Concerning KONY 2012

03/07/2012

HI! ISA

EDIT - 10/3/2012
100,000 unique visitors in 36 hours, and I've lost count of the page views. One word, share. Harnessing the power of social media, together we can educate the masses. Copy and share this link to every community you know and let's get people educated. Contrary to popular belief, I do NOT profit off of my blog at all, I believe it is philosophically wrong and all I ask from you the reader, is that you share the good word by copying and sharing the link to this blog!

EDIT - 10/3/2012
Before you read ANY of the arguments, I think the most compelling argument lies in a recent development. If you choose to ignore everything in the blog, please, just feast your eyes on the paragraph below that shows the idiocy of IC:

Fellow blogger Grant Oyston is a HUGE advocate against Invisible Children, the organization behind the Kony Campaigns. He made a post complaining that IC are not "spending their money well" on the KONY 2012 campaign. Do you know what was IC's response to his accusations that they are not spending money correctly? They offered him an ALL EXPENSES paid trip to San Diego, FOLLOWED BY a PAID trip to Africa to talk with the leaders personally. Grant estimates the cost of everything will be $3000 US, but I believe including the round trip and other expenses, it'll be around the ballpark of at least $10,000. And guess where that money is coming from? That's right, DIRECTLY from YOUR donations to Invisible Children Inc. - Thankfully Oyston rejected the offer of unprecedented idiocy! Oyston has revealed this in his visible children blog and this is ONE small example of the misuse of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS in DONATION MONEY on something ridiculously trivial. I challenge you to read this paragraph 5 times over and still feel compelled to give money to the Invisible Children Inc.

EDIT: - 9/3/2012
If you are looking for alternative charities to donate to, Glenna Gordon via the Washington Post has suggested:

I think there are a lot of reputable NGOs doing the daily business of development — the actual building of latrines, training of teachers, etc. Oxfam and IRC have great operations in Uganda. Lacor Hospital,Caritas Uganda, The Refugee Law Project, Christian Counseling Fellowship, and African Youth Initiative Network. I really hope that we can redirect the energy to these groups, as much as possible.

The aim

It must be stopped. We have to stop this madness. This KONY 2012 campaign is spreading like wildfire and no one is taking a step back to evaluate the situation. People jump onto the bandwagon and let that bandwagon decide for themselves. Do you have any idea who the Invisible Children charity are? Do you know anything about Joseph Kony? In this blog post I will provide for you another point of view and hopefully systematically argue my case for why KONY 2012 is not a good thing. All I ask you to do is keep an open mind and listen to a perspective that is not trodden on usually.

My job here is to present to you FACTS and FIGURES that will show you a new perspective into the whole KONY 2012 campaign. I will present to you an argument, followed by a fact and usually a citation from a reliable source. This is all arranged into an easy bite-sized chunk.

#1 - invisible Children Inc

The organization behind it all. The filmmakers and main driving force behind the event. Let's proceed to break it down. A small amount of research can easily reveal just the surface of the corruption that occurs in the Invisible Children Inc charity organization. So here are the facts that make this organization dodgy:

1) If we look at the salary of the Charity CEO's, one finds some shocking numbers!

Let's take a Charity like WorldTeach. My folks know the charity well, and they donate frequently to the organization. A quick look at Charity Navigator shows that the only salary of note is of the CEO's and it is $41,846. Not bad right?

Now, contrast this with Invisible Children's total salaries of notability:

$88,241 - Ben Keesey Chief Executive Officer
$89,669 - Jason Russell Co-Founder - Filmmaker
$84,377 - Laren Poole Co-Founder -Filmmaker

So this adds us to a total of $262,287! That's right. The notable salaries of Invisible Children amount to a QUARTER OF A MILLION split between three greedy individuals. Compare this with WorldTeach. WorldTeach not only has only 1 notable salary on the charity list, but it is a mere 41,846 dollars. The notable salary expenditure of Invisible Children is 400% more, at a whopping, $262,287 US dollars.

EDIT: I am AWARE that the CEO's money is only 80 thousand, but if we were to view salaries HOLISTICALLY:

Total notable salaries of WorldTeach: $41,846
Total notable salaries of Invisible Children Inc: $262,287

Invisible Children not only has three notable salaries (compare that with WorldTeach's mere 1), the total notable salaries combined is 400% that much.

Lastly, here is a direct quote from the Visible Children blog:

Invisible Children has been condemned time and time again. As a registered not-for-profit, its finances are public. Last year, the organization spent $8,676,614. Only 32% went to direct services (page 6), with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production. This is far from ideal, and Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they haven’t had their finances externally audited. But it goes way deeper than that.

Source:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429

#2 We're fighting in uganda?

The official statement of Invisible Children as a charity is as follows:

"invisible children is a movement seeking to end the conflict in Uganda and stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers."

There's a problem. The LRA disbanded in Uganda in 2006. While they have done some slight expansion into Central Africa, logistically and infrastructural-wise, at least 90% of Invisible Children's operations happen in Uganda. It is logistically impossible for someone so entrenched in Uganda to be a main flag-carrier for a terrorist campaign that is down in SOUTH SUDAN. Invisible Children is a Uganda based organization and since they have been rid of Joseph Kony in Uganda for 7 years now, what are they still doing campaigning something that is not their problem? The essence of it lies in incentives (thank you Freakonomics). And that is money.

