It's a sad commentary on society when...

[Evilshy 5,090]

... when people assume I don't care about an issue because I didn't spam FaceBook with post about it.

 

Yes, I am aware of Kony. Yes, I think he is an evil man. Yes, I think he needs to be stopped.

 

No, I'm not going to give a few college students my money so they can make movies and bracelets.

[Robojot 152]

couldn't aggre more!

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

True dat. The UN is already looking for him and there are more pressing problems that the Ugandan Civil War, like the Syrian Civil War.

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

Couldn't have said it any better.

[Skullbuster 1,906]

can some one tell me whoor what this "kony" is? ive seen a few status updates about it,

[Cynic 336]

Alright, I'm going to be realistic here: even if Kony were to be stopped, do you really think freeing the children will do ANYTHING? They're child soilders, and total war machines. Killing is the only thing they know how to do. Even if the children were to be freed, they would most likely join the Ugandan Army since killing is in their nature. And I personally think Invisible Children is a scam. Only 32% of the profits actually go towards the people who need it, the rest goes to making those propaganda films.

[I_wesley125 393]

Its complete bullshit how people think stopping Kony is going to even change anything, He isn't even 1% of whats going on there.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

can some one tell me whoor what this "kony" is? ive seen a few status updates about it,

 

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan warlord who kidnaps kids and turns the boys into soldiers and the girls into sex slaves.

[Skullbuster 1,906]

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan warlord who kidnaps kids and turns the boys into soldiers and the girls into sex slaves.

 

i thought this kind of thing was going on for years, why all the attention now?

[Cynic 336]

http://c2052482.r82.....pdf?1320205055

 

That's 2011's finance report of Invisible Children. Here's a breakdown of it.

 

They spent 8.9 million dollars.

 

 

$1.7 million in US employee salaries

$357,000 in Film costs

$850,000 in Production costs

$685,000 in Computer equipement

$244,000 in "professional services" (DC lobbyists)

$1.07 million in travel expenses

$400,000 in office rent in San Diego

$16,000 in Entertainment etc...

 

...Therefore, only 2.8 million(31%!!!!) actually went towards the charity program.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Cynic

[FinalGamer 192]

... when people assume I don't care about an issue because I didn't spam FaceBook with post about it.

 

Yes, I am aware of Kony. Yes, I think he is an evil man. Yes, I think he needs to be stopped.

 

No, I'm not going to give a few college students my money so they can make movies and bracelets.

 

Seriously, can't some people understand that just because I don't want to talk about something, doesn't mean I don't care? Bad enough I have to cope with such news that upset me pretty bad for the state of things.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

i thought this kind of thing was going on for years, why all the attention now?

 

Because this charity group made a 30 minute video on youtube. You're right, this has been going on for years.

 

...Therefore, only 2.8 million(31%!!!!) actually went towards the charity program.

 

There are charities that don't do this?

[Guest]

i thought this kind of thing was going on for years, why all the attention now?

 

Because humanity loves to make itself feel better by "holding" up a "righteous" cause when it is popular. They think it makes up for all the crap they do by giving a few dollars to people they don't know to do something they know little about. :/

 

Yes this is something that would be great to stop, but how many people who donate will care in a month? How many people will even remember this happened, or try to work towards bettering more realisitic goals? Truthfully how effective will the money be in stopping Kony?

 

And yes I realize some people are not like this, but I find far too many people are. The minute the "cause" isn't popular anymore they forget about it, they don't care.

 

I apologize if I sound like a debbie-downer.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Guest

[Rox 12]

I am all for stopping Kony. What he is doing is wrong and needs to be stopped. So what if it's only a small part of what's going on in places like Uganda? Of course we can't stop everything that's going on all at once, we have to do it one step at a time which means doing what we can to stop people like him. Once Kony is taken down we can work our way down the list. If we don't try we aren't going to get anywhere.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

Truthfully how effective will the money be in stopping Kony?

