Invisible Children - #KONY2012

Digitalize

Digitalize

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,372
Name
Matthew
Edit My Images
No
Joseph Kony is a man who kidnaps children and forces them to become sex slaves and soldiers. He has been doing this for nearly 30 years, but this is most likely the first time you have heard about it. It's time he was brought to justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Watch the video, it's long but worth it, spread the word, make a difference.
 
Know about Kony and others like him for a while, largely from following Marcus Bleasdale's work in the DR Congo.

Video seems to be taking off. Top read on BBC website is a profile on Kony, and top three Twitter trends here in Oz are #stopkony #KONY2012 and Kony.

Let's see if anything useful comes of it. Hope so.
 
Just went on twitter and for the first time ever got an error saying it was over capacity. When I finally got on these were the following tags:
#Kony2012
#MakeKonyFamous
#FamousLies
Invisible Children
Google Play
LRA
Peyton Manning
Uganda
Newt Gingrich
Ohio

I can't believe I've not heard of this before but undoubtedly it's gaining momentum.

It's left me wondering what other larger scale atrocities are going on that we're left clueless about because it has no direct impact on our selfish little lives.
 
Jayst84 said:
Few more links to get you started beyond the video.

http://biSPAM/ww3naP
Click to expand...

I was going to post this.

Issues behind the video are fully worthy and awful. The people behind the video however are very suss and not (it seems) somewhere you should be sending your money or support.
 
30 years...but a video on youtube and a facebook page is gonna stop him.

excuse my cynicism...
 
In the interest of fair discussion here's their response to the criticism.

Personally, I'm as yet undecided on the charity's integrity so it won't be receiving any donations from me. I do think that raising the awareness of such things isn't harmful, even if one doesn't agree with their proposed solutions.
 
TriggerHappy said:
In the interest of fair discussion here's their response to the criticism.

Personally, I'm as yet undecided on the charity's integrity so it won't be receiving any donations from me. I do think that raising the awareness of such things isn't harmful, even if one doesn't agree with their proposed solutions.
Click to expand...

Yup, this so called charity are not exactly whiter than white themselves.

People should read up more about this charity before blindly promoting them and perhaps look at donating to a more reputable charity working in the area.
 
snotfactory said:
I was going to post this.

Issues behind the video are fully worthy and awful. The people behind the video however are very suss and not (it seems) somewhere you should be sending your money or support.
Click to expand...

KIPAX said:
30 years...but a video on youtube and a facebook page is gonna stop him.

excuse my cynicism...
Click to expand...

Well I think the best thing we can all do is spread the news via, whatever, media means available. I for one had never heard of this, bully, and I think overall the make him famous idea could be effective. Its worth a try.
 
KIPAX said:
30 years...but a video on youtube and a facebook page is gonna stop him.

excuse my cynicism...
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly, I dont want to start a flame war and im not trolling. But I personaly think if this has been happening for 30 years, then people just re-tweeting and talking about it just wont do anything. If anything I am more fed up with having this 'Re-tweet', 'Spread the word' and 'Donate money' crap shoved down my throat than i am about what is actually going on.
 
make sure you read this before you make your opinion this campaign

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

not saying this capaign isn't coming from the right place and all that, but it's worth getting a wide perspective and having an opinion based on ALL the points
 
isn't this what 'machine gun preacher' is trying to bring attention to?
 
archamedes said:
isn't this what 'machine gun preacher' is trying to bring attention to?
Click to expand...

no thats a hollywood movie designed to make lots of money for the film company who made it ..... wait a minute - I see a similarity here
 
so i take it you havent seen it, because its based on a true story, and follows a guy who goes out to africa to defend the children from being abducted by the LRA rebels.

The film is subtitled "the life and times of Sam Childers" you may need google for that one
 
Last edited:
archamedes said:
so i take it you havent seen it, because its based on a true story, and follows a guy who goes out to africa to defend the children from being abducted by the LRA rebels.

The film is subtitled "the life and times of Sam Childers" you may need google for that one
Click to expand...

yup, i have seen it.

But like I said, it wasn't made to "bring attention to this cause" - it was made to make the producers and film studio money in the same way that Last King of Scotland and Blood Diamond did the same thing.

If it's purpose was to bring attention to the cause then it would be a free movie
 
Last edited:
TriggerHappy said:
In the interest of fair discussion here's their response to the criticism.

