- KONY 2012 Invisible Children Web Site
- KONY 2012 Movement's Response to Critics
- Visible Children - KONY 2012, Viewed Critically by Grant Oyston
- Let's Talk About KONY by Daniel Solomon, Georgetown student and National Director of STAND
- The Problem With Invisible Children's "Kony 2012" by Michael Deibert, author of Democratic Republic of Congo: Between Hope and Despair
- Kony 2012 and the politics of sending a brutal villain viral by Nicky Woolf, reporter for the Guardian
SPRING BREAK EXTRA CREDIT SPECIAL!
Visit the sites above and some others too. Think through all sides as best you can. Then respond to this question here on this blog (2-3 beefy paragraphs minimum):
SHOULD STUDENTS SUPPORT THE KONY 2012 MOVEMENT? WHY OR WHY NOT?
[worth +10 pts on your next DBQ; ex. if you earn a 75%, you would get an 85%]
Tigh Bannis Kony 2012 thoughts
ReplyDeleteIf you watch television, or use a computer, there is no way that you have been able to miss the many commercials, and interviews with famous stars like George Clooney and others, who have made the plight of the impoverished people in the war torn countries in Africa their personal mission. The Viral video, Kony 2012, seems to be the latest outcry for people to come to the aid of this part of the world.
I don’t want to speak for what other students should support, or not support, but I personally support the plight of the people affected by Joseph Kony and other terrorist groups like his. My heart goes out to anyone suffering. However, I don’t want to base my support on, or give support to, a specific group like Invisible Children or their video.
After watching many television interviews, and reading about Jason Russell and Ben Keesey, co-founders and CEO’s of Invisible Children, the organization that made the most viral video of all time, I’m afraid that they may have started their campaign to draw the world’s attention to the atrocities committed by Kony’s terrorist organization, but in the end they turned their issue into a money maker with T-shirts and all. When asked to account for how they spent the money to fund their organization and the video, they show nicely colored pie charts, but still don’t specifically account for a portion of their money that was donated to their cause. I definitely support the feelings that the world needs to come to the aid of the people in this impoverished part of Africa, (see map above) but supporting the video seems wrong, to me. To begin with, the issues in this part of the world have been taking place for more than 30 years. There is no doubt that countries like Sudan, Uganda, the Congo and others, are full of horrible human rights atrocities. But people need to ask themselves why things like that happen there. The more I read, the more I think I understand that it has to do with poverty. These countries have no valuable goods to export, they need foreign aid to survive, and it is said that in a few years they will not even have any natural drinking water left. With these things in mind, no matter how many Joseph Koneys you capture or kill, there will still be more behind them. They are fighting for survival. They don’t have jobs to go to, there is no industry. It is a lawless existence, where the guy in charge today, may not be the guy in charge two weeks from now. Who can be trusted to negotiate with? It seems like you’re dealing with the mafia in some respects. When there are no other commodities, humans become the product or service that can be traded and used or abused. Videos and movie stars may help expose the problems, but I think that only huge government intervention would make a difference. Unfortunately, I don’t think our government, or any other large government is going to give anything more than the peacekeeping support that they have been doing. They don’t have the money to fund the survival of other struggling countries, by going in with the force that would be necessary, and then establishing real governments and economies that would then allow people there to support themselves, and thrive.
It is a sad fact that these horrible things happen to innocent people. I suppose the most important thing we can do is to tell our government officials how strongly we feel about the safety of others around the world. I would hope that if enough people did that, then our government would be compelled to do something. Giving money to a group like Invisible Children might seem like a step in the right direction, but personally, I feel like it dilutes or maybe even takes away money that could be used to help the actual victims. I have watched interviews with actual Kony victims who said the video is too little, too late. They wish for our government to come to their aid in a huge way. They feel it is their only chance of survival.
