about in life