EDIT 9/3/2012: For those of you arguing that the Invisible Children Inc. can still operate within South Sudan, it is logistically extremely inefficient to transfer infrastructure to another country, especially one of South Sudan's size. Proof? If you look on IC's official website, the ONLY infrastructure they have built outside of Uganda since the LRA left Uganda is a small rehabilitation center that can house 200 or so people.

The rehabilitation center is a nice thought, but the fact that a 13 million dollar a year revenue charity can only build ONE rehabilitation center in the 7 years that the LRA has moved to South Sudan just highlights the inherent logistical problem of IC being based in Uganda. If you want to donate, donate to a South Sudanese charity because they will be much better disposed in terms of infrastructure to aid the South Sudanese in the fight against the LRA. To sum it up, in 7 years, IC makes about 91 MILLION dollars, and all they have to show for it is a small rehabilitation center in South Sudan? They are in NO position to lead the frontal assault against Kony simply because he has moved out of Uganada. It is LOGISTICALLY impossible.

Source:
http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/

#3 Fighting violence with violence

Invisible Children's main organization is aimed at military engagement and intervention of Joseph Kony's army. The thousands of people who are campaigning for Kony's PROSECUTION have no idea what consequences might follow their actions. The key word here is PROSECUTION. Prosecution of Joseph Kony means DIRECT MILITARY ENGAGEMENT.

Above is an ACTUAL photo from Grant Oyston showing the Filmmakers of and members of the KONY 2012 movement and hence the Invisible Children movement posting with AK-47's and RPG's. Yes, everybody, this is your beloved organization. Close your eyes right no-, wait then you won't be able to read this. OKAY, CLOSE ONE EYE right now and imagine the millions of lives that will be lost in a direct confrontation against Kony's army. Imagine the bloodshed. This is what you are campaigning for. Like I said before, the only way to prosecute Kony is through military intervention. Is this what you really want?

I will end this point by appealing to common sense. Obama sent 100 specialized troops to attempt to deal with the Joseph Kony uprising. And you know what were their orders? They were NOT allowed to engage in direct combat. If you don't want to believe me, believe the president of the United States. The US could storm in right this moment and take Kony along with a couple of tens of millions of lives of innocent children. But they don't. You know why? Because they know better, and you should to. Is this really what you're supporting?

EDIT - 10/3/2012: I know MANY of you are trying to perpetuate the idea that KONY 2012 is about the non-violent destruction of Kony's army, however, that is ridiculously unrealistic. One of Kony 2012's slogans is "stop at nothing". The implication is that Invisible Children will stop at nothing to have Kony prosecuted. While the idea is romantic and pulls on your heart strings, the amount of bloodshed that would occur is extremely gut wrenching.

Simply put, the if the KONY 2012 organizers are really "stopping at nothing", as they so disgustingly put it, I am in no doubt that the whole of South Sudan and millions of people will be killed in bloodshed. As evident in the campaign slogan alone, KONY 2012 has a sickening and wrong approach. Do I have a better approach to the situation in South Sudan? Yes I do. Read on.

#5 - think: Where do i stand?

So where do I stand in all of this?

I am in firm belief that Joseph Kony is a monster and killer, he is a gigantic problem, however, I do not believe he is the biggest problem in South Sudan right now. No where CLOSE. It is extremely disheartening because no matter what decision is made, lives will be lost. However, I believe there needs to be a two pronged approach towards this problem.

FIRSTLY, we need to realize that the inherent problems in South Sudan are much worse than Kony. The OPPORTUNITY COST of spending millions and billions of dollars on the prosecution of Kony will not only lead to South Sudan decimated by military intervention, but more importantly, those billions of dollars could be helping South Sudan much larger scale problems. I hate to say it, but compared to the inherent infrastructural lackings within South Sudan, Kony is naught but a small itch in the bottom of South Sudan.

SECONDLY, we need to realize that things are bad in South Sudan. Shall I name several problems? (source: www.southernsudanmedicaljournal.com/assets/files/misc/SHHS.pdf)

1) Highest maternity death rate in the world, at 2,053.9 per 100,000 live births.
2) Tribal cleansing and killings within South Sudan kill 120,000 people in one month. (source: http://www.sudantribune.com/Over-120-000-displaced-in-South,41356) You need to realize that Kony is the LEAST of Sudan's worries right now, that number is a thousandfold larger than what Kony can kill in a month.
3) South Sudan has three hospitals. Yes. You read that correctly, a country of South Sudan's size only has three registered hospitals. Imagine the amount of neglect that is going on, the millions of lives that could be saved if the KONY 2012 money went to the building of hospitals. Infrastructure expenditure is the most reliable form of aid. Charity Navigator has a ton of information about charities in South Sudan that are dedicated to this cause.

While I am not saying that Kony musn't be stopped, I am arguing that South Sudan is not at a predisposed position to deal with Kony right now. There are a thousand more issues that kill a thousand times more lives. I am in firm belief that a combination of medical aid in the form of infrastructure and the stopping of tribal killings will save a millionfold (literally) more lives than the extremely improbable hypothetical of the prosecution of Kony.