Personally, I'm as yet undecided on the charity's integrity so it won't be receiving any donations from me. I do think that raising the awareness of such things isn't harmful, even if one doesn't agree with their proposed solutions.
Click to expand...

there's a really bad error of judgement in that piece - regarding the gun photo

"We wanted to talk to them and film them and get their perspective. And because Bobby, Laren and I are friends and had been doing this for 5 years, we thought it would be funny to bring back to our friends and family a joke photo. You know, “Haha - they have bazookas in their hands but they’re actually fighting for peace.”

How on earth do founding members think it would be funny to do that exactly?
 
So after all this. What to do. 'scratch my chin' as there isn't a smiley for that.
 
KIPAX said:
30 years...but a video on youtube and a facebook page is gonna stop him.

excuse my cynicism...
Click to expand...

Your right this should have been posted on Facebook and YouTube 30 years ago so we could all have been made aware of this atrocity sooner.

Seriously this is only come out now because its been ignored for too long. Before the Internet and social media we only knew what went on in the world when the papers and news channels told us. The whole point of this video is to get Konys face recognised everywhere so officials have an easier time capturing him as he is doing a good job trying to remain annonymous and hiding. So put his face everywhere in the world until places to hide become limited
 
joescrivens said:
there's a really bad error of judgement in that piece - regarding the gun photo

"We wanted to talk to them and film them and get their perspective. And because Bobby, Laren and I are friends and had been doing this for 5 years, we thought it would be funny to bring back to our friends and family a joke photo. You know, “Haha - they have bazookas in their hands but they’re actually fighting for peace.”

How on earth do founding members think it would be funny to do that exactly?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. They should have known the image would surface to bite them and had a little more foresight even if it was done as a joke.

I wasn't arguing one way or the other with that post, I was just offering their response to encourage the debate.

From all I've read it's still very unclear what military action they support and that is the real crux of the debate for me.
 
Last edited:
Speaking of these madmen, anyone ever see the documentary about the Liberian soldier General Butt Naked? Very odd. This Kony 2012 seems to have gathered some serious pace, a new bogeyman is needed after Bin Laden is dead I suppose.
 
archamedes said:
Your right this should have been posted on Facebook and YouTube 30 years ago so we could all have been made aware of this atrocity sooner.

Seriously this is only come out now because its been ignored for too long. Before the Internet and social media we only knew what went on in the world when the papers and news channels told us. The whole point of this video is to get Konys face recognised everywhere so officials have an easier time capturing him as he is doing a good job trying to remain annonymous and hiding. So put his face everywhere in the world until places to hide become limited
Click to expand...

its not 'only just come out now' though people have known about the LRA for ages - i remember reading about it in the guardian in the early 90s , and its been refferenced in countless fiction books (for example in the Robert Crais Elvis Cole detective series, Elvis's freind mercenary Joe Pike is said to have been in Africa fighting the LRA)

Also the LRA are hardly unique - in the 80s RENAMO in mozambique used exactly the same tactics in kidnapping children and forcing them to fight (including forcing them to kill their own families ), same in somalia during the civil war, same in siera leone (as portrayed in the film 'blood diamond') and on and on and on

making out that this has only just been 'uncovered' through social media is highly disingenous , and making out that retweeting it and such will make any material difference is either naive or extremly cynical depending on the motivation of the poster
 
If they wanted to just raise awareness they'd put up the vector artwork for everyone to print out/modify themselves, however, $225 for a bunch of T-Shirts, stickers and posters? Please. This is slacktivism at its most fashionable and dangerous.
 
big soft moose said:
its not 'only just come out now' though people have known about the LRA for ages - i remember reading about it in the guardian in the early 90s , and its been refferenced in countless fiction books (for example in the Robert Crais Elvis Cole detective series, Elvis's freind mercenary Joe Pike is said to have been in Africa fighting the LRA)

Also the LRA are hardly unique - in the 80s RENAMO in mozambique used exactly the same tactics in kidnapping children and forcing them to fight (including forcing them to kill their own families ), same in somalia during the civil war, same in siera leone (as portrayed in the film 'blood diamond') and on and on and on

making out that this has only just been 'uncovered' through social media is highly disingenous , and making out that retweeting it and such will make any material difference is either naive or extremly cynical depending on the motivation of the poster
Click to expand...

