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This is a thread about Joseph KonyThis is a thread about Jason Russell |
On March 09 2012 18:21 TehPrime wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Read this: http://blog.joerenken.com/2012/03/07/invisible-children-and-kony-2012-exposed/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
Thx for this learned alot more from this than the video. Sometimes you just need to do some research before mindlessly being mis-lead into supporting a cause..
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I believe the intent of this is mostly good, but I (as most of you) don't like the methods. I don't believe this will actually accomplish that much either. I'd prefer to contribute to this cause in a another way.
This is something I find to be much better: http://www.diakonia.se/uganda
It seems there is a greater need atm for restoration of that which has been corrupted in society as well as taking care of the people who have been hard-stricken from all of this. I'd much prefer advocating such noble work rather than focusing all energy on punishing the one made a lot of this happen since he (Kony) does NOT seem to be the main problem anymore.
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On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops.
America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz.
Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way.
However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive.
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On March 09 2012 23:02 solidbebe wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops. Show nested quote +America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz. Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way. However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive.
"Now"
Do you even acknowledge the fact that Obama has send troops to Uganda long before this 2012 campaign?
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/
Of course there is an ulterior motive, and here it is:
You have one greater evil and one lesser evil.
You help the lesser evil and in return you hope to get thanks for that help in terms of trade agreements or simply influence and friendships.
America doesn't have all that much influence in Africa, but it is obvious that Africa will become more important in the coming years.
But what does it matter?
Why does it matter that I catch a serial killer for the monetary reward instead of doing it because I am a cop? Doing good is doing good.
Do you really think the people of Uganda give a shit why the LRA is being defeated? They just want them to get fuck out and put a stop to the civil war.
Meanwhile people here are crying that it has to be done for the "right" reasons. You don't need to do good things for the right reasons. Doing good things for realistic reasons is fine too.
Why is America sending 240.000 tonnes of food to North-Korea? Because they are the nicest people in the world? No. Do you think the starving North-Koreans give a shit why they are getting the food? Do you think that if you tell them that they are receiving the food as a means to get North-Korea around the negotiation table, they will refuse to eat it?
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Please I saw joesph kony yesterday he was sleeping on the floor in subway by 34th street sometimes he beats on his drum for money or tries to bite u when he's hungry kidding aside these raise "awareness" videos are almost pointless People see something get a million views or as a trending topic on twitter and think they have accomplished something in a week something new will take its place. Remember when save dafur Was cool.....Many countries in Africa have had problems with warlords and child soldiers forced into fighting for decades(ever see nick cages lord of war.... horrible movie but gives some insight to this topic) but it never will become a larger concern to the USA or Europe because it lacks the natural resources to be worth it to fix unlike the middle east
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On March 09 2012 23:16 zalz wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 23:02 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops. America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz. Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way. However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive. "Now" Do you even acknowledge the fact that Obama has send troops to Uganda long before this 2012 campaign? http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/Of course there is an ulterior motive, and here it is: You have one greater evil and one lesser evil. You help the lesser evil and in return you hope to get thanks for that help in terms of trade agreements or simply influence and friendships. America doesn't have all that much influence in Africa, but it is obvious that Africa will become more important in the coming years. But what does it matter? Why does it matter that I catch a serial killer for the monetary reward instead of doing it because I am a cop? Doing good is doing good. Do you really think the people of Uganda give a shit why the LRA is being defeated? They just want them to get fuck out and put a stop to the civil war. Meanwhile people here are crying that it has to be done for the "right" reasons. You don't need to do good things for the right reasons. Doing good things for realistic reasons is fine too. Why is America sending 240.000 tonnes of food to North-Korea? Because they are the nicest people in the world? No. Do you think the starving North-Koreans give a shit why they are getting the food? Do you think that if you tell them that they are receiving the food as a means to get North-Korea around the negotiation table, they will refuse to eat it?
You acknowledge that America likely has other motives, and that is not a bad thing at all ( which I can agree with depending on the motives). But you still bash these 'conspiracry theorists' on the head, because they believe exactly that?
