I did think the KONY12 video dumbed down, I guess it had to. The complexity of the conflict may be beyond many peoples comprehention. The few pieces I saw criticising it were a little outdated and illinformed. I think if you're going to set up a campaign like this, you need to give everyone all of the facts and allow those to do the talking.
I was Youtube view 63,644,267 and watched it all.Originally Posted by TDB
They need to get this guy.
If in the process some guys make a lot of money then as they say ... "that's America".
It is of course scandalous that it has not been a high enough priority for the Ugandan government, regional groupings and the African Union before Obama committed 100 odd yank soldiers to the mission. Well done Obama!
So now we will see how many 'kids' sign up for this initiative and if they are able to produce sustainable activism to press this issue home.
I hope they get the guy.
PS: After posting this I refreshed the Youtube page and saw the number had climbed to: 65,051,329 ... amazing!
Last edited by JMA; 03-10-2012 at 01:48 PM.
You're right.
It is damned interesting all those you tube views and I wonder what it portends for the future.
"We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again." Gen. Nathanael Greene
I agree. Some of the comments against are listing all the other problems Uganda has. Well that's the problem if you're going to be a single issue charity, you're only going to target that one issue.
Sometimes it takes the initiative of outsiders/kids/whoever to shake the professional politicians awake and to force them to take action.
In my era Band Aid (1984) - run by a bunch of long haired gits - turned 'business as usual' on its head. Magnificent work.
The spark of humanity still burns in the young.
I am always reminded by what Cynthia Ozick wrote (in relation to the Holocaust):
Indifference is not so much a gesture of looking away--of choosing to be passive--as it is an active disinclination to feel. Indifference shuts down the humane, and does it deliberately, with all the strength deliberateness demands. Indifference is as determined--and as forcefully muscular--as any blow.
Last edited by JMA; 03-11-2012 at 01:53 PM.
What will it take to end the conflict with the LRA?
A well written article that starts with:It ends with:Ending the violence and insecurity perpetrated by the Lord's Resistance Army is more about empowering civil society and developing local solutions across many countries than about keeping US military advisers in Northern Uganda. The youthful, Western attention brought to the issue by Invisible Children and #Kony2012 is not in itself a solution.Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/kennedy...flict-with-lraAchieving a peaceful conclusion to this conflict involves efforts aimed at ascertaining and closing the supply lines of the LRA. It also entails ‘taking the governments’ back to these under-governed places, addressing the development and social challenges in these neglected areas.[22] Civil society can play a critical role at all levels in promoting dialogue to promote engagement, understanding and reconciliation.
Despite enormous odds, support for a strategy based on protection and engagement is widespread among those who bear the brunt of the conflict, civil society and communities across the region. They recognise that building a just and lasting peace takes time. This is a job that requires support for local approaches and peacebuilding initiatives rather than imposing more external firepower.
The author works for:Their website is:http://www.c-r.orgConciliation Resources is an independent organisation working with people in conflict to build peace and prevent violence
davidbfpo
Joseph Kony 2012
This could only happen in America...
Joseph Kony 2012: filmmaker Jason Russell arrested on suspicion of masturbating in public
... Hollywood release of 'Kony2012 - The Meltdown' early next year?
Very little, I would cynically guess. Most of those who viewed have probably moved on by now to the next viral sensation. Clicking "like" or "share" requires little effort and is hardly an indicator of commitment.
It's also not at all certain where any of this attention is meant to lead. If the video had come out before Obama had sent men and money to the area, I could have seen the point. It seems like an effort to pressure the US government to do what they're already doing.
To some extent, but when I see items like this:
it's hard not to see "getting Kony isn't enough, you have to send lots of money and "fix Africa" and send lots more money and then send..."begin by developing a comprehensive approach that prioritises civilian protection from abductions, political, security humanitarian, development and governance efforts. It would start with ensuring civilian protection in tandem with political dialogue involving regional governments to address, for example, the political and military rivalries driving the conflict.
It is of course true that getting Kony will not solve or end the problems of Central Africa. What needs to be pointed out to many who remind us of this is that while getting Kony isn't the final solution, it is a reasonable and achievable goal for an outside power. Fixing Uganda, or fixing Central Africa, are not reasonable or achievable goals for an outside power and it would be silly for the US or any other foreign power to take them on.
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”
H.L. Mencken
I thought the recommendations in the article were unrealistic. First off the author dismisses the vast size of the geographical region he wants security forces to provide protection to, and apparently believes that recommending inept African governments to expand their outstanding government services to this large expanse is feasible. While there may not be a military solution to Central Africa's many woes, there certainly can be a military solution to finding and killing Kony. As others have mentioned this may send a message to other thugs in the region, but regardless it will be justice.
In summary, a military solution can remove Kony, but it can't solve all of Central Africa's woes.
Last edited by Bill Moore; 03-19-2012 at 02:58 AM.
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