6 - A final conclusion

My friend Yong Jun posted a beautiful, eloquent comment about the whole Kony situation, and with his permission, I am going to use it as my closing comment. (check him out at sevuolballare.weebly.com)

Wikipedia has, for such large pages, at least 50 reliable sources from universities and other acclaimed scholarly journals. I challenge you to find a page better cited. Wikipedia is unreliable for those tiny articles that about 5 people in the world is truly an expert about, and this again shows the bandwagon mentality of the inapt in thinking that Wikipedia cannot be trusted.

Was not the founding fathers of so many nations seen as such an evil being? Did the American founding fathers not slaughter, pillage and kill in order to create their Utopian society? Did Lenin not wage war against about 5 different armies and factions to reorganize Russia and improve its infrastructure and industry by a factor of 100 years? Did Mao not knock 50 years off China's state as a dark vortex of doom?

Machiavelli said "Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed." In a struggle for whatever ideal, sacrifices are inevitable, be it resources, wealth, a life or even entire armies. One that lives in a world that believes lives saved are always for the better is not only delusional but grossly misunderstands the workings of humanity.

Neither am I convinced that Kony is a Messiah for his people, alike to Mao or Lenin. However, the general ignorance at this topic, and the uproar it brought about is severely disheartening for one who sincerely wishes to love all humanity.

This cesspool of ignorance cannot continue. I am for an opposition to Kony, as every thesis requires and will have an antithesis. Please, however, make it intelligent.

Comments

Will

03/07/2012 05:06

finally someone who can tell the bandwagonfags to stfu. If you are supporting children's rights in Uganda, then do it independently of Invisible Children and "kony 2012".

Lauren

03/07/2012 05:13

Ummm... Since when is Wikipedia a reliable source?

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:18

Lauren, every Wikipedia article I linked is full of citations from scholarly articles. For example, the article on the English Civil War has at least 300 citations to university and phd texts as evident in the citation. There is the conception that Wikipedia is unreliable, however that is only when there are no citations within the article. When the article is heavily cited as evident in ALL of my Wikipedia links, wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources you can use as it provides a comendium of all scholarly articles into one concise wikipedia article.

Shy

03/07/2012 06:41

My thoughts exactly

Rajit

03/07/2012 07:34

Wish I could 'Like' this comment

Kev

03/07/2012 08:53

Actuall Josiah, if you were to use Wikipedia in a scholar fashion ie University, you would be marked down on such use of a source and refrence, if you are to source something, use individual citations to show where they came from and the page etc.

John

03/07/2012 10:57

Kev, some of my professors teach from Wikipedia. There are two real reasons students are discouraged and docked points for using Wikipedia. The first, is because for the more in depth and specialized classes that most of the world has no knowledge of other than those that teach the class, the Wiki articles related to them are not as reliable, and it is better to quote other sources, which is what he said in this article/blog, whatever you want to call it. The other reason is because it is too easy. Professors want us to be more hands on and actually spend time searching for our information, not just pull up the Wikipedia article. Even though, you will find the same data in each. So please, step off your high horse and stfu, because let's be honest. You use Wikipedia just like everyone else.

John

03/07/2012 13:07

so in other words you support Kony

Maddie

03/07/2012 15:59

Wikipedia has always been a reliable source. If you didn't know, Wikipedia checks and has to approve the information written, just so that it is accurate....

Scott stapp

03/07/2012 22:22

He just explained all of that to you. Are you fucking retarded?

Christian

03/07/2012 11:48

Are you justifying the children going to Kony? The option needs to be eliminated. Stopping him is a huge step forward, more than I can see you've ever done. I cant believe you would criticize someone trying to stop a man responsible for such actions. There is indeed an ultimate need for reconstruction, and this is where we start. How about you quit complaining and come up with some solutions on how to fix the issue?

Fred

03/07/2012 12:25

@Christian Have you ever been in a Situation like in Africa?
NO
Will you survive even one Month living like them without secure income of food ?
NO
I bet you have never been in a Situation where you would do anything just to Survive...

How to solve this Problem:

GO BACK IN TIME AND STOP THE WESTERN WORLD FROM TRADING RIFLES AND SO ON TO US(I AM ACTUALLY IN EUROPE NOW::KNOW BOTH WORLDS) IN AFRICA

DEUCE
FLATLINER

Alex

03/07/2012 12:41

If you evaluate all of the factors, the situation is not unlike the Iraq war in its potential for future instability. I think he needs to be stopped, but the Sudanese government and the Ugandan armies involved are no less corrupt. Kony is a part of the problem, not the ultimate solution, and without addressing all problems at once the potential for greater instability and constant factional warfare is entirely possible (again look at how the Iraq situation panned out). He does need to be stopped, but if it's not done correctly direct subsequent outcomes could still be problematic.

03/07/2012 21:25

Christan - Couldnt agree more. Some people just like to criticize to sound smart. With the bigger picture in mind, Kony needs to be stopped and I'd rather support people who are trying than some trolls rambling on the internet rather than helping.

Hdjdk

03/07/2012 23:08

You are a f***img moron

Yomara

03/08/2012 00:24

Fred- Maybe you should do a little more research instead of jumping on a bandwagon of negativity. The fact that this blogger is highly hypocritical should ope your eyes. I won't go into all the ways this article is wrong, but I will say that IC has so many other programs that are working to eliminate the other conditions as well.

