Off Topic The world should know...

[gymcoach26]

I hope this is something that is ok to post. Just saw this video and it really moved me. Please take the time to watch it and share. Yes, it's a bit long, but well worth it!

KONY 2012 - YouTube

 

[Empowered]

This is is no way a defense of this man who is undoubtedly a monster. But he hasn't been in Uganda since 2006 and the LRA numbers in the hundreds not the tens of thousands as stated in the film. As disgusting as this man is, I am equally sickened that film makers would distort and exagerrate facts AND that they would use the guise of a situation like this to pad their own pockets. The bulk of this organizations' donations DO NOT go to helping those on the ground in Uganda, they go to filmmaking and advertising.

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Editing here: There are always 2 sides to every story and I am sure the truth as always lies somewhere in between (again I an NOT defending Kony, he is a foul person who needs the worst punishment imaginable)... but things like this that circulate so quickly and so freely on the internet terrify me. I am an adult, I know to look further into anything I read... but children don't and taking everything you read on the internet at face value as 100% truth is dangerous.

 

[gymcoach26]

Empowered, I appreciate hearing both sides of the issue, however I think it's important to note the message is to end Kony's violence, no matter where he is currently located. "He hasn't been in Uganda since 2006", so what are you saying he is no longer a threat and people should not be aware of who he is since he's not in Uganda anymore? They acknowledge in the video that he has relocated. As for the LRA numbers being only in the hundereds, this may be the current number, but this sick man has been commiting violence for decades, so in total, yes tens of thousands of children probably have been forced into the LRA. 100 or 100,000 it wouldn't make a difference to me. Either way it is wrong. If this happened to ONE child in the US, it would be known about.

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

My daughter just showed this to me yesterday. I did remember something about him no longer being in Uganda, but since I didn't have my facts, I just explained to her that this man is a terrorist and they are all over the world.

It is true, though, that if something like this happened here, this person (or persons) would be caught, tried and convicted in a heartbeat.

If I were to donate to a cause like this, I definitely would not want my $$ going anywhere other than to the organization I designate. Thanks for the update.

 

[Empowered]

As I said twice in my post I am NOT defending the man... What I am trying to make known is that children shouldn't march like mindless puppets because a video on the internet told them too.

After watching this video you would think that your money is immediately going to stop this violent man and this violent war on the ground in Uganda when in fact the vast majority of your money is going to the filmmakers because there is no war on the ground in Uganda. Not to mention they support the Ugandan army that itself has been riddled with accusations of rape and looting.

"the US has been involved in stopping (Kony) for years. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has sent multiple missions to capture or kill Kony over the years. And they’ve failed time and time again, each provoking a ferocious response and increased retaliative slaughter. The issue with taking out a man who uses a child army is that his bodyguards are children. Any effort to capture or kill him will almost certainly result in many children’s deaths, an impact that needs to be minimized as much as possible. Each attempt brings more retaliation. And yet Invisible Children supports military intervention"

One of these days a video like this is going to go viral and it's all going to be a lie... All I am asking is that people just do a little research.

Editing again here: What is ironic is how many people who are so inherently anti-war and anti-US involvement are chomping at the bit to send US troops in after this guy because of this video. The same people who are marching and chanting get out of Iraq and Afghanistan... But turning around and saying to help Syria and Egypt. So is the point of the video that the US should send soldiers after every war criminal? Do we only do it when children are involved? Do we only help certain countries? Do you think this video going viral will catch this guy? Let's not forget Osama Bin Laden's face was EVERYWHERE for 30 years before an elite group of Navy Seals took him out.

It's a touching video. It's moving. I watched it from start to finish honestly. It's still not as black and white as they are making it out to be. Flame me if you must, hate me if you must, but it's true.

They got what they wanted though. This man's face is everywhere... But this video is also asking for awareness... blindly following because a video told you to isn't being aware, it's being a sheep.

 

[C's MOM]

I hope this is something that is ok to post. Just saw this video and it really moved me. Please take the time to watch it and share. Yes, it's a bit long, but well worth it!KONY 2012 - YouTube

I saw this same video POP up on my fb. Like everyone I was very intrigued. But knowing all too well the possibility that this could be a hoax caused me to research further. I didn't know anything about kony prior to the video. I am very rattled knowing that this devil is very real and innocent children. Are suffering. I can not imagine having to undergo such atrocities.Kony does have to be stopped that is for sure. But like Empowered said it takes much more than just what the video advocates. I'm all for raising awareness. And believe me this is not an isolated case. We here in the USA are very lucky. For the most part our children are protected by law. In places like Uganda and Guatemala that isn't the case. Yes, children are threatened in other areas in similar ways as Uganda.People do the research and only after make a sound decision of what needs to be done. Violence of all kinds needs to end. This world is ridden with violence. If anything this video has opened up my eyes to what is really going on.

