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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Get involved or not...
I'm sure by now most of you have heard about Kony 2012 and the video spreading around. (if not, here it is, it's worth the 30 minutes to watch: https://player.vimeo.com/video/37119711
Today, a friend of mine posted this other article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/michael-deibert/invisible-children_b_1327417.html) saying that you should be careful before you support a cause, because often times, international intervention leads to more harm than good.
What is your thought on the subject? Do you think there is a way to "help" without some sort of ill coming from it?
Re: Get involved or not...
I watched most of the video this morning and was talking about it with DH on the way home from work today. For some reason, it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't like the whole feel of it.
When I got home, I started reading this articles criticizing Inivisible Children and their methods. Here are a few:
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136673/mareike-schomerus-tim-allen-and-koen-vlassenroot/obama-takes-on-the-lra?page=show
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/
http://www.wrongingrights.com/2009/03/worst-idea-ever.html/
I haven't seen the video yet, but I've read a few article about it.
It bothers me when people jump on the bandwagon without stopping to research who the information is coming from, and what their motives are. In this case, I personally haven't done the research, but I find it hard to believe that a dozen of my Facebook friends DID do the research between the time I went to sleep last night and when I woke up this morning, posting in support of the Invisible Children against Kony (neither of whom I, or probably THEY, had ever heard of before YESTERDAY).
Thanks for sharing those links. It's really a much more complex issue than what is shown on the video. It seems they are ignoring the crimes of one group in order to punish the crimes of another.
Like you, I didn't feel quite ok after watching the video. I think what did it for me was their flashing a picture of Hitler, seemingly comparing Kony to Hitler. Anyway, it's an issue I'm going to have to read up about a bit more.
they showed the video here last night as a 'special report'
I thought it was really moving and well done - if nothing else its a stellar piece of marketing
I have yet to go through my own research on this particular topic (I had never heard of this cause before this video, so the efforts are working) but I'm familiar with humanitarian organizations that devote everything to causes like this one. I'm a monthly supporter of a few of the major ones - with a special predilection towards animal rights, but that's another story.
Anyways, aside from the usual conflicts of interests, scandals, contradictory information etc.. that often appear along with these causes, I have to say that this one is masterly done and I have great respect for what the group is accomplishing, and how they are doing it. Being someone who devotes her life to a specific goal, I'm inclined to believe that they, too, are genuine in this monumental effort.
I was a bit taken aback when I saw the images with Hitler and that propaganda poster with his silhouette. Personally, I would have picked other more current similarly guilty criminals to stress the fact that there are many other crimes against humanity occurring right before our eyes, if nothing else to raise even more awareness.
Thanks for sharing!
I just came across this article, if you have time to read the whole thing the most interesting part, IMO, is the first comment at the bottom; titled rubber room.
As I was reading the article I had the same thoughts and opinions expressed in that comment, couldn't have said it better myself.
I also came across another board post about this issue. The general tone of the discussion alluded to the same concept of inertia (why bother at all, a video and an awareness campaign aren't going to solve a thing) expressed in the article by the author.
That's what's scary. The fact that in the mind of some people, doing is equal, if not lesser, to not doing. Meaning that there might be culture and knowledge in their brains, but alas it won't translate into tangible actions. They will always argue saying "what's the point", no matter how striking of an example the people that do the thinking and doing for them, set.
Edited with better wording
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things