 

OUR PROGRAMS

 

Invisible Children programs in northern Uganda

 

The Lord’s Resistance Army was active in northern Uganda for more than two decades. It has left Uganda, but the region will be in recovery for years to come. Since 2005, Invisible Children has been focused on providing access to quality education and improving the livelihood of a post-conflict community.

Legacy Scholarship Program

 

Provides merit-based scholarships and mentoring to motivated and talented secondary and university students from northern Uganda who were affected by the conflict. Currently supporting 590 secondary students and 250 university students, the program is educating the next generation of leaders in northern Uganda.

Schools for Schools

 

Partnering with 11 of the top secondary schools in northern Uganda affected by the LRA insurgency, Schools for Schools works to construct and renovate school structures while also building teacher capacity and developing curriculum.

Mend

 

A social enterprise geared toward facilitating financial independence and development for women formerly abducted by the LRA. The program currently supports 16 seamstresses who use their tailoring skills to create unique, high-quality handbags. Each Mend product carries the name of the seamstress who made it and seams a personal connection between the products, their makers, and consumers.

Livelihood

 

Takes a holistic approach to providing sustainable economic growth and improved living conditions for war-affected northern Ugandans. It supports rural communities using a three-pronged approach: Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA); Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); and Functional Adult Literacy (FAL).

 

Learn more at www.invisiblechildren.com (Note: Aren't I already on this website?)

 

Invisible Children programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic

 

In areas that are currently threatened by LRA violence, Invisible Children programs are geared towards civilian protection, encouraging defections, and rehabilitation of former LRA abductees.

Community Protection

 

Invisible Children funds the Early Warning HF Radio Network, which links communities currently affected by LRA violence. This network helps to warn communities of pending LRA attacks and allows local humanitarian groups to provide timely assistance to those in need. This network also feeds into the LRA Crisis Tracker, a public website that provides near-real-time information on current LRA activity. www.LRACrisisTracker.com

Defection

 

Fliers designed by Invisible Children are distributed in areas where LRA groups are known to travel. The fliers say that it is safe to come out of the bush and that ex-combatants will be allowed to return home. The message is translated into 3 local languages and includes pictures of LRA combatants who have successfully escaped. Invisible Children also sponsors FM radio stations, like Radio Zereda, which broadcasts defection messages from Obo, CAR.

Rehabilitation

 

The Rehabilitation Center in Dungu, DRC, is the first in the region for LRA victims. It treats the most severely traumatized children with psychosocial counseling, vocational training, and family-reunification services. The center can host up to 250 former LRA abductees at a time.

http://www.invisible...m/programs.html

So basically none of it. The only groups actively attempting to capture or kill Joseph Kony are the UN, Interpol, and the ICC.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Mr. Wobbels

[Rox 12]

Alright, I'm going to be realistic here: even if Kony were to be stopped, do you really think freeing the children will do ANYTHING? They're child soilders, and total war machines. Killing is the only thing they know how to do. Even if the children were to be freed, they would most likely join the Ugandan Army since killing is in their nature. And I personally think Invisible Children is a scam. Only 32% of the profits actually go towards the people who need it, the rest goes to making those propaganda films.

 

You can't be serious saying that 'they are all just monsters and killing machines. Did you even watch the video? That kid Jacob was captured by Kony and saw what was happening, he even watched his brother's murder. He isn't a killing machine and I know that this can be said for the rest of the kids. What is humanity if nobody even helps eachother. As for you stating that most of the money goes toward propaganda, that is the point; for them to gain publicity and make Kony famous. The more people that ask something to be done, the more it becomes an interest of the country. The US President has sent a small group of people to hunt him down but if people don't know or stop caring then he's going to pull them out.

 

http://www.invisible...m/programs.html

So basically none of it. The only groups actively attempting to capture or kill Joseph Kony are the UN, Interpol, and the ICC.

