Who is Joseph Kony?

One of the most clever and worthwhile campaigns I've seen on the internet, and since my wife runs internet campaigns that is saying something. If this experiment is successful, it will go way beyond even the cause it is focusing on.

Take break and watch this video when you can. Very much worth a little bit of everyone's time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

Myself I'll be losing a few dollars and some time to this.

Cliff notes?

^ Take the time - it's a good watch

this is a good read too in conjunction….
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

Cliff notes?

Cliff notes won't cut it with this one. I will tell you it's the best 29 minutes you'll spend on the internet today.

Ah you beat me to it Flip! I was about to post the same link!!!

People should really do more research before they mindlessly re-post and re-tweet stuff…

Cliff notes won't cut it with this one. I will tell you it's the best 29 minutes you'll spend on the internet today.

I managed to watch most of it. Fuck this guy Kony. What they do to children is disgusting and beyond description.

Awareness at all levels is a good thing.

Its amazing that one man can have such a detrimental affect on his country. Seems pretty common that part of the world.

another good read….
http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

this is a good read too in conjunction….
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble

It is, and it's a good critical check on the facts. But there's a core message outside of Kony himself that makes this campaign stand apart. The ability for the internet to unite people across borders and make their governments work for them and not the other way around.

Also I can take the word of someone who has spent his life working on this on the ground in Africa, or the word of someone with a tumblr blog linking to government agencies and other related blog posts.

The fact is you can't take anything at face value, but the Kony 2012 campaign is working to actually make changes and make people look at what is happening in the world around them. These other blogs are just working on making people feel powerless because this won't solve all the world's problems, not intentionally of course.

From the blog:

Giving your money and public support to Invisible Children so they can spend it on supporting ill-advised violent intervention and movie #12 isn’t helping. Do I have a better answer? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you should support KONY 2012 just because it’s something. Something isn’t always better than nothing.

I'm not sure I agree with that. The campaign is promoting awareness of the issue, and military intervention is the only vehicle they have found to work. I don't think it's the first angle they have tried and I do see that they are promoting locating and arresting the leader of the organization, not wading into battle with an army at their backs. However, all methodology aside nobody else is promoting an actual solution, just issues surrounding the proposed one. A possible solution is better than nothing.

I also don't buy the crimes of the Ugandan army as a factor in why Kony shouldn't be stopped. I'm sure the folks over at Kony2012 are aware of the other issues in Uganada and would love to skip the Ugandan military entirely and have another country troop into the jungle, find Kony, and arrest him (ignoring the fact that it is an African problem and taking that out of their hands will just create reliance). Or why not have him just give himself up due to being convinced through advocacy and negotitiation that he should just turn himself in. Let's face it that isn't going to happen.

the linked blogs talk about how things aren't that black an white. Considering they are stating that this campaign shouldn't be supported because the Ugandan army is bad too that's an ironic statement.

The underlying message that the internet is a tool that can allow a global community to make great effects globally and it can really happen is an important one that we've seen more and more in our own backyard. This specific issue aside it's fascinating to watch and I think more important than most people have considered.

How much future policy, good or bad, will be shaped by this concept is going to be pretty thrilling to see.

another good read….
http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

Much better post. Still there are problems. The campaign is being a much more effective vehicle than this blog post at highlighting issues in the area. As Sharon said, all awareness is a good thing.

Uganda seems like a messed up place. The #2 most wanted person on the Hague list is from Uganda as well.

From an acquaintance:

I have a colleague who works with former LRA 'soldiers' (I work as a researcher on cases of the consequences of mass atrocity). He is in Africa now travelling around getting stuff in order to build an archive filled with video interviews of the kids (to at least document everything so others can hear about this and there's enough material available should there ever be some kind of truth and reconciliation initiative).

He's showed me some of it. I had nightmares for weeks.

He's in Uganda now so I can't really ask him for a lot of material, but he compiled some interviews here:

http://hetlevenvaneenkindsoldaat.nl/?page_id=3

Critical thinking needs to be taught early and often. Any time I see anything that's one sided like this video, I question what isn't being shown/told.
I'm not denying that Kony is evil, but I wonder if this social campaign's success is truly good, or if it will set a precedent that will go unchecked for future issues. Like ADS said, it's outcome will be most interesting.