03/08/2012 03:55

I don't think he's justifying anything really. He's not saying DON'T join the cause, just that don't do it by joining supporting companies which will eventually swindle YOUR money, which you wound have given to aid the cause, and line their pockets.

Big picture? You mean the picture where most of Africa is below the poverty line? If you think that it's all fine and dandy there well then you're mistaken.

If there is a company in the world which would be willing to pull all stops and give the children security and food once they've been rescued from the Kony situation then by all means kill the bastard.

He's just saying "Whatever you're doing, do it SMARTLY and not BLINDLY."

The only way to solve the problem is probably to stop thinking that money is everything. Which is an INFINITELY impossible to do in today's economy.

So may be instead of asking others to think up a solution why don't you do it and stop complaining? And I mean that in the nicest way possible, I'm not here to piss people off.

justin

03/09/2012 17:10

Y do we have to do anything? thats the problem with america. we always have to be in everything. we dont need to help them. if there to weak to do sumthing thereselves, O well. Y do u think americas broke now? Obviously trying to fix everybodies problems isnt working for US. so forget whats good for them. we need to straighten our shit out before we can anybody else what to do.

Sadie

03/12/2012 07:16

@ Justin-
Why don't they rise up and do something to help themselves? ummmm, I don't know, maybe because they're CHILDREN?! When you were 7 could you provide for yourself? Not even that but could you escape from grown men who kidnapped you at gun point and made you shoot and kill your family? I HIGHLY doubt it. Have some compassion. It is the responsibility of THE WORLD, not just America, to protect the rights and innocence of children. If it was your child over there, I bet you would be saying something a little different...

stephan

03/07/2012 20:27

well because they never did an audit they cant say how much they get paid and the percent that actualy goes to relief unless some one would like to prove me wrong with some cold hard facts

Astrid

03/07/2012 21:54

Their annual reports are published on their website. It's buried, but it's there. The top three guys who run IC are paid over $80K a year. It also shows everything else concerning their fiscal spending. Sorry if you were asking for something else.

Amy

03/07/2012 23:16

Is there any way you guys could help in getting posters and bracelets Josiah? Please help me i wanna help these kids so much. they deserve to live where they were born. they have rights

Margot

03/07/2012 23:49

After reading all of this and all the comments.... It sound like we are damned if we do and damned if we don't! Someone is trying to do something.... Something takes money..... Maybe they are spending more than they should on what they shouldn't??? Your word and "research" against his or hers???? Then people say we should stay out of it and let Africa solve their own problems. Well, frankly I'm not sure what kind of message anyone is trying to send. We are real quick to throw people under the bus for trying or even tjinking they are trying to do something they think is right. Why are we do quick to get ugly and attack eachother over things.... I think we are all trying to do something, somehow, somewhere..... We don't always do it right but the effort is there. Don't hate, help! Sometimes it seems like we are fighting the wrong battles. Idk..... I try to do my part.... I do what I feel I am lead to do in my heart. If I'm a sucker.... So be it!

Truth

03/08/2012 02:25

ITS OIL! Uganda has discovered OIL! That is why this is trending now!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/world/africa/uganda-welcomes-oil-but-fears-graft-it-attracts.html

Schitt Hedd link

03/10/2012 10:29

I agree wholeheartedly!

Cedric

03/07/2012 05:12

First comment?

I'd like to take that opportunity now

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:54

"So close..."

Luke

03/07/2012 12:03

"Close enough"

Lilly

03/07/2012 05:23

Agree with Lauren - Wikipedia is not reliable.

If one life is saved is it not worth it? If this single person is brought to justice so many lives will be affected for the better.

Help don't HINDER.

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:26

About the wikipedia thing, I will take the liberty to copy and paste my reply to lauren:

"Lauren, every Wikipedia article I linked is full of citations from scholarly articles. For example, the article on the English Civil War has at least 300 citations to university and phd texts as evident in the citation. There is the conception that Wikipedia is unreliable, however that is only when there are no citations within the article. When the article is heavily cited as evident in ALL of my Wikipedia links, wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources you can use as it provides a comendium of all scholarly articles into one concise wikipedia article."

As for your point about a single life is saved, I COMPLETELY agree Lilly. I really do. But the fact of the matter is, military intervention to prosecute Kony will kill more lives than save and possibly create a failed South Sudanese state. There needs to be another way, IC's direction is completely wrong and it is evident in events throughout history.

03/07/2012 05:35

Haven't you just been harping on about how corrupt South Sudan is and now if it fails it would be a problem...??? If it fails it would allow for a revolution,
If Kony isn't stopped will more lives not continue to be destroyed??

You think the Invisible Children Inc are single minded in their actions, are yours not the same....

Hunter

03/07/2012 16:03

Josiah, a military intervention would NEVER kill more than they would save. Take down Kony, take down the LRA (If necessary, while I don't condone it, kill anyone who opposes.), and then take a step back and look at the next problem and squash it, maybe not by military force, but by negotiation. You may need to use deadly force, and yes, alot of people will die, but you will be saving more than just the people who are present... You would be saving a future for a country that clearly needs help, It is a double-standard, I do know that, but no reward comes without sacrifice.

Jill

03/07/2012 17:45

One bug a boo....spelling. It's compendium. Well, I lied. Two bug a boos. What do you think will happen if Kony 2012 is successful?