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On March 09 2012 23:22 solidbebe wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 23:16 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 23:02 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops. America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz. Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way. However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive. "Now" Do you even acknowledge the fact that Obama has send troops to Uganda long before this 2012 campaign? http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/Of course there is an ulterior motive, and here it is: You have one greater evil and one lesser evil. You help the lesser evil and in return you hope to get thanks for that help in terms of trade agreements or simply influence and friendships. America doesn't have all that much influence in Africa, but it is obvious that Africa will become more important in the coming years. But what does it matter? Why does it matter that I catch a serial killer for the monetary reward instead of doing it because I am a cop? Doing good is doing good. Do you really think the people of Uganda give a shit why the LRA is being defeated? They just want them to get fuck out and put a stop to the civil war. Meanwhile people here are crying that it has to be done for the "right" reasons. You don't need to do good things for the right reasons. Doing good things for realistic reasons is fine too. Why is America sending 240.000 tonnes of food to North-Korea? Because they are the nicest people in the world? No. Do you think the starving North-Koreans give a shit why they are getting the food? Do you think that if you tell them that they are receiving the food as a means to get North-Korea around the negotiation table, they will refuse to eat it? You acknowledge that America likely has other motives, and that is not a bad thing at all ( which I can agree with depending on the motives). But you still bash these 'conspiracry theorists' on the head, because they believe exactly that?
Exactly that?
I can respect a realistic scenario of political dealings.
I can't respect human garbage that goes on to pretent like Kony is an innocent little man that is being falsely accused.
These conspiracy nutjobs have the undying need to reduce the entire world into simplistic terms. Not only must America be the utmost evil, the enemy of America must be raised to sainthood.
So, in their hatred for America and their childish desire for a simplistic good/evil world, they absolve Kony of all his sins. They wave their conspiracy wand and they proclaim him innocent of everything. All his war crimes, all the documents on them, suddenly become vile American propaganda in their eyes.
They go onto their tinfoil blogs and they talk about how Kony is a paragon for human decency and his LRA is the right course for Africa.
The dead children that the LRA leaves in its wake? Those are too be pissed on by denying the crimes that were done against them.
These conspiracy theory nutjobs have no respect for the victims and raise the criminal to a saint. Why? Simply because they live in a childish black/white world where anyone that America dislikes must be pure good.
You could see the same with Putin. They couldn't accept that Putin had rigged the elections. America does not like Putin, therefore he must be a saint, therefore he could not rig any ellections, therefore any accusation, no matter how well documented, must be deemed false.
These people are moronic in their reasoning. They are untollerable due to the never ending arrogance in their own idiocy and their absence of morality.
These conspiracy freaks are a blight on a discussion at best. At worst they piss on the graves of dead children, all for the sake of propagating a good/evil worldview, so simple even a 10 year old should reject it.
