KONY 2012 is BS

EhTb4evr

...or so she says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DO73Ese25Y&feature=player_embedded 

what do you think?

PS Sorry I'm not sure how to make it clicky!

SoftSpot

It's a clicky. I can't watch the video right now since I have a sleeping duo next to me but I will report back in the am. 

blueshirt2003

She makes some good points. It's interesting that this isn't a concern of her grandmother and brother who live there in Uganda. It makes me wonder if KONY2012 isn't a good cause. 

meltoine

Kony and the LRA haven't been in Uganda for years. They moved into CAR, South Sudan, and the DRC years ago. Al Jazeera had a great piece on this yesterday with interviews with several Ugandans who said they haven't seen anyone from the LRA since 2006. 

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/20123845026717882.html 

DowagerCountessofNJ

Heir to Blair wrote an interesting post yesterday about the Kony 2012 movement.  It preys on the inactivism that our generation is famous for.  You can read about it here.

I was skeptical of the intentions of the filmmaker from the get go when I saw this starting to trend.  It seemed to be so over produced to the point of artistic...and artistic ain't cheap.

With that said...I don't want to say that Uganda is all "kumbaya".  This girl appears to be middle class and I'm sure she was in a similar situation when she lived in Uganda.  If that were the case I doubt she saw the underbelly of Uganda...just like I haven't seen half of what America's poverty looks like.

There are definitely two sides to every story.  If the claims in the film are even half of what they say they are I hope people can come together to stop it.

ErikandAfton

Sgt M's Wife:

Heir to Blair wrote an interesting post yesterday about the Kony 2012 movement.  It preys on the inactivism that our generation is famous for.  You can read about it here.

I was skeptical of the intentions of the filmmaker from the get go when I saw this starting to trend.  It seemed to be so over produced to the point of artistic...and artistic ain't cheap.

With that said...I don't want to say that Uganda is all "kumbaya".  This girl appears to be middle class and I'm sure she was in a similar situation when she lived in Uganda.  If that were the case I doubt she saw the underbelly of Uganda...just like I haven't seen half of what America's poverty looks like.

There are definitely two sides to every story.  If the claims in the film are even half of what they say they are I hope people can come together to stop it.

I completely agree. There are always two sides to every story. I think the original video is a little extreme, however I think that was the point. They wanted to scare people into action. I think this video has good points, however I agree with SGMwife and I think she is going souly (sp?) based on information from her family and what she has seen first hand and not done a lot of extra research. 

That said I think I'm going to have to do a lot more research of my own before I start jumping on any bandwagons. 

ErikandAfton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc3HU5JfjA8&feature=related

She posted a follow up video. She's a little more eloquent this time and making a point that causes are great but there are a lot better causes to donate money or time to. 

smiles325

I saw this video this morning. I have to agree with A and J. 

I think that the original Kony 2012 video is too overdone to the point that it makes it seem like they are trying too hard. I didn't watch their video and jump right on their website and sign up to donate/buy a kit or whatever. It definitely was touching and made me tear up. And this Kony guy truly makes my blood boil. It makes me sick what he has done, and I do believe, that if he's still out there, he needs to be stopped. All people like him need to be stopped. But I agree with that girls video, what if he's dead? Do we know? Are they searching in the right areas? Is it worth our SM's time? Is our money truly going to the cause or to help them make inspiring videos? 

I know that we can research and research on this and who knows what the answers to all of our questions are. I'm not even sure if the founder of Kony 2012 could answer half of our questions. I think it's powerful that they reached so many people so quickly. But, does he question, "Hmmm, is Kony dead?" 

Either way, I'm still researching and wont be donating any money until I understand better. 

calindi

It's an oversimplification of a very complicated socially-ingrained issue.  Even if you kill Kony, someone else will rise in his place.  It's the social structure that allows warlords to flourish and gain power and wealth, and the only way to stop that long term is to create an environment where children have access to education and support.  It starts with the misogynistic culture where men feel it's their right to rape women, then women do not have access or education about abortions, yet they have children and then abandon them since they have no love for the child born of their rape.  Those children grow up without guidance or support, and are either kidnapped into service or join willingly because it's a way for them to have a 'family' and a path to power, which they have never had.  Those children are the victims, but 10 years from now, they will be the next warlords with their own armies (if they survive).  It's a sad, vicious cycle that really has nothing to do with Joseph Kony.

 

If you really are interested in learning more, the University of Miami's National Security and Armed Conflict Law Review held a symposium on Friday with 4 speakers on the use of Child Soldiers in warfare.  I attended, it was incredibly interesting and had amazing speakers, specifically:

- Tchicaya Missamou - a former child soldier who came to the US and became a Marine (his book is HERE and I'm currently reading it)

- Mark Drumbl who is a leading academic on international law, and specializes in children in warfare, who wrote this book: "Reimagining Child Soldiers" (available HERE, to be published in the US next month, but we got an early copy!)