Jill

03/07/2012 17:47

guess that wasn't a second bug a boo, really.

Some dude

03/07/2012 18:05

Kony 2012 is not to help in the persecution but the AWARENESS raising worldwide. Maybe UN will take a hint. I am outraged that US has already deployed and stuck their fingers in Uganda, but I am happy to make issues world wide. I am however, much more concerned with the conflict in Syria than with Kony. Syria is a lot more F@*#ed up right now. And this Kony is adverting our attention.

john

03/07/2012 22:22

@Hunter 50 bucks that you are american. only americans think they have the right to go around the world shooting people. And for gods sake... why is it that white people always think they have to SAVE africa. Since 2008, the UPDF has successfully pushed kony out of Uganda, joint military strikes against Kony have been organised since then. Child abduction rates are down by more than 80% and NOW we feel like going to uganda and killing kony. Are you fucking kidding me??? If ever we should have done that, we should have done it years ago but not now. Uganda, the congo and Sudan are handling the issue; for once can we please please just let Africa handle its own problems because to be honest, they have in the past and an intervention now is like letting someone else do all the work and then claiming the success for yourself. Its arrogant and really reminds of colonialism.

Rae

03/07/2012 08:24

No ones arguing there shouldn't be an end to it. the trouble is how you go about it. Western millitary intervention? Support for a corrupt government which also has a history of rape and child soldiery crushing him?

Matt

03/07/2012 14:04

"No ones arguing there shouldn't be an end to it. the trouble is how you go about it."

Perfect way to sum up how I feel about it. It should end but, is storming in guns blazing really the best way to go about it? Kony is just one of many problems in the continent...

nana

03/07/2012 21:20

Once army intervention starts, more lives are deprived than saved. Don't believe in the military saving people fantasy. And wikipedia is reliable to some extent even if not, use the other facts and ideas presented in this article to make a judgment. Wikipedia is written by many people who do extensive study on the topic. Why would your comment or the film be more reliable than wikipedia articles when they are both written after examining facts? It's actually more current than any official encyclopedia out there and has information synthesized for you. Most people don't have access to scholarly journals for free, so wikipedia is not a bad source especially when you want the facts and figures synthesized for you rather than having to go through 20 books to finally get the larger idea. Spreading the freaking KONY 2012 video is not going to help. Also a foreign perspective is not always accurate. Another experienced person who has lived in Uganda said that Kony is dying in Congo and he has met victims but they are all concerned with other things now. Why trust only one filmmaker's perspective? He shows some Uganda politicians asking for help. Since when are politicians trustworthy?

You seriously referenced Wikipedia?!

03/07/2012 05:26

Josiah if you ever studied at university you would know Wikipedia is banned as a 'reliable source" of "scholarly articles".
At a tertiary education level you would never reference Wikipedia.

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:32

To quote myself ONCE again:

Every Wikipedia article I linked is full of citations from scholarly BOOKS. For example, the article on the English Civil War has AT LEAST 300 citations to university and phd texts as evident in the citation. There is the conception that Wikipedia is unreliable, however that is only when there are no citations within the article. When the article is heavily cited as evident in ALL of my Wikipedia links, Wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources you can use as it provides a compendium of all scholarly articles into one concise article. I do understand that Wikipedia citations are somewhat unorthodox, but if you took even a second before criticizing, to look at the citations list of scholarly articles at the end of ALL the articles I've linked, you will find an amazing compendium of books that have been referenced.

Uni Student

03/07/2012 05:37

Then reference the books not wikipedia. obviously you've never been to university otherwise you would know that.

if you want your source to be reliable you have to reference the ACTUAL reliable sources. not be slack and source something that would be disregarded by scholars.

Lauren

03/07/2012 05:39

Wikipedia is not scholarly recognized and so forth cannot be used as a valuable and reliable source of information no matter what the Wikipedia sources state. If you were truly interested in the organization wether it be helping or bashing you would have taken time to find a real source to use.
ikipedia (i/ˌwɪkɨˈpiːdiə/ or i/ˌwɪkiˈpiːdiə/ wik-i-pee-dee-ə) is a free, collaborative, multilingual Internet encyclopedia supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 21 million articles (over 3.8 million in English alone) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,[3] and it has about 100,000 regularly active contributors

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:42

Actually, a couple of months ago I comeplted a 4000 word these on Music and I beat the MLA format of citations into me. I am fully aware of what is needed in university, trust me. But why do I have to follow some, honestly, contrived and fucked up convention of Universities on my blog? I have looked through the articles and they are clear, concise and beautifully cited.

Maddie

03/07/2012 16:00

Dont worry about them. I know it is a reliable source...

Samantha link

03/07/2012 16:10

Wikipedia is constantly monitored by numerous moderators, and articles are edited/written by professionals on the subject. I know this from experience.

Bel

03/08/2012 03:17

Hey Josiah, regardless of whether I disagree or agree with your claims, I'm always a fan of anyone thinking critically about media campaigns. AND I'm not going to whinge or complain about you referencing wiki articles like so many others - but if you are forced to keep posting the above response to your detractors, could you rethink the phrase "There is the conception that Wikipedia..." My brain is screaming at me that you actually meant perception. I hope you actually meant perception and if not, my apologies.