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On March 09 2012 23:32 zalz wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 23:22 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 23:16 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 23:02 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops. America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz. Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way. However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive. "Now" Do you even acknowledge the fact that Obama has send troops to Uganda long before this 2012 campaign? http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/Of course there is an ulterior motive, and here it is: You have one greater evil and one lesser evil. You help the lesser evil and in return you hope to get thanks for that help in terms of trade agreements or simply influence and friendships. America doesn't have all that much influence in Africa, but it is obvious that Africa will become more important in the coming years. But what does it matter? Why does it matter that I catch a serial killer for the monetary reward instead of doing it because I am a cop? Doing good is doing good. Do you really think the people of Uganda give a shit why the LRA is being defeated? They just want them to get fuck out and put a stop to the civil war. Meanwhile people here are crying that it has to be done for the "right" reasons. You don't need to do good things for the right reasons. Doing good things for realistic reasons is fine too. Why is America sending 240.000 tonnes of food to North-Korea? Because they are the nicest people in the world? No. Do you think the starving North-Koreans give a shit why they are getting the food? Do you think that if you tell them that they are receiving the food as a means to get North-Korea around the negotiation table, they will refuse to eat it? You acknowledge that America likely has other motives, and that is not a bad thing at all ( which I can agree with depending on the motives). But you still bash these 'conspiracry theorists' on the head, because they believe exactly that? Exactly that? I can respect a realistic scenario of political dealings. I can't respect human garbage that goes on to pretent like Kony is an innocent little man that is being falsely accused. These conspiracy nutjobs have the undying need to reduce the entire world into simplistic terms. Not only must America be the utmost evil, the enemy of America must be raised to sainthood. So, in their hatred for America and their childish desire for a simplistic good/evil world, they absolve Kony of all his sins. They wave their conspiracy wand and they proclaim him innocent of everything. All his war crimes, all the documents on them, suddenly become vile American propaganda in their eyes. They go onto their tinfoil blogs and they talk about how Kony is a paragon for human decency and his LRA is the right course for Africa. The dead children that the LRA leaves in its wake? Those are too be pissed on by denying the crimes that were done against them. These conspiracy theory nutjobs have no respect for the victims and raise the criminal to a saint. Why? Simply because they live in a childish black/white world where anyone that America dislikes must be pure good. You could see the same with Putin. They couldn't accept that Putin had rigged the elections. America does not like Putin, therefore he must be a saint, therefore he could not rig any ellections, therefore any accusation, no matter how well documented, must be deemed false. These people are moronic in their reasoning. They are untollerable due to the never ending arrogance in their own idiocy and their absence of morality. These conspiracy freaks are a blight on a discussion at best. At worst they piss on the graves of dead children, all for the sake of propagating a good/evil worldview, so simple even a 10 year old should reject it. You do everything you say others do, justifying it the same way it the same way you say they can not justify it. I cant write any more of my opinions since it would be horrifyingly indecent.
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this is alload of junk, there has been inside posts released that state exactly how much money donated goes to stop this kony guy and i can say its below 35% which is pathetic.
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As the Ferengi say,
34. War is good for business.
The Invisible Children is just another business. Instead of plundering Africa for precious metals or gems, they are plundering images of conflict.
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First off:
1. Why do you keep on insinuating that i hate white people and USA?
Because first off, not only am i white but i'm also a supporter of race equality, i believe people of any color are equal and politicians should treat them as such. I do believe that any human being on the planet is equal to others no matter the country he has been born in.
I do not hate any country or any person. Just because i take a different stand and disagree with USA/NATO's does not imply i hate them. Because each of my motive for disagreeing on every action has deep rational founding and not emotional.
2. Why do keep on insinuating that i defend criminals?
I haven't mentioned any place that Kony should not be held responsible for the atrocities he did. I'm sure he did, and i'm sure the ugandan government did as well. Therefore both should be judged for their crimes. What i have stated is that donating to give weapons to the ugandan government or to push for a military action now is a very bad solution, it would only re-start the atrocities and more innocent people would get their lives destroyed. Check what ugandese bloggers have said, please read them, you obviously didn't.
Second:
I am strongly opposed to the idea of making peace by killing more people. Wars for peace are dumb. Atrocities and violence will never be stopped by guns! Only education will stop it.
You're the one who's splitting everything into a bi-dimensional world. Good and bad. Everyone who does not agree to your views is on the bad side, they lack morality.
I should stop relating to you because there's no way i or anyone can educate you in these matters. And it's really ironic how you accuse us of simplification when you're the one oversimplifying everything. To you if someone disagrees Israel's actions he's a nazi, if someone disagrees with USA's actions he's an american hater.
You're no pacifist or no good guy with high moral standards. You're just someone who's claiming that while enthusiastically clapping hands when soldiers destroy thousands of lives in the name of peace and freedom.
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Not only 35% of the funds directed to help Africa is very low but that number is provided by the organisation itself, the same one that refuses to be audited by an independant party... I let you draw the conclusion.