Kony 2012 thoughts
ReplyDeleteYeonJae Lee
In my opinion, I think students should support the Kony 2012 movement. Kony 2012 is something that any young person can do. Students do not have to have a lot of money, they do not have to donate lot of time, and they do not have to put themselves in danger. In this movement, the first goal is to make Joseph Kony famous in a very short period of time. If everyone knows who he is, there is a greater chance that he will be arrested in 2012 and stand trial for his crimes.
Anything that shines a light on these crimes is a good thing and even though it has only been a few weeks, more than 100 million people have seen the movie clip that the organization made. Since, so many people have seen the movie, People are learning more about Joseph Kony and also more people are becoming aware of his crimes and want him to be found. I think it is important for young people to become more aware of what is happening in the world, especially when it involves other young people. Sometimes, because our lives are relatively carefree, we don’t stop and think about the suffering other children go through everyday.
If you do nothing, than nothing changes. If you don’t agree with sending money to individual organizations, than perhaps, as a student, you can agree that the more people who know about it, the better. If you don’t know about it, you cannot express your anger, and sadness about what is going on, in these African countries. We can express our strong opinions for government help and /or intervention but government sometimes move slowly as they should. As a student, our main interest should be in helping Kony 2012 alert as many people as possible to the plight of these children. Money does not have to be apart of our involvement. There seems to be some questions about the fundraising illegitimacy of the project. Although fundraising seems to be apart of overall goal of the organizations, I think I will wait before sending money. I will concentrate on information spreading at this time. I did see a report on TV that a group who rates non- profits gave the organizations a failing grade because they needed more people on their board of directors. The gentleman said he did not have any other problems with the charities of bookkeeping but that he suggested that he outside agency should also audit their books. So, for these reasons, I would participate in spreading the word about Joseph Kony. I believe that capturing and punishing the leaders of these kinds of criminals is important. If you can destroy the head of the beast, sometimes the beast group will die.
The topic is scary to most adults and also very scary for students because these crimes are happening to people their age. Students can help by posting the videos about Kony 2012 on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and all sorts of social networking programs. These kind of social networking programs are a young person’s daily way of communicating with their friends and people all over the world. In minutes the information can be distributed to thousands of contacts. If the main goal of the charity is for millions of people to know what Joseph Kony looks like and what he did, then young people can help without much effort at all.
Should students support the Kony 2012 movement? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has the power to change the minds of American authorities, it’s students. As a generation, we hxave the ability to improve our future; and supporting the Kony 2012 movement is the perfect place to start. With 3.1 million likes on Facebook and more than 80 million views on YouTube, the Invisible Children Incorporation is spreading the word across America through technology, which is one of the easiest ways to capture the attention of a teenager. With the amount of time our generations spends on the computer nowadays, it would be difficult to ignore the Kony 2012 movement.
Although Joseph Kony may not affect students at a personal level, supporters of Human Rights have no reason to neglect this movement. At Newtown Friends School, we have been taught to treat and respect everyone equally. In the Kony 2012 movement, this is not the case. When Joseph Kony took over the Holy Spirit Movement in northern Uganda (soon changing its name to the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA) in 1986, he completely altered Alice Lakwena’s mission – to protest the new president of Uganda. Because of many different factors, the LRA was unable to maintain their regional support and number of members, Kony began to do the unthinkable. Joseph Kony abducted thousands of children, using girls as sex slaves and boys as soldiers. He forced children to kill their own parents so that they had no other option than to fight for him. Kony violated many important human rights, and other countries never acknowledged his actions. If America was in the position of Uganda, our country would be all over the news, and help would be sent right away. As a student myself, I can’t even imagine the fear that the Ugandan children must have felt.