So what's you suggestion then? You seem to have incredible sense of history. You know your stuff, but what are you doing about it? You beat the drum and hum, and pfft and humph. Yet you do f all. Come on, ante up. What you going to do about it. what is your contribution. Yeah, this happened in the 80's90's doesn't wash with me pal. It's been a life long struggle to rid these bullies for centuries. What I'd like from you is less gas and more courage. More foward thinking. Come on...lets hear it. I'm behind you if you got the answers or at least a program that will push it forward.
 
Vantage said:
So what's you suggestion then? You seem to have incredible sense of history. You know your stuff, but what are you doing about it? You beat the drum and hum, and pfft and humph. Yet you do f all. Come on, ante up. What you going to do about it. what is your contribution. Yeah, this happened in the 80's90's doesn't wash with me pal. It's been a life long struggle to rid these bullies for centuries. What I'd like from you is less gas and more courage. More foward thinking. Come on...lets hear it. I'm behind you if you got the answers or at least a program that will push it forward.
Click to expand...

Knowledge is power.

I think being informed and voting from an informed stand point is an excellent start. (which Pete is) Instead reading tripe like the sun :D

I have been giving money to amnesty international every month, which is a small token, but a token it is.

I can understand the cynicism, but I'm not going to let that stop me signing a petition or email a friend about it. I hope that my daughters generation will be more informed than I was during my formative years and they can make informed decisions earlier than i did.

If twitter and facebook can be used for a positive movement against this guy, it's a lot better than the banality that usually plagues media sites.

The comment "There is no way the United States will ever get involved in a conflict where our security or financial interests aren't at stake" made me feel sick to the stomach for those kids. I looks at my girls and thanks the stars they don't have to deal with those things that no human or animal should suffer.

I don't believe in heaven or hell, but Joseph Kony is the devil incarnate and anyone who tries to bring him to justice, more power to them. It will leave a lasting legacy for persons who aspire to be like him.
 
It's a shame that even today Africa's vast natural beauty is in such stark contrast to the mass atrocities that are committed by some of its people.
 
Africa's vast beauty is being destroyed by rich foreigners - google ken saro wiwa then see what shell oil have done and are still doing.
 
Yv said:
t'would seem the Ugandans are less then impressed.... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...2012-growing-outrage-in-Uganda-over-film.html
Click to expand...

things may have calmed down since 2006 and kony may not be as active as he used to be, so does that mean everyone should put an end to it?

"sorry for the hundreds of thousands murdered and the 30,000 kids abducted over 30 years, I've calmed down & behaving myself so I would appreciate it if you forgot about everything I did in my rebellious days and left me in peace."

Sorry but in the real world it doesn't work like that, if a warlord or common criminal does unthinkable things and doesn't get caught and brought to justice, no matter how much better things are now, then it doesn't bring an end to the suffering it just sweeps it under the carpet. If Kony is responsible for all that death and torment, he needs to be caught, if not to ease the suffering on those who were directly affected by him, but just to make a point that crime doesn't pay.
 
Last edited:
archamedes said:
things may have calmed down since 2006 and kony may not be as active as he used to be, so does that mean everyone should put an end to it?

"sorry for the hundreds of thousands murdered and the 30,000 kids abducted over 30 years, I've calmed down & behaving myself so I would appreciate it if you forgot about everything I did in my rebellious days and left me in peace."

Sorry but in the real world it doesn't work like that, if a warlord or common criminal does unthinkable things and doesn't get caught and brought to justice, no matter how much better things are now, then it doesn't bring an end to the suffering it just sweeps it under the carpet. If Kony is responsible for all that death and torment, he needs to be caught, if not to ease the suffering on those who were directly affected by him, but just to make a point that crime doesn't pay.
Click to expand...

not sure how Yv's post made you think that she was saying that kony shouldn't be caught :suspect:

It was just a link to how what some of the people there think about the campaign
 
Yes thats right, not all Ugandans are against it outright, most also think he should be brought to justice but given that the video is a kind of false representation and also significantly calls for US military support, combine that support history image paranoia with the Uganda's new BIG oil deposits being found along its Congo boarder. Well right now Ugandans are rightfully angry that the oil companies seem to be in swapses with the rubbish government, what with bribes and dodgy licenses inevitably none of the potential oil wealth seems to be going into the economy.