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On March 10 2012 00:09 gds wrote: Not only 35% of the funds directed to help Africa is very low but that number is provided by the organisation itself, the same one that refuses to be audited by an independant party... I let you draw the conclusion. That is really poor financial handling and that amount of money probably doesn't really help that much either. http://c2052482.r82.cf0.rackcdn.com/images/737/original/FY11-Audited Financial Statements.pdf?1320205055 Here is a source (6th page) to prove it too, which I took from this thread. Be sure to read it. It is has some very interesting points to this whole thing.
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On March 10 2012 00:09 gds wrote: Not only 35% of the funds directed to help Africa is very low but that number is provided by the organisation itself, the same one that refuses to be audited by an independant party... I let you draw the conclusion.
Didnt they say they try to raise awareness of Joseph Kony so the US government would do something. "We printed hundreds of thousands of posters." Maybe that is where majority of the money is going.
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On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops.
I've not heard a single person say that Kony is innocent. I've heard people dislike the misinformation and the apparent scamming that is going on right now. You are putting words in these people's mouths.
+ Show Spoiler +On March 10 2012 00:09 Pika Chu wrote: I am strongly opposed to the idea of making peace by killing more people. Wars for peace are dumb. Atrocities and violence will never be stopped by guns! Only education will stop it.
You're the one who's splitting everything into a bi-dimensional world. Good and bad. Everyone who does not agree to your views is on the bad side, they lack morality.
I should stop relating to you because there's no way i or anyone can educate you in these matters. And it's really ironic how you accuse us of simplification when you're the one oversimplifying everything. To you if someone disagrees Israel's actions he's a nazi, if someone disagrees with USA's actions he's an american hater.
You're no pacifist or no good guy with high moral standards. You're just someone who's claiming that while enthusiastically clapping hands when soldiers destroy thousands of lives in the name of peace and freedom. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity."
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I doubt they can independently fund a manhunt in Africa, and even if they take out this one man I doubt it'll do much for the general stability of the area. If I wanted to throw money in there to lessen conflicts, I would buy all the AKs I can from the local black markets and have them smelted.
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On March 09 2012 23:32 zalz wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 23:22 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 23:16 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 23:02 solidbebe wrote:On March 09 2012 22:36 zalz wrote:On March 09 2012 22:26 CyDe wrote:On March 09 2012 19:09 zalz wrote: Is there nothing the conspiracy freaks can't shit all over?
I knew about Kony before the campaign (hipster glasses) and despite the perhaps lacking non-profit group, I was glad that there was some press on the matter.
Deep down I knew there would be people like Pika Chu in this topic. He has been vomiting his worldview over several topics for a while now. His vile worldview consists of little more than justifying anything as long as the perpetrators are not white Americans.
I knew they would come and piss over the graves of children, yet it seems to be no less offensive now that they are doing it.
Don't trust them when they ask for proof. Don't humor them. They don't give a shit. You can give them hundreds of pages of well documented evidence and they will not accept it, because it doesn't fit in their perception of how the world works.
Kony and his ilk are an enemy to each person with a conscience. That is why he is a friend to Pika Chu and other conspiracy nuts like him. You could say exactly the same thing about the people who blindly accept whatever big 'benevolent' movements like these without going and looking for more evidence on their own. At least the so-called conspiracy theorists are doing research, more than most can say. They are not doing any research. They simply scream that Kony is innocent. Why? Because America dislikes him, and anyone that America dislikes is their champion. If they actually did even as little as a google search they could find the endless list of valid researches that shows the extent of the atrocities committed by Kony and his troops. America hasn't given a shit about any of this for years and years. We all know the shit that goes down in Africa and the Middle-east. America doesn't give a shit unless there's actually profit to be had for them, it's always like this for America ( see post WW2 fundings for Europe). Also I'm not saying that America is evil for doing this or the only government that does this, I'm not commenting on that at all. If the American government suddenly 'cares' about violation of human rights in Uganda and sends troops over there. You can say with 99% certainty there's alterior motives involved.