The majority of American children live a “normal” lifestyle – they go to school, have plenty clothing and food, and they live in a home with heating and air conditioning. For the Ugandan children, their “normal” is completely different. In 1996, the government required Ugandans to leave their villages in the north and flee to camps called IDP Camps. The conditions were horrible, but they did not have to live in fear of Joseph Kony. Although technically possible, there is a slim chance that this could happen to America. But if this atrocity were to happen, how would you react? American authorities paid little attention to the Invisible Children Inc.’s pleas, for it did not affect our country and it was not worth the financial sacrifice. With the help of people like us – people of a younger generation, students – we were able to change their minds. Although we cannot change what Joseph Kony did in the past, it is possible to alter what will happen in the future if we do not find him. Students should support the Kony 2012 movement because without them, Jason Russell and the Invisible Children Incorporation may not be able to succeed.
Kony 2012 Movement Thoughts
ReplyDeleteAlessandra Antonia Angelini
This generation has the power to change the minds and lives of the entire world. We, as a people, have the fortunate opportunity to make a change. In order to take that first step in creating a better world, we must have a motive, or in other words, a movement. The Kony 2012 Movement is the exact opportunity this generation has to show the strength and ability we behold. The adolescents of today are possibly the strongest leaders and change makers of the future. With the help of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other various social media sites, teenagers are unveiling what has come to be one of the greatest movements of this era.
If anyone is unaware of the reasons for the Kony 2012 Movement it is not hard to learn the basic and specific details, which surround the matter. Joseph Kony has violated the human rights of children in Uganda. By taking control of the Holy Spirit Movement in Uganda he turned a good cause into the undermining of Uganda's president. Joseph Kony's mission to break apart the peace and unity in Uganda turned raw as people began to see his evil scheme unravel. He was distraught, brought to a stand still, and turned to other vile ideas in order to regain his composure. Kony kidnapped outrageous numbers of girls and boys, forcing them to kill their own parents, and used for his own pleasure. Girls were relied on as sex slaves and boys as soldiers. Although this had been going on for a number of years, other countries failed to take action against Joseph Kony.
With the help of social media, finally there is a way to stop Kony and save the lives of thousands of children. We need, with the help of teenagers, as well as adults, to stop the devastation in Uganda and reach out to others despite the financial expense. If this sort of massacre were to happen in America it would be immediately acted on. So instead of waiting for change, make a change. The Kony 2012 Movement needs plenty of support in order to finally make a difference. Without the children of America today, and of the future, we would not be able to support such a vital cause. Students, teachers, people all across the world should be in support of the Kony 2012 Movement because without the support of everyone, kids will continue to die and suffer, and Joseph Kony will never be brought to justice.
To date, the Kony 2012 video has 82,115,079 views on YouTube and 3.1 million likes on Facebook. The video’s popularity skyrocketed after thousands of people shared the video on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. With the average teenager spending an average of 31 hours a week online, it would be almost impossible to ignore the Kony 2012 movement. The makers of the viral Kony 2012 video, the Invisible Children Incorporation, used one of the most effectives means of spreading awareness, technology. Anything that shines a light on the atrocities that occur in the region is a good thing. With millions watching the viral video and joining the discussion, the aim of spreading awareness has been achieved. But alerting others to the plight of Ugandans is not the only thing that needs to be done. I do not doubt that Invisible Children has great intentions in making the video and selling merchandise, nor do I doubt that Joseph Kony is an evil man. But despite this, I’m opposed to the Kony 2012 campaign.
ReplyDeleteThe Invisible Children Incorporation has sold over 500,000 action kits over the past week. At $30 per kit, that is about roughly $15 million in revenue. Yet only 37 percent of the money from selling action kits and from other donations will directly help people in Uganda. As a registered non-profit, its finances are public. Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 37% went to those in need, with much of the rest going to salaries, travel, and production. Furthermore, Invisible Children advocates direct military intervention by the Ugandan government’s army. The organization remains willfully ignorant of the fact that the Ugandan government came to power by using child soldiers. The Ugandan army is accused of rape and looting, but still Invisible Children defends them. The Ugandan army is guilty of many of the crimes that they are trying to prosecute Joseph Kony for. Invisible Children argues that the Ugandan army is “better equipped than that of any of the other affected countries.” Even though Kony hasn’t been active in Uganda since 2006. Invisible Children wants to use violence to stop violence.