 

The money does help, even if it's only use is to generate propaganda. The more people that care, the more it becomes the nations interest to do something about it. As I stated in my last post, the US president has sent people but will pull them out and not send more if people stop caring.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

The money does help, even if it's only use is to generate propaganda. The more people that care, the more it becomes the nations interest to do something about it. As I stated in my last post, the US president has sent people but will pull them out and not send more if people stop caring.

 

Okay, except that there are things more important than Kony and the LRA. This has been going on since 1987 and it's not like South Sudan, the UN,and other countries haven't done anything to stop the insurgency. In fact, the LRA has essentially been defeated in Uganda. There are no LRA bases remaining in Uganda or South Sudan. The only thing that needs to be done now is to capture Kony, which THE UN, INTERPOL, AND THE ICC ARE ALL TRYING TO DO. He's like the African Pol Pot or Bin Laden; he's in hiding and these groups are trying to find him. Raising "awareness" of him isn't gonna do jack sh*t. He's not gonna come out of hiding because some people put up some posters and bought bracelets.

[Rox 12]

Raising "awareness" of him isn't gonna do jack sh*t. He's not gonna come out of hiding because some people put up some posters and bought bracelets.

 

As I said, if we don't raise awareness then it isn't going to become a national issue which means our nations' leaders will pull out the groups that are out there looking.

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

As I said, if we don't raise awareness then it isn't going to become a national issue which means our nations' leaders will pull out the groups that are out there looking.

 

We don't even have anyone in the Congo looking for him. The 100 troops are supporting the South Sudanese and DR Congo armies in finding him. If the CIA actually had actionable intel on Kony's location, then they would send SOCOM in to grab him. The problem is that we're not gonna find him by dicking around in the Congo. Did we find Bin Laden by looking in a bunch of mountains? No, we got intel from people that had the information on where he was. Those resulted in the Battle of Tora Bora and Operation Neptune Spear. The only way we're gonna find Kony is by getting information from one of his trusted officers. Otherwise it's just a waste of time.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Mr. Wobbels

[Rox 12]

We don't even have anyone in the Congo looking for him. The 100 troops are supporting the South Sudanese and DR Congo armies in finding him. If the CIA actually had actionable intel on Kony's location, then they would send SOCOM in to grab him. The problem is that we're not gonna find him by dicking around in the Congo. Did we find Bin Laden by looking in a bunch of mountains? No, we got intel from people that had the information on where he was. Those resulted in the Battle of Tora Bora and Operation Neptune Spear. The only way we're gonna find Kony is by getting information from one of his trusted officers. Otherwise it's just a waste of time.

 

Well, what do you propose we do instead?

[Mr. Wobbels 664]

Well, what do you propose we do instead?

 

Do what we're doing now. Let the UN clean up the remaining humanitarian situation in Uganda (helping refuges, rebuilding the country) and let South Sudan and the DR Congo deal with finding Kony.

 

Just a note: I'm not against the Invisible Children charity. They're doing a lot to support refugees and help the people of Uganda rebuild the country, but they aren't helping to find Kony. It's like if an anti-terrorism group made a campaign to stop Ayman al-Zawahiri and used the money to build schools in middle eastern countries.

Edited March 8, 2012 by Mr. Wobbels

[DubWolf 17,363]

Did they ever find that son of a **ch and blow his brains out?

Sorry, that was unorthodox to say D:

[Splashee 28,566]

I don't get it. Who is Kony?

 

I know FaceBook, but I don't use it. It is indeed sad.

[dayRman 1]

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan warlord who got a lot of attention placed upon himself during the early 2010s, particularly for his prolific use of child soldiers.

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

Well said, OP. Those students would have spent your money on weed, anyways. Also, a pot of mayonnaise for everyone involved in this thread. Except for the guest. In which case, I am projecting my good intentions into the form of a pot of mayonnaise.

Edited December 4, 2022 by They call me Loyalty