Josiah

03/08/2012 03:38

Nah, I meant conception. Thanks for reading though my friend!

Lauren

03/07/2012 05:42

That is Wikipedia's Wikipedia for itself purposely admitting that anyone could put anything into those articles.

James

03/07/2012 06:09

What is your problem? As a budding Historian (and a common visitor / editor of generally historically-related pages), I can completely vouch that Wikipedia - especially when it comes to modern history - is actually very reliable. Professors don't like it because the people that write the articles are numerous, and often unknown. Stop picking out tiny holes, you're just plain wrong. It isn't a scholarly article, its a bloody blog. Chill out.

Lenr

03/07/2012 11:11

Im still waiting for the lovers of IC to give rational and well constructed rebuttal to the evidence here presented. And, for your knowledge, there isnt a more reliable source than wikipedia. Not for wiki itself, but for the sources used, that, most of the time, are from academic papers. The well informed teachers know this.

Patrick

03/07/2012 12:50

This blog is primarily intended to counter the misinformation presented by IC. Since most recent bandwagon-jumpers are on said bandwagon because they can't be bothered to do proper research on the topic (beyond 30 minutes of passivity), the direct citation of genuine scholarly sources would only serve to steer them away from thinking for themselves. They just wouldn't be bothered. Wikipedia is a mine of information, much of it well cited and accurate, and most importantly readily available for those who want to understand what is going on without heading to a library or relying on information in videos devoid of citations.

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:47

Thank you, you guys are absolutely spot on.

YALLSTUPID

03/07/2012 14:06

YALLSTUPID

03/07/2012 14:16

Why don't you STUPID people just stop to worry about Wikipedia. I'm interested in comments and articles about interesting topic or the blog and sorry, but Wikipedia isn't one of them. It is wasting to discuss about unimportant things like that instead of paying attention to what matters. And even if feel like you HAVE TO tell him that quoting Wikipedia isn't good, read the articles, do some research and then you may will be able to tell if they are an option of a reliable source. Thank You

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:48

Amen!

tannhäuser

03/07/2012 05:44

Wikipedia has, for such large pages, at least 50 reliable sources from universities and other acclaimed scholarly journals. I challenge you to find a page better cited. Wikipedia is unreliable for those tiny articles that about 5 people in the world is truly an expert about, and this again shows the bandwagon mentality of the inapt in thinking that Wikipedia cannot be trusted.

Was not the founding fathers of so many nations seen as such an evil being? Did the American founding fathers not slaughter, pillage and kill in order to create their Utopian society? Did Lenin not wage war against about 5 different armies and factions to reorganize Russia and improve its infrastructure and industry by a factor of 100 years? Did Mao not knock 50 years off China's state as a dark vortex of doom?

Machiavelli said "Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed." In a struggle for whatever ideal, sacrifices are inevitable, be it resources, wealth, a life or even entire armies. One that lives in a world that believes lives saved are always for the better is not only delusional but grossly misunderstands the workings of humanity.

Neither am I convinced that Kony is a Messiah for his people, alike to Mao or Lenin. However, the general ignorance at this topic, and the uproar it brought about is severely disheartening for one who sincerely wishes to love all humanity.

This cesspool of ignorance cannot continue. I am for an opposition to Kony, as every thesis requires and will have an antithesis. Please, however, make it intelligent.

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:53

Beautifully put, my friend!

idiots

03/07/2012 05:47

And what sources does the media get its information? I understand disregarding wikipedia as a unreliable source, but look at every other source out there, they're all fucking unreliable to some degree and bias.

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:54

Thank you! I would argue even that Wikipedia, with it's 300 odd citations is much more reliable than most of the articles out there.

Ur So DAFT

03/07/2012 06:04

media articles are not counted as a scholar reliable source!
like wikipedia!

Rajit

03/07/2012 07:38

As I write this, I hope I'm replying to the right comment - the stupid reply buttons sem in weird places. Alright, if you consider Wikipedia to be unreliable, which I concede, it can be, just use the scholarly articles at the bottom of the page. Nobody is marking Josiah's blog, so he doesn't have to do that. If proper citations and reliability matter so much, I reckon going to the bottom of each of the Wikipedia pages isn't so hard. And now it seems there's a scholarly article too. Well, well, well.

rosie

03/07/2012 05:47

the profanity used in this peice makes it, in my eyes, illegitimatised!

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:52

I'm sorry! I'll probably remove it when I have calmed down a bit.

tannhäuser

03/07/2012 05:53

I would like to point you towards American cinema and the timeless truths it encapsulates. Profanity is no longer a language for the lower classes and educated, it is as much a part of our daily vocabulary as any other. To omit such syntax in a blog full with it would only count as pretentious.

Bert

03/07/2012 08:42

Profanity is only used by those who don't posess the intellect and vocabulary to express and articulate their thoughts in a proper form...if you have to resort to profanity for any reason other than screaming because of your own physical pain (like from getting shot by a kid in South Sudan), then please utilize a source slightly more reliable than wikipedia, it's called Merriam Webster's Dictionary.

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:47

I have no profanities in my article. And I can articulate my thoughts in a proper form, thank you very much. Also, how is Merriam Webster's Dictionary a step up from Wikipedia? Are you insane? Apples and oranges, you goon. One is an ENCYCLOPEDIA, and the other is a DICTIONARY as evident in both their names! Wow, people.