The aim of spreading awareness about Joseph Kony’s terrible crimes has been achieved but now we need to move past that. Reposting a video gets the message out but it doesn’t help those affected by the atrocities committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army.
I think that students should support the Kony 2012 Movement. I think this because I think that everyone should be supporting it. I think that if students support it, then that will raise awareness even more about what is happening, and it will help the cause. Everyone should be aware of the monstrous acts that Kony has committed, and everyone should be doing whatever they can to make sure that it stops. While it isn’t realistic for everyone to support the movement, I think that it is important that many students support it so that we don’t grow up as bystanders to what is happening. I think that if even students are supporting the Kony 2012 Movement then it will be clear to the rest of the world how serious it is.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest reason why people should support the movement is because nobody should be a bystander to such an enormous crime. No matter what argument is made against it, and the things said about the armies in Africa, they ARE doing the right thing now. They are still trying to find Kony and bring justice upon him. I think that now is the most important time in a young person’s life to have their own opinion, and not do what other people are doing. This is why I feel that students should support it. Supporting the movement is about standing up for what is right and what is wrong, and if you don’t think it is right, then you should not standby and do nothing. If everyone in our school did something to support the movement I think it would make a huge impact, and it would help a lot. I think that as today’s youth, it is very important that we support the movement. Every African child deserves the same opportunities that we do, and this is why we need to support the movement.
The latest fad in advocacy strategies has been utilizing students and kids, or as it’s said, “America’s future,” to promote change where it is needed. The rampantly growing organization Invisible Children and their newest movement, KONY2012, have dramatically taken storm to social media and students across the country (which was ultimately their goals). In their 30 minute long viral documentary, Jason Russell, co-founder of the organization, states that they want to, “make Joseph Kony famous.” Those of you wondering who Joseph Kony is, I recommend looking him up, but in a rather basic explanation, he has been kidnapping children and utilizing them for either sex or to build his child army. When I said that was a simple explanation, I meant very simple, although very similar to the explanation given in Invisible Children’s documentary.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubts that the organization has all good intentions; however that doesn’t make the organization “good”. If we put aside Jason Russell’s recent arrest for going insane out of the blue, the organization and group have numerous flaws to them. Upon research, I found that Uganda’s government uses a child army, just as Joseph Kony’s rebels do. Whether Invisible Children supports Uganda’s government or is ignorant to this fact, the organization is only allowing Uganda’s government, which has many issues and human rights violations of its own, to establish more violence in its country, as opposed to less. This is the biggest reason that I believe students should not support the KONY2012 movement, because Invisible Children uses the ignorance students have of the situation and plays it to their advantage. I believe this is why the organization made their description of this very complex situation, rather beginner.
Invisible Children puts 32% of their profits toward direct services. The situation in Uganda needs much less awareness than it does hands on doing. Through research, I’ve found that the organization is unprofessional and childlike with ways it has handled things, ways it has presented things, and ways that it has based its funds and findings. There is no doubt that the violence in Uganda needs to be terminated, however I believe the KONY2012 movement is not the way to stop Joseph Kony and the very complex situation in Uganda, and this is why students (or much of anybody for that matter) should be supporting Invisible Children.
It isn’t my decision to say whether students should or should not support the KONY 2012 movement, but in my opinion I think that students should be able to support the movement of KONY 2012. KONY 2012 is the type of organization that thrives on students and others because of how easily information can travel with the help of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and of course the normal conversations you have with friends and family everyday.
