Where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live. KONY 2012
Everyone’s values are defined by what they will tolerate when it is done to others. ~ William Greider
Joseph Kony (born c. 1961) is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a group engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government based on the Ten Commandments throughout Uganda. The LRA is a militant group with a syncretic Christian extreme religious ideology. They are known for the extreme atrocities they commit against civilians, including killings, mutilations, rape, and in some accounts even cannibalism. [1]
On October 6, 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that arrest warrants had been issued for five members of the Lord’s Resistance Army for crimes against humanity following a sealed indictment. [1]
In America you probably only heard of Joseph Kony and the LRA when conservative windbag, Rush Limbaugh, spoke out in defense of Kony on the grounds that Kony was a “Christian fighting Muslims.” This vitriol was made in response to President Obama authorizing the deployment of 100 combat-equipped U.S. troops to central Africa to help Ugandan forces hunt this evil down in October of 2011. One hundred troops? We sent far more than that to die in Iraq for Bush’s oil.
The documentary above is 30 minutes long. 30 minutes out of your life that could possibly help save thousands of children’s lives. I sit here ashamed of myself. Here I am whining about a patch for a stupid f—ing game when there are children in the world being murdered and mutilated by madmen while our feckless leadership bickers recklessly because the old white guard can’t handle a black man in the White House.
But none of that matters. This isn’t about politics. This isn’t about black and white. This isn’t about you or me or some stupid f—ing game. This isn’t even about some backwater godforsaken hell hole on some faraway continent.
This is about the very soul of our humanity.
Tonight, look in on your sleeping children. Marvel at their wonder. Bask in the joy and pride you feel in them. Melt in the warmth of your mutual, unconditional love. Then I want you to thank whatever God you pray to that they will never bare witness to the hell and insanity those children in the documentary have.
I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burningThe Tide is Turning, Radio K.A.O.S, Roger Waters
We must keep pressure on our government to see this through till the end. Joseph Kony must be caught and brought to justice. Together we can make it happen. Together we must make this happen. My fellow bloggers, my friends, I implore you, plaster the KONY 2012 image all over your blog, all over your neighborhood, tell your friends, your family, tell the passerby in the supermarket. Make Joseph Kony famous.
Sign the pledge to help us bring Kony to justice in 2012
APRIL 20th, 2012
COVER THE NIGHT. MAKE KONY FAMOUS. KONY 2012.
STOP AT NOTHING.
Additional Information @ Huffington Post: Kony 2012 Controversy: What You Need To Know
Read Invisible Children’s response to their critiques.
[1] Copied from Wikipedia.
Posted on March 9, 2012, in News and politics, The Dead Console and tagged central Africa, documentary, Invisible Children, Joseph Kony, justice, KONY 2012, Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA, Uganda, War Criminals. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments.
I’m all for something as atrocious as this getting more publicity, but I’m not entirely impressed with the Invisible Children charity. Sure some money is better than none but of the money they raise an average of 32% makes it to the people in need. That is abysmal.
This link might be of interest:
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble
This isn’t about the charity, this is about getting this monster. The man is pure evil.
But that last link I posted leads to a Huffington Post article that highlights these issues. The organization has not denied any of this and acknowledges that less than one-third of its budget goes to on-the-ground programs, the group argues that its mission includes advocacy and raising awareness.
Raising awareness, I would say, is probably the most important thing you can do here. So you spend a boat load of money on the ground, erect schools, build farms, whatever. All the while Kony is rebuilding his army and the moment the world lets its guard down, Kony walks right back in. The photo was meant to be a joke, something they could send back to their families, it wasn’t a press op. It was a moment of utter stupidity for sure, but it was not a press op. The fact that Invisible Children has replied openly regarding their critiques suggests to me they have nothing to hide. http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html
And, quite frankly, Grant Oyston just comes off like a Negative Nancy in that article you linked to. He’s one of those intellectual twats who, because he can’t come up with a feasible solution believes that doing nothing is better. Translated from ego speak, “I didn’t come up with the idea so the idea is stupid.”
We all know what happened when Bob Geldof tried to “feed the world.” Most of the food ended up feeding African militias who then ran around the countryside committing genocide. So does that mean we never try to feed the hungry again? Bob’s idea was a solid one that was poorly implemented and not properly followed through on. But at least Bob tried to do something.
After 40 years of life on this planet I can assure you doing nothing IS NOT better than doing something. Even when that something is worse than the nothing it is always better to set the wheels in motion and adjust the trajectory on the fly than to sit still at the station.
Personally, from an artistic standpoint, I realize the video is largely an exercise in self-indulgence on the directors part. He would have done better to just focus on the Ugandans this situation is affecting rather then trying to get his 2 minutes of fame in. Maybe it’s that whole Christian bare witness thing he was going for. Who knows, who cares? I’m not all that into religion anyway. It didn’t fool me one bit. But that’s not to say he’s isn’t drawing attention to an important issue.
This is about bringing Kony to justice.
I get that, and as I said I’m all for that good happening, I’m just saying that the money being donated could go to a better charity, one that spends more on the cause and less on themselves and supporting military governments that are not great themselves.
I get that and understand the concerns. No one is squeaky clean in this world! I was reading to day that they’ve been telling people not to send in any more money, they don’t need any more money, they just want people to be aware. I belive their intentions are well meaning.
Anyway, you gonna be on tonight (or today or whatever it is where you are!) for some BF3 goodness?
Hopefully… have to go out play football then some time with my wife and son then should be on my evening
Reblogged this on PROGRESSIVELY ME and commented:
I’m a little late to the whole Kony 2012 game, but AJ’s blog is worth reading and the video is worth watching, so take a little time out of your day and do both.
It *does* put things in perspective, doesn’t it? Whenever I’m feeling down about whatever piddly-ass little problems I have I just look at folks who have a lot less than I do just to put things in perspective. “Chick, quit whining about the crappy day you had at the office. At least you have a job and aren’t scrounging for scraps out of a dumpster like a lot of Americans are today…the class formerly known as middle now known as the “nouveau pauvre”.
Or when I need the balls to do something I think of the Iraqi woman during the first election who stepped calmly over what remained of a suicide bomber – who had issues with Iraqis voting at *all* – and voted. What kind of s**t do you have to be used to in your life that you don’t freak out at the sight of a man’s innards splattered all over the place? And say to yourself, “F**k it, I’m voting anyway”?
Yup, I’ve been through a lot. Eating out of grabage cans. Walked streets at night because it was safer to sleep in the park during the day.. Still, none of that compares to what these poeple have to go through.
I got threatened by another gun toting conservative on Huff Post the other day. He tells me they are armed and ready for class warfare, are we? He asks. I told him I grew up in Washington Heights New York, one of the epicenters of the crack epidemic. I’ve lived in a war zone. I said I’ve heard all the stories from my parents about living in Liverpool while Hitler bombed the f— out of them. The question isn’t whether we are ready for it, the question is can you handle the reality of war after living behind a white picket fence your whole life?
Betcha ten to one that ‘gun-toting conservative’ would pee his pants like a little girl if someone actually pointed a gun *back* at him. And you’re right, most of us wouldn’t be ready for a *real* war. I’ve lived way too cushy a life to deal with daily danger. These idiots who think “bring it on” with warfare have never actually been in one. I tweeted last week that anyone who favoured going to war with Iran report to the nearest recruiting office with all children 18 and over. And considering that the military has had to raise the maximum age to get enough soldiers if they don’t want to bring back the draft, it’s up to like 157, so bring Grandma & Grandpa too!