I responded to you earlier with exactly this zalz. Let me just make clear that I do think Kony is guilty and deserves to be caught. I think it's very evil what he is doing and do not defend him in any way. However I also don't believe that America would act solely on these reasons, as they have shown in the past that morality only is not nearly enough for them to take action. On top of that, why now? This has been going on for years and years so why does America act now? I think there's an alterior motive. "Now" Do you even acknowledge the fact that Obama has send troops to Uganda long before this 2012 campaign? http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-sends-100-us-troops-to-uganda-to-combat-lords-resistance-army/Of course there is an ulterior motive, and here it is: You have one greater evil and one lesser evil. You help the lesser evil and in return you hope to get thanks for that help in terms of trade agreements or simply influence and friendships. America doesn't have all that much influence in Africa, but it is obvious that Africa will become more important in the coming years. But what does it matter? Why does it matter that I catch a serial killer for the monetary reward instead of doing it because I am a cop? Doing good is doing good. Do you really think the people of Uganda give a shit why the LRA is being defeated? They just want them to get fuck out and put a stop to the civil war. Meanwhile people here are crying that it has to be done for the "right" reasons. You don't need to do good things for the right reasons. Doing good things for realistic reasons is fine too. Why is America sending 240.000 tonnes of food to North-Korea? Because they are the nicest people in the world? No. Do you think the starving North-Koreans give a shit why they are getting the food? Do you think that if you tell them that they are receiving the food as a means to get North-Korea around the negotiation table, they will refuse to eat it? You acknowledge that America likely has other motives, and that is not a bad thing at all ( which I can agree with depending on the motives). But you still bash these 'conspiracry theorists' on the head, because they believe exactly that? Exactly that? I can respect a realistic scenario of political dealings. I can't respect human garbage that goes on to pretent like Kony is an innocent little man that is being falsely accused. These conspiracy nutjobs have the undying need to reduce the entire world into simplistic terms. Not only must America be the utmost evil, the enemy of America must be raised to sainthood. So, in their hatred for America and their childish desire for a simplistic good/evil world, they absolve Kony of all his sins. They wave their conspiracy wand and they proclaim him innocent of everything. All his war crimes, all the documents on them, suddenly become vile American propaganda in their eyes. They go onto their tinfoil blogs and they talk about how Kony is a paragon for human decency and his LRA is the right course for Africa. The dead children that the LRA leaves in its wake? Those are too be pissed on by denying the crimes that were done against them. These conspiracy theory nutjobs have no respect for the victims and raise the criminal to a saint. Why? Simply because they live in a childish black/white world where anyone that America dislikes must be pure good. You could see the same with Putin. They couldn't accept that Putin had rigged the elections. America does not like Putin, therefore he must be a saint, therefore he could not rig any ellections, therefore any accusation, no matter how well documented, must be deemed false. These people are moronic in their reasoning. They are untollerable due to the never ending arrogance in their own idiocy and their absence of morality. These conspiracy freaks are a blight on a discussion at best. At worst they piss on the graves of dead children, all for the sake of propagating a good/evil worldview, so simple even a 10 year old should reject it. Good god man, you're building a strawman larger than the empire state building. Stick to the topic. Kony may well be a horrible person, that doesn't change the fact that Invisible Children make a very good impression of being scam artists and that this whole kony-trending business is sensationalist bullshit. Terrible things happen in shithole countries, this is not news, but your google-insights about the going-ons of Uganda are several words of mouth away from fact.
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On March 09 2012 22:53 XRaDiiX wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 18:21 TehPrime wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Read this: http://blog.joerenken.com/2012/03/07/invisible-children-and-kony-2012-exposed/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 Thx for this learned alot more from this than the video. Sometimes you just need to do some research before mindlessly being mis-lead into supporting a cause..
Yeah that blog is not creditable in any sense of the word.
On the about me it even says to take his words with a grain of salt.
Try this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17299084
You all are missing the point with this scam conspiracy.
Joseph Kony is a criminal, and he uses children as his soldiers.
On that day and over the following three weeks, the LRA beat to death more than 800 people in north-eastern DR Congo and South Sudan, and abducted hundreds more. This is the last paragraph of the BBC article.