ReplyDeleteWith all of the recent discussion about Joseph Kony, more and more people are becoming aware of him and all of the horrible things he has done to thousands of children in Uganda. The Invisible Children’s organization wanted to “make him famous” by having awareness all over the world. Students are one of the best ways to make this happen. Since technology is such a big part of students’ lives, it’s a great way to spread the word and get students involved. The KONY 2012 video on YouTube has more than 80 million viewers on YouTube and more than 3.1 million likes on Facebook. Some people argue that the way Invisible Children spend their money isn’t right because they use most of it for buying products and making media for awareness, instead of directly using it to find Joseph Kony himself. Although it wouldn’t be bad if the organization of Invisible Children put more of the money towards finding Kony, the organization believes they are doing the right thing by using a lot of the money for awareness products and programs. I agree with what the Invisible Children are choosing to do because it definitely worked like they hoped it would. People across the country have made Joseph Kony “famous” and are fully aware of what he has done. Students should know and be able to support KONY 2012 because Joseph Kony has used girls as sex slaves and made boys into soldiers that are our age. I think it’s important for students to realize how different their lives are from ours and how we don’t have to worry so much like the children that have escaped Kony do.
At Newtown Friends School, we are all taught that we should treat others the way that we would want to be treated and have learned to always keep it in the back of our minds. As well as the students at Newtown Friends School, many other students across the country stand by this too. Joseph Kony doesn’t represent equality and he violated the human rights of many children of Uganda. Because Joseph Kony has gone against many of things that we believe in, students, as well as adults, should have the right to support and help make awareness of the KONY 2012 movement. If something like this were to happen in America, word would get out so much faster and people would be more willing to get involved and help. Even though the situation would be exactly the same, just in America, the American authorities would be much more interested in it, than they are about what’s happening in Uganda right now. The American authorities would treat it differently because of the difference of power between the two countries. With the help of students, we can help capture Joseph Kony even if it is just making people aware of him. Although some people are wondering why Joseph Kony is just being brought up now even though it has been going on for years, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do anything about it. It’s very unfortunate that Joseph Kony has violated so many children, so by making him “famous,” it is possible that this could protect the future children of Uganda.
KONY 2012
ReplyDeleteAs many people now know, Joseph Kony is a war criminal that lived in Uganda and was the head of the LRA, an organization in which children were captured and forced into being sex-slaves and child soldiers. The charity organization, Invisible Children, is currently running a KONY 2012 awareness and fundraising campaign with the goal of capturing Joseph Kony and raising awareness of the ‘current’ LRA issue. Although this seems to be a worthy cause to donate towards, there are many problems in the plan produced by Invisible Children and students shouldn’t support the flawed KONY 2012 act.
The KONY 2012 awareness video from Invisible Children is remarkably well maid and a high quality piece of work. The nice quality seems suspicious because most charity organizations distribute almost all of their money towards the cause and can’t afford such good equipment, especially if the organization is small and unrecognized. If Invisible Children is trying to support a cause and use money to find Joseph Kony, why are they spending so much on equipment and video editing? Shouldn’t they be donating as much money as possible to the cause? As it turns out, only 32% of the money made by Invisible Children for KONY 2012 goes directly to the cause, while the rest is used for payment of employees, cost of equipment, etc. This is quite shocking, considering most charity organizations are too focused on solving the problem they advertise to pay their workers so generously.
Recognizing that poor money distribution showed a huge and obvious warning sign about this company. While dissecting the movie further, it is quite obvious that the maker of the video wanted the audience to think that Kony was currently in action and that almost no one was doing anything about the LRA. In contradiction, many sources say that Joseph Kony hasn’t been in action for over 6 years. Why would people want to be raising money for an old problem? Rumor has it that Kony left Uganda long ago, is somewhere completely different, and may have even died. The whole idea portrayed in the KONY 2012 video is that Kony needs to be tracked down in Uganda. Also, Barak Obama has been all for the KONY act since the beginning of his presidency, so how could Invisible Children act like no one was recognizing the problem or caring at all?