 

[flipandtwist]

The ignorance of many people disgusts me.
I came into school today with a dozen kids saying they bought t-shirts and bracelets and I just stopped to ask them, did you do any research?
Although this video does bring out an important topic, the point of the video was not to do that. The point was to get people to donate. Most of the money does not go to actually helping, yet they make it seem like it does.
I just warn anybody out here, to not go to great lengths to help through this organization as it is most likely a scam.

Kony is a terrible man, but this organization is not the right place to go to fix the problem.

 

[wallinbl]

I just warn anybody out here, to not go to great lengths to help through this organization as it is most likely a scam.

They are a reasonably reputable organization. They're not the most efficient with the money and spend more on overhead than some others, but that's unfortunately more common that one might hope. Part of that "inefficiency" is that this organization spends a lot of money on their videos and promotions in order to raise more money. People love to donate to Susan G Komen, but they're fairly inefficient with money as well.

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Regardless of organization, do some research before giving them money. Fortunately, there are good resources out there for doing so.

 

[gymcoach26]

Most organizations operate in the same way, in that not 100% of all donations go to research or the direct cause. American Cancer Society, The Red Cross, St. Jude just to name a few. Money has to be put back in to the organization to keep it running, advertise the organization to make more money, and pay the employees. If they worked for free, such organizations wouldn't be as successful because people would be too busy working a different full time job. Don't get me wrong, when I hear about the CEO's of charitable organizations making almost a hundred thousand a year I do think it is wrong and misleading, but they should receive a little compensation. There is always a better way to run a program, but this group is not one big scam like many are making it out to be.

 

[AlwaysCuriousMom]

This is is no way a defense of this man who is undoubtedly a monster. But he hasn't been in Uganda since 2006 and the LRA numbers in the hundreds not the tens of thousands as stated in the film. As disgusting as this man is, I am equally sickened that film makers would distort and exagerrate facts AND that they would use the guise of a situation like this to pad their own pockets. The bulk of this organizations' donations DO NOT go to helping those on the ground in Uganda, they go to filmmaking and advertising.

Link Removed

Editing here: There are always 2 sides to every story and I am sure the truth as always lies somewhere in between (again I an NOT defending Kony, he is a foul person who needs the worst punishment imaginable)... but things like this that circulate so quickly and so freely on the internet terrify me. I am an adult, I know to look further into anything I read... but children don't and taking everything you read on the internet at face value as 100% truth is dangerous.

Empowered, I appreciate and agree with your opinion on this subject. The cause has, indeed, gone viral. The problem is that this kind of violence is not uncommon in the world. Most people in the US barely see the state-sponsored violence that occurs in other countries. North Korea, Burma (Myanmar), Libya, Syria, China, Iraq... the atrocities that happen(ed) in these countries are terrible and are NEVER reported. While what is happening in the video is terrible, it's irritating to see that this is simply a trend...

Believe it or not, there is much worse happening in the world. And unfortunately, as it played out in the past, the American public is clearly torn about how much *exactly* they are willing to help out in this regard.

 

[gymgurl]

I am not sure about this organisation to be completely honest. I haven't done too much research but it seems like it is a bit of a money making scam. Kony is clearly an awful man and therefore should definitely be hunted down and stopped and the children saved but this campaign is not the way to do it.

Other than the fact that they ask people to 'Make Kony Famous' when really if we are getting technical it should be infamous. The organisation only gives 31% of its profits (not too sure about this, just what my friend said at school) to the actual cause. The rest went to the film makers etc. What is more, the fact that this went viral meant that Kony changed tactics making it even harder for us to stop him. Not only is the focus on the wrong part of the continent and wrong country they also have exaggerate all the statistics. This makes me question their credibility.

That is all for now, but I may be back

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Invisible Children's response to critiques: InvisibleChildren

Jury's still out on the extent to which I support this organization. I certainly support the cause, though.

My biggest concern is that by exerting pressure in the wrong place, we could accidentally make things worse. It certainly wouldn't be the first time western powers tried to make something better in Africa and inadvertently destabilized the country we were trying to help.