Max

03/07/2012 16:41

"Profanity is only used by those who don't posess the intellect and vocabulary to express and articulate their thoughts in a proper form..." This is simply false. What do you think profanity is? It is a mutated form of english. And what do you think "proper" english is? A mutated form of some predecessor language. The fact is, language is always constantly evolving and changing because ultimately the purpose of a language is to serve you, not the other way around. Profanity can and often is used because it is the most effective way of expression a feeling or idea, thus it is REQUIRED in order to "express and articulate ... thoughts in a proper form". Once again, the purpose of a language is to serve its user, not the other way around. Why restrict yourself to strictly following "proper" rules when it inconveniences you if those rules are human constructs in the first place? I'm not saying all usage of profanity is warranted but to go against use of all use of profanity absolutely is simply close minded. Language has always been evolving, change is a constant, accept it or gtfo.

Amanda

03/07/2012 14:51

I completely agree. When you said, "fuckload," i decided to not share this website with anyone.

Laure

03/07/2012 05:47

Well since you go to a university you can understand that nothing you say holds any ground anywhere due to your rediculous use of Wikipedia to site as your crucial peice of information.

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:53

You are either extremely thick, or a massive troll. Either way, thanks for reading!

Josiah who?!

03/07/2012 06:00

Show your true colours Josiah. Name calling, seriously?

If you did know anything at all at a university level you would know a thing called constructive criticism. Or should we all just go around calling people thick and massive trolls? What's next, physical abuse? and then after that? It's comments like those to other people you don't even know that leads you to a vindictive path.

If you post a blog expect all kinds of feedback. comments like the above will never have you respected (neither will referencing wikipedia btw)

Parsifal

03/07/2012 06:04

And to this Sir I would like to point out Wilde, Voltaire and Göthe, who through sarcasm, shock and humour brought out and provoked much thought throughout the ages.

i.e., this is an actual literary technique.

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:05

Josiah who? Josiah Seet.

Alright then, would me adding a scholarly article about each of the wars make you happy? You know what, I'll do it, just for you! But I'm pretty sure you're a troll.

Samantha Sinclair

03/09/2012 09:44

Josiah, the people who are seeking to discredit you by making you seem negative, are merely using their over priced "university education ",by employing one of the 'cheapest' forms of logic taught, ad hominem logic. A. true critical thinking person, university educated, should be capable of so much more! then again, I DO suspect many of the pseudo intellectuals here were on the 8yr plan @ a 2yr community college!!! YOUR blog made great sense to me. rock on!

Parsifal

03/07/2012 05:54

Crucial. CRUCIAL?

You, ma'am, is the manifestation of the proverbial mountain out of a molehill.

James

03/07/2012 06:15

Please, who will take your words seriously when you cannot spell 'ridiculous,' 'piece'. or 'cite'. Hopeless.

Shy

03/07/2012 06:43

So hopeless!

03/07/2012 11:30

I was gonna point that out if no one else did... I wish she would shut up about going to university. Obviously, she's either really pretentious, or a troll. A lot of people use Wikipedia, therefore it has validity, in terms of universal discourse. Go ahead and reference it, and don't listen to these wannabe lecturers- we're not at university here. Well done on this blog Josiah, it's good to know some people aren't blindly following the guise of "charity".

Tyler

03/07/2012 13:15

holy crap Lauren. if you have such a problem with it then go check the sources that Wikipedia referenced for yourself. i'm tired of seeing "Wikipedia isn't a reliable source". for some articles you may be right but if you just keep saying it over and over it gets annoying. go check for yourself and quit complaining.

common sense!!!

03/07/2012 18:35

how about this. rather than dispute his sources, can you dispute his information? if his information is bad, due to bad sources, then this wikipedia bashing is fair. But as far as I have found, this blog as is very accurate, even if considered "unscholarly." This isnt a graduate dissertation, its a blog designed to illuminate a problem with stupid people in our society. He isnt arguing that Kony is a good guy by any means. But he is (correctly) stating that these Invisible Children punks are shady as hell. If this was really a great organization like you people think, why arent they spending their 1/4 of a million dollar salaries ON the invisible children, rather than becoming rich. This is clearly a case of choosing the lesser of evils. Can we really know that a violent "prosecution" of Kony would be any better for the people? Stalin seemed like an answer to many prayers initially. But he turned out to be an evil man, killing millions of his own people. There's no way of knowing the consequences, all this blog is attempting to do is make us stop, think and evaluate, before we hop our asses on the bandwagon.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:17

Thank you so much, this is an amazing summary of my thoughts.

Bob

03/08/2012 01:50

Okay riddle me this then. Are we at this moment here and now all in a university or are we all sitting on some form or electronic device talking on a blog?

Wikipedia is seen as unreliable in Universities because it is quick and simple and you don't learn much. As and example when I was learning XHTML we were not allowed to use any software to do it we made it from scratch. Why? Because it would be to quick and simple to use software. But you go out into the work force or at home and you can use the software as you like because it doesn't matter once you are out of the place of study. So maybe next time think about why there are rules in some places and not every single place.