Looking at the facts, Joseph Kony and the LRA don’t seem to be a huge problem right now. Actually, Africa has many more problems that are of higher importance and larger magnitude: Darfur is struggling through what may be another Holocaust, there is an East Africa food crisis, and of course there is the conflict in Libya has affected and is still affecting all of Africa. In a response to the KONY 2012 video, a girl who has parents from Uganda made a video explaining how she visited Uganda with her family in 2010 and said that the only thing that her family struggled with was the Taliban. She heard nothing about Kony or the LRA while she was there and stressed the point that there are much bigger and more recent issues in Africa than the KONY 2012 movement.
While it’s great for anyone to support the demolishing of the LRA and the capture/killing of Joseph Kony, students should not support the KONY 2012 movement because of the faulty organization that money will be donated towards.
When I first heard about Kony 2012, I thought that it was a worthy cause for students to support. Recently, a lot of controversy has been stirred up about this important topic. I have seen several people talk about this topic. On Youtube, I watched a video a girl made about it. She lives in the United States, but she is from Uganda and she frequently visits Uganda as well. She said that Kony has done this, but he did it about 10 years ago. Also, the creator of the Kony 2012 video, Jason Russell, was reportedly running through the streets naked in San Diego. Honestly, I think he has some issues. His family claimed he wasn’t drunk, but clearly something is wrong in his head. These mental instabilities were probably going on when he made the video too. People, especially students, shouldn’t get caught in the mix of somebody with a plan that most definitely unstable.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that students believe is that the United States can fix everything. For example, you compare Osama Bin Laden and Kony. If they were both alive, who would you want to find first? Personally, I think Osama was a more important target. They both have done horrifying things, but the difference is immeasurable. Osama has hurt the United States as a country. You can think about 9/11 when nearly 3,000 people were killed. Kony hasn’t hurt the United States. Even though finding Kony might seem like a worthy cause, that isn’t a reason for America to send troops to fight and be killed for something that they don’t need to do. Finding Osama was necessary for the safety of our country, while finding Kony isn’t. If this is important to Africa, then they should gather their forces to find and kill him themselves. I don’t think some students understand the concept of safety for America first.
While people commit crimes and kill innocent civilians’ everyday, why should we worry about Kony who lives in a completely different continent than we do? I am not saying that we should not care about what is happening in Uganda, but sending out a ten year old video to try and get help from the rest of the world is not right. I believe that the Ugandan government can take care of this situation now that they are serious about finding Kony. I do not think that Kony should be completely forgotten, but “over the top publicity” in the states is not necessary. There are criminals affecting the lives of Americans every day who need the same if not more attention.
A few weeks ago when I first heard about Kony 2012, I had no idea what it was until I saw the video later that day. After I saw that video I thought it was a great thing that this man, Jason Russell, was doing an amazing thing. I still do think that it is an amazing thing and I believe that students should support Kony 2012. I believe that us students should support Kony 2012 because what this man, Joseph Kony, is doing is completely wrong and has to be stopped. If it were to continue and no one tried to stop it, so many more lives of innocent children will be lost. Kony's actions remind me of bullying except on a whole different extreme level. Everyone who has dismissed this problem are like the bystanders watching the little kid on the playground being pushed around by the older kids. If the students arent there to help support this cause, then who will?
ReplyDeleteI believe that we should also support Kony 2012 because no one knows what Kony is going to do next. Who knows if maybe he'll try to attack another country like Europe or even America? If people saw what Kony was doing and then were told that if he wasnt stopped that your children could be the next victims, then how do you think people would react? Mothers, Fathers, and adults all over the country, even possibly the world, i bet would start caring about an issue such as this and do anything they could to try and help stop Joseph Kony for the sake of their loved ones. No one in the world would want to lose their child to a mad man who is training them to kill the ones they love. I know that if I had a child and I knew about Joseph Kony, I would start trying to help right away because I would feel the heartbreak the the Ugandian parents felt when they woke up only to find their child kidnapped by a man who would use them for evil. Could you imagine yourself in one of those child's places? Not even their home can be a safe haven for them.
Those children in Uganda need the protection we can give, so I say... SUPPROT KONY 2012!