He believes himself to be a Spiritual Medium, akin to the cult-like embrace Charles Manson created for himself. Charles Manson also killed people, mostly threw convincing other people to do it for him, much like Kony.
You cannot argue that Kony is a person who needs to be stopped, just like Charles Manson.
Where most of you find problems is the Invisible Children. I say fuck the Invisible Children, forget about them. Just raise awareness of Kony for the government to take note of, so they can invest resources into. The whole point of this plan is to do just that. The poster's and box's are tools to advance this, however you can do it without these.
Don't get so tied up in your conspiracy theories that you forget the reason why they are bringing Kony up in the first place, to stop a killer.
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On March 10 2012 03:04 Jisall wrote:Show nested quote +On March 09 2012 22:53 XRaDiiX wrote:On March 09 2012 18:21 TehPrime wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Read this: http://blog.joerenken.com/2012/03/07/invisible-children-and-kony-2012-exposed/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 Thx for this learned alot more from this than the video. Sometimes you just need to do some research before mindlessly being mis-lead into supporting a cause.. Yeah that blog is not creditable in any sense of the word. On the about me it even says to take his words with a grain of salt. Try this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17299084You all are missing the point with this scam conspiracy. Joseph Kony is a criminal, and he uses children as his soldiers. Show nested quote +On that day and over the following three weeks, the LRA beat to death more than 800 people in north-eastern DR Congo and South Sudan, and abducted hundreds more. This is the last paragraph of the BBC article. He believes himself to be a Spiritual Medium, akin to the cult-like embrace Charles Manson created for himself. Charles Manson also killed people, mostly threw convincing other people to do it for him, much like Kony. You cannot argue that Kony is a person who needs to be stopped, just like Charles Manson. Where most of you find problems is the Invisible Children. I say fuck the Invisible Children, forget about them. Just raise awareness of Kony for the government to take note of, so they can invest resources into. The whole point of this plan is to do just that. The poster's and box's are tools to advance this, however you can do it without these. Don't get so tied up in your conspiracy theories that you forget the reason why they are bringing Kony up in the first place, to stop a killer.
Raising the awareness on Kony would lead people to also become known with Invisible Children, and since the vast majority of people is not on forums and exposed to the criticism of them, they might even want to support them. Which is a bad thing.
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On March 10 2012 03:26 solidbebe wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2012 03:04 Jisall wrote:On March 09 2012 22:53 XRaDiiX wrote:On March 09 2012 18:21 TehPrime wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Read this: http://blog.joerenken.com/2012/03/07/invisible-children-and-kony-2012-exposed/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 Thx for this learned alot more from this than the video. Sometimes you just need to do some research before mindlessly being mis-lead into supporting a cause.. Yeah that blog is not creditable in any sense of the word. On the about me it even says to take his words with a grain of salt. Try this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17299084You all are missing the point with this scam conspiracy. Joseph Kony is a criminal, and he uses children as his soldiers. On that day and over the following three weeks, the LRA beat to death more than 800 people in north-eastern DR Congo and South Sudan, and abducted hundreds more. This is the last paragraph of the BBC article. He believes himself to be a Spiritual Medium, akin to the cult-like embrace Charles Manson created for himself. Charles Manson also killed people, mostly threw convincing other people to do it for him, much like Kony. You cannot argue that Kony is a person who needs to be stopped, just like Charles Manson. Where most of you find problems is the Invisible Children. I say fuck the Invisible Children, forget about them. Just raise awareness of Kony for the government to take note of, so they can invest resources into. The whole point of this plan is to do just that. The poster's and box's are tools to advance this, however you can do it without these. Don't get so tied up in your conspiracy theories that you forget the reason why they are bringing Kony up in the first place, to stop a killer. Raising the awareness on Kony would lead people to also become known with Invisible Children, and since the vast majority of people is not on forums and exposed to the criticism of them, they might even want to support them. Which is a bad thing.
I would ask you which is the worse evil?
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