So they rightfully feel that focusing the worlds attention on a madman long since disappeared is a waste of energy considering what they really need is the fixing of a corrupt government parts, including the prime, to then work properly and legally with the oil companies to bring prosperity and wealth from oil sales back to their fragmented economy.
 
Vantage said:
So what's you suggestion then? You seem to have incredible sense of history. You know your stuff, but what are you doing about it? You beat the drum and hum, and pfft and humph. Yet you do f all. Come on, ante up. What you going to do about it. what is your contribution. Yeah, this happened in the 80's90's doesn't wash with me pal. It's been a life long struggle to rid these bullies for centuries. What I'd like from you is less gas and more courage. More foward thinking. Come on...lets hear it. I'm behind you if you got the answers or at least a program that will push it forward.
Click to expand...

Well i thought i'd start a 'charity' and persuade the gullible and credulous that giving me free publicity via social media would really equate to ' like doing something man' whilst skimming off a goodly proportion of the take from donations to pay myself a large salary.... oh no wait a minuite thats already being done :shrug:

That aside taking an informed position and voting your consience is a good start - though the voting bit is difficult when parties of all hues dont really give a toss , and white politicians (correctly) fear being accused of imperalism by the left wing press if they do take actual action on the ground.

The other thing we can do is to vote with our wallets and refuse to buy goods and services from the companies that trade with these types of people. For example if i buy diamond jewlery (like my wifes eternity ring) i'll only buy manufacturered diamonds , because of the ethics that attach to diamond mining in places like Siera Leone.

and with regard to charitable giving i'm all for it - but again take an informed position and research who you are giving your money too and what they do with it, and be thorough look at exavly what they do on the ground (for example some - not all - christian led charities insist on conversion the faith in return for aid , is that what you want to support ? ) what they are acheiving and whether they employ local people out on the ground or whether its just jollies for middle class first world folk (for example there are charities that spend over 33% of their take on salaries for executives in england , and another 15% or so on salaries for people from england going out to africa to do jobs that africans could be doing - again is that what you want to support ?)
 
archamedes said:
Sorry but in the real world it doesn't work like that, if a warlord or common criminal does unthinkable things and doesn't get caught and brought to justice, no matter how much better things are now, then it doesn't bring an end to the suffering it just sweeps it under the carpet. If Kony is responsible for all that death and torment, he needs to be caught, if not to ease the suffering on those who were directly affected by him, but just to make a point that crime doesn't pay.
Click to expand...

yes kony does need to be caught (or in my view shot several times in the head) but anyone who thinks that by retweeting the story they are helping bring that about is deluding themselves.

As is anyone who thinks that crime doesnt pay - there is significant evidence a lot closer to home than the congo that crime pays handsomely.

And as is anyone who thinks that a lot of the people on the otherside of the conflict are any better - in a lot of african conflicts (indeed in nearly all wars, anywhere) its not nice clean cut holywood epic of good guys versus bad guys , but more a case of bad guys versus other bad guys who might be slightly more or less bad , or more likely havent been caught being worse yet.

The congo in particular has been that way for pretty much ever (read up on the katanganeese seccesion, the simba wars, mercenary conflicts etc - president mobutu was alledgedly on the side of the light when that lot ended, though you wouldnt think so if you read accounts of what happened afterwards.)
 
Last edited:
In all honesty I don't really give a rats ass about some videographer that made a flashy 30 minute video and edited in after effects. I Also don't care what they do with the money or how they spend it, nor am I bothered about their own publicity agenda. What I do care about is the 30,000 kids that have been tortured, mutilated, raped and killed for over 2 decades and now a bunch of people as misguided as some think they may be have brought more attention to this in a week than any other news story documentary or book has done in 20 years.

Everyone on the internet (not just here) is trying to concentrate more on attacking the charity organizers and their goals and its taking the attention away from what they are trying to do. It would amuse me to see some of these people go to Africa and explain to these kids that they are trying to inform people not to use this charity because of a few morale differences.

This time last week hardly anyone knew who Kony was, let alone what he looked like, so if by chance some guy is riding his bike down a dirt path and spots kony in a tent at the side of the road, recognising him from the Kony 2012 video and that man on the bike is the cause for Kony to be captured and arrested, then isn't it all worth it in the end?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top