Kony 2012 Extra Credit
ReplyDeleteI think that students should support the Kony 2012 movement. There are so many students worldwide and with their help, Joseph Kony will be brought to justice. I think that it will be very easy for every student to know of this cause. The Kony 2012 movement is all over Facebook and youtube. These are two sites where students go most. Using the power of Facebook and youtube the forces against Joseph Kony will be unstoppable.
Students will also help improve some of the companies flaws. The Invisible Children Incorporation only has 32% of profits going to the cause. This problem needs all the donations it can get. Students can be heard and they will be heard so that more money goes to the fight against Joseph Kony and bringing the children soldiers home. Now that they have got the message out there they can start to spend less on film making and more on Joseph Kony.
The Invisible Children's Incorporation has done so much work to stop Kony. They need to be recognized for their work. All of the negative comments are discouraging towards them and need to stop. I think that the Incorporation is doing all that it can. They are still donating a lot of money and I think that they will donate more in the future. With the students of the worlds help they will get more donations from around the world.
Joseph Kony needs to be brought to justice. With all the technology available today the message is spread. The students should help, but other people need to step in too. We now need the US and other governments around the world to step in and find Joseph Kony. Kony should suffer for what he did.
I think that students should support the KONY 2012 movement only if they know what the Invisible Children group is planing on doing. In the latest video, KONY 2012, it is not 100% clear what they are saying. They start with saying that they are going to spread awareness, then the say that they are going to support the Ugandan military, then after that, they say that they are going to spread awareness by covering cities around the world overnight. That would be a huge thing to do because it would be changing the world literally over night, which is nearly impossible.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying that what the Invisible Children are doing is bad, but I think that they could make I more clear about what they are doing. Also, a lot of people are being led on a wrong track because they have heard that the Invisible Children are a no-profit group, yet they pay their staff. However, this is not true. The Invisible Children show their expenses on their website and it is not hard to find. Once you get their, you can see that most of the money they raise goes to the three things they are focusing on; spreading awareness of what Josef Kony is doing, turning energy from supporters into large scale advocacy campaigns, and operating on the ground in LRA-affected areas. The rest of the money goes to filming and producing, airfare, fundraising, and awareness products such as posters, buttons/stickers, bracelets, etc. They are a non-profit organization, even though some people might say otherwise.
Personally, I think that students supporting the KONY 2012 movement is a good idea, but that might not be what other people think. I have done the research necessary to make my decision and I think that supporting the movement is a good idea. That is only my opinion though, and my opinion might be very different from the next person to go to the cites I went to and read what I read. Different people have different ideas about how things should be done and I think it should be done this way.
SHOULD STUDENTS SUPPORT THE KONY 2012 MOVEMENT? WHY OR WHY NOT?
ReplyDeleteExtra credit:
Personally I don’t think students should support the Kony 2012 movement. I think the way Invisible Children (IC), Portray Kony and what he is doing isn’t quite right. Kony isn’t the only person in Africa who used “cruelty to children” as a passage way to power. “Kony is a grotesque war criminal, to be sure, but the Ugandan government currently in power also came to power through the use of kadogo (child soldiers) and fought alongside militias employing child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, something that Invisible Children seem willfully ignorant of” (Micheal). The Invisible Children organization doesn’t seem to know what they’re talking about. Kony is a horrible person for raping and abducting children and his terror needs to end, but is the Kony 2012 movement the right way to do it? Students shouldn’t support Invisible Children because they’re not making as much a difference as they say they are. Making people aware of Kony’s terror is one thing, but not giving all the necessary information is another. If students did support the Kony 2012 movement by donating money I don’t think the money would be going to the right part of taking down Joseph Kony. “Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services, with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production.”(Grant Oyston) Invisible children has only rescued a handful of kids from being abducted, and have used them for promotion. When you look at the facts, The Invisible Children organization isn’t making that big a difference. Invisible Children over exaggerates and putts their money into the wrong ideas. The organization is even using military force to try and stop Kony; which is pushing Kony further and further away from our grasp.