- Chris Jenks, the International Law Branch Chief of the US Army Office, who came to speak about his views on the legality of involving the US military in these situations, and how complicated it is to legally address the issue of fighting children who carry weapons and the legal ramifications of 'child soldier' as it pertains to international law.

 

If you are at all interested, it's a 191 minute long video and very interesting - you can see the video HERE and it gives a much more well-rounded view of the issue, its causes, the legal ramifications, and the path from here to solving the issue.  And no one suggested that killing Kony was the solution to the problem.

meltoine

calindi:

It's an oversimplification of a very complicated socially-ingrained issue.  Even if you kill Kony, someone else will rise in his place.  It's the social structure that allows warlords to flourish and gain power and wealth, and the only way to stop that long term is to create an environment where children have access to education and support.  It starts with the misogynistic culture where men feel it's their right to rape women, then women do not have access or education about abortions, yet they have children and then abandon them since they have no love for the child born of their rape.  Those children grow up without guidance or support, and are either kidnapped into service or join willingly because it's a way for them to have a 'family' and a path to power, which they have never had.  Those children are the victims, but 10 years from now, they will be the next warlords with their own armies (if they survive).  It's a sad, vicious cycle that really has nothing to do with Joseph Kony.

 

If you really are interested in learning more, the University of Miami's National Security and Armed Conflict Law Review held a symposium on Friday with 4 speakers on the use of Child Soldiers in warfare.  I attended, it was incredibly interesting and had amazing speakers, specifically:

- Tchicaya Missamou - a former child soldier who came to the US and became a Marine (his book is HERE and I'm currently reading it)

- Mark Drumbl who is a leading academic on international law, and specializes in children in warfare, who wrote this book: "Reimagining Child Soldiers" (available HERE, to be published in the US next month, but we got an early copy!)

- Chris Jenks, the International Law Branch Chief of the US Army Office, who came to speak about his views on the legality of involving the US military in these situations, and how complicated it is to legally address the issue of fighting children who carry weapons and the legal ramifications of 'child soldier' as it pertains to international law.

 

If you are at all interested, it's a 191 minute long video and very interesting - you can see the video HERE and it gives a much more well-rounded view of the issue, its causes, the legal ramifications, and the path from here to solving the issue.  And no one suggested that killing Kony was the solution to the problem.

Thank you. 

EhTb4evr

calindi:

It's an oversimplification of a very complicated socially-ingrained issue.  Even if you kill Kony, someone else will rise in his place.  It's the social structure that allows warlords to flourish and gain power and wealth, and the only way to stop that long term is to create an environment where children have access to education and support.  It starts with the misogynistic culture where men feel it's their right to rape women, then women do not have access or education about abortions, yet they have children and then abandon them since they have no love for the child born of their rape.  Those children grow up without guidance or support, and are either kidnapped into service or join willingly because it's a way for them to have a 'family' and a path to power, which they have never had.  Those children are the victims, but 10 years from now, they will be the next warlords with their own armies (if they survive).  It's a sad, vicious cycle that really has nothing to do with Joseph Kony.

 

If you really are interested in learning more, the University of Miami's National Security and Armed Conflict Law Review held a symposium on Friday with 4 speakers on the use of Child Soldiers in warfare.  I attended, it was incredibly interesting and had amazing speakers, specifically:

- Tchicaya Missamou - a former child soldier who came to the US and became a Marine (his book is HERE and I'm currently reading it)

- Mark Drumbl who is a leading academic on international law, and specializes in children in warfare, who wrote this book: "Reimagining Child Soldiers" (available HERE, to be published in the US next month, but we got an early copy!)

- Chris Jenks, the International Law Branch Chief of the US Army Office, who came to speak about his views on the legality of involving the US military in these situations, and how complicated it is to legally address the issue of fighting children who carry weapons and the legal ramifications of 'child soldier' as it pertains to international law.

 

If you are at all interested, it's a 191 minute long video and very interesting - you can see the video HERE and it gives a much more well-rounded view of the issue, its causes, the legal ramifications, and the path from here to solving the issue.  And no one suggested that killing Kony was the solution to the problem.

Well said!

kyrgyzstan

The exact reason the KONY 2012 isn't BS is the attention it's getting. All that IC wants is for Americans to look outside of America. Those of us who would attend something like Cal did, or those of us who know the major players of 1994 Rwanda like Kagame, Ngeze, and Dallaire, like I do, or are well versed in Middle Eastern affairs (including Arab Africa) like Mel is, are NOT the people Kony 2012 is aimed at. We're the kind of people who bloody read page 28 of the New York Times. Kony 2012 is not about donating to IC, it's about getting the average young American to care about what's going on outside of our borders.