There is no doubt that Kony is a bad man, but is Kony 2012 really helping? Kony hasn’t been active in Uganda since 2006 and Invisible Children is still using the Ugandan army. The Invisible Children organization is using the Ugandan army and is ignoring the fact that that specific army has been known for its raping and hurting of children and woman. Why would you use an army that has done the actions you are trying to prevent? Invisible Children wants to use military force to stop Kony, but Kony has a child army and the US is trying to save the children. Killing all the children to get to Kony isn’t an option. Military force will, kill children, provoke more retaliation, and possibly result in the deaths of American soldiers. The US is trying to find a way to track Kony without losing soldiers and without killing the children who are Kony’s body guards. Kony 2012 might be doing something to stop Kony, but is how there doing it right? There is another way to track and stop Kony without casualties. It might take a while to find that solution but it’s worth finding. The Kony 2012 movement isn’t the only way to promote and stop Kony. I don’t think Kony 2012 is a worthy cause. There are other ways to stop Kony’s terror.
Meaghan Bollard's Extra Credit
ReplyDeleteShould Students Support the Kony 2012 Movement?
The short movie about Kony and the Invisible Children movement is a powerful piece that moves the mind and heart of the viewer. But that is why it was created to do just that – pull at people’s natural tendency to protect children from any and all evils. I know it influenced my emotions on wanting to capture and prosecute Kony for all of the evils he performed over the past 30 years. The number of over 30,000 children abducted and turned into soldiers for boys and sex slaves for girls is staggering. In addition, Jacob, the African boy who escaped one of Kony’s camps, certainly gives a shocking sense of reality and give a face of humanity to the crimes of Kony. The way the Kony 2012 movement has spread on the Internet and Facebook and Twitter specifically is amazing as well. The organizers of Invisible Children have taken advantage of the Internet and tapping into social media networks to spread their messages, gain supporters and contributors to their mission has been greatly effective. This can be seen in the manner they have been able to get these supporters to get political support resulting in Obama sending 100 Special Forces troops into Uganda to help them track down and capture Kony. They have also been able to attract numerous celebrities to their cause to help them bring the message forward to the world.
However, Invisible Children has its share of critics as well. Michael Deibert on his blog provides a history of the violence that has occurred in Uganda and Sudan caused by the armies of the men in power at the time. He tells us about the brutal conduct inflicted on millions of Africans that dates back to 1966. He also points out that Invisible Children are supporters of the current Uganda government even though they themselves are charged with causing brutal crimes against their own people. Another criticism of Invisible Children is that only 32% of the money collected actually went to help rebuild the affected villages and that the majority of the money donated went for salaries, transportation and film production expenses. In fact, Charity Navigator, who rates charitable organizations, only gives Invisible Children a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. Critics also claim that Invisible Children is now focused on military intervention to capture Kony. The problem is that the more military action that is taken has resulted in brutal retaliative slaughter of more Africans by Kony and his army. People like Chris Blattman, a political scientist at Yale, warn that the African problem is very complex and can’t be solved just by people changing their Facebook profile picture and hanging posters on April 12th.
In reading the various articles about Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 initiative it becomes obvious that everyone agrees that Kony is a horrible person that has committed countless acts of brutal crimes against the people of Africa. Without exception the world agrees that this man must be captured, tried and punished for all of his wrongful acts and the sooner the better. In addition, I am sure that there are others in Uganda and Sudan that deserve the same treatment and punishment for their criminal actions as well but first things first let’s get Kony. In my opinion, Invisible Children may not be perfect in their execution of their mission but they deserve our support for bringing these horrible acts caused by a horrible man named Kony to the attention of the world. For this reason, I will support the Kony 2012 movement and encourage my fellow students, teachers, parents, family and friends to join with me in backing the movement and work together to put an end to Kony once and for all in 2012.