Grace

03/09/2012 16:38

At least most authors of Wiki articles are able to properly spell "ridiculous" and "cite". Tired of all this Wiki-bashing business, last I checked the entry was still called "Concerning KONY 2012".

matt

03/07/2012 05:54

this is brilliant and i wholeheartedly agree

Josiah

03/07/2012 05:55

Thank you, share the blog if you like it!

Lauren

03/07/2012 06:04

Just remember at least people are attempting to
Do something, you instead are on the computer condemning those who are trying. What have you accomplished in your life? Maybe I'll Wikipedia it later on until them good day.

Support for Lauren

03/07/2012 06:06

Hilarious! I'm sure Josiah will add this article as a "scholarly" source to good old "RELIABLE" wikipedia

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:16

You bet your sweet bottom I did!

Parsifal

03/07/2012 06:07

Do not forget that the Prince controls the machine and the gears run mindlessly.

Our progress for the past 300 years has been due to the Enlightenment and theorists.

Confucius rightly identified that people should fit into their niche and fulfill that to their greatest possibility.

Great things are achieved by thinkers, accidents are created by doers.

wtf Lauren

03/07/2012 14:24

Lauren, I understand your feeling and I guess many people are thinking the same thing.. However, you have to understand the fact that to do something is not always a good thing, especially if it (like in this case) seem to be able to lead to military intervention or maybe just money going into a few people's pockets.. This thing has snowballed through social medias, and deserves a critical eye. It is a good thing that Kony has gotten attention, but it's just as important that people understand what they are supporting, which is what Josiah is trying to do. And please DROP THE HATE ON WIKIPEDIA!!!!

03/07/2012 17:57

I wholeheartedly agree with this blog. Having actually lived and worked in Africa myself, I have seen many of the problems outlined in this blog (and many others). Although the problem is bad currently (I agree that kony is a terrible person), however you cannot expect anything to improve when looking at where this will lead to!

Buzz

03/07/2012 06:10

FYI you've had more criticism than support and these few comments have nothing on the support of ICI.

Just an ant in a hornet's nest.

Lohengrin

03/07/2012 06:15

If you read clearly you will know that this post is not against or for Kony, it is against the entire way this protest is being run and how it has spread.

It is a decry for the degeneration of humanity.

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:17

Thank you Lohengrin, for that beautiful reply!

Label

03/07/2012 06:12

You had me at the photo but lost me with your awful comments.

Must make me a troll.... Ha.

Bert

03/07/2012 08:46

LOL and he doesn't reply to you :P

troll hunter

03/09/2012 10:20

I bet YOU are a troll! why don't YOU and that anal retentive, Lauren, share a bridge, here in your own country, that THE problems OF should Be solved IN, before YOU go into others' backyards solving the ills of the world! what a novel idea, right? like getting all the USA orphans adopted before allowing overseas adoption! ...it's called "taking care of home ",something the western world seems painfully unfamiliar with!!! SAD and. pitiful!

tony

03/07/2012 06:17

u make some interesting points. i agree on some, dont agree on others. the whole point of kony 2012 is to raise awareness so the general population from countries around the world can tell our governments to do something about it.

thats my only part of it. ill sign up to show my support, but i aint giving them money. i really dont trust charity. corruption everywhere

Lohengrin

03/07/2012 06:20

And you are welcome to do so!

Someone FINALLY understands.

Thank you sir, for making me see hope in humanity.

Guy sitting on the fence

03/07/2012 12:50

Finally! someone who isn't trying to look smarter than they really are! Exactly what I'm doing too Tony; their cause doesn't require money so why give it to them? Do the rational thing and support them with publicity, finance is irrelevant to their cause.

Whether Josiah has agreed or disagreed he has still shown the topic of Kony to be a controversial one. Well presented and thought out blog btw :).

Jake link

03/07/2012 16:03

Beautifully put. My point is that these guys do the best job at really driving the point home. Disagree with their methods if you will, I'm tired of grabbing my ass while I wait for the perfect solution.

Raoul

03/07/2012 06:18

I'd like to be the first to actually post a comment about Kony. He's a monster.

Grow up guys, if the legitimacy Wikipedia is all you can pick on, your head's stay in your anus has overstayed it's time. Please kindly remove it and look at the world. Curse the banality but wonder at the variability.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banality
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variability

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:23

Oh raoul! I love you.

A Straw Man

03/07/2012 06:22

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/15766741.jpg

Josiah

03/07/2012 06:25

Nice use of memes! I don't know everything, far from it, but I do know enough to post about the topic. Coupled with my research, the info is pretty solid. If you would like to dispute anything I have said regarding the geopolitics of Africa, feel free, my friend.

A Straw Man

03/07/2012 09:12

Nay, this is aimed at the degenerates who criticize this post only based on its use of wikipedia. Let's be honest, who hasn't?

Will

03/07/2012 06:43

ITT: People trying to disagree, only to come back to the "wikipedia" argument.

Raoul

03/07/2012 07:03

I's saids its alreadies.

SAVE PHONY sites likes wikipedia

DONT GET LONELY by always reading wikipedia.

THINK OF TONY when you peruse wikipedia.

Derek

03/07/2012 06:54

yay first post!

Josiah

03/07/2012 07:04

SO CLOSE...

Rajit

03/07/2012 07:40

Bob

03/08/2012 02:00

Close but no banana!

Bozo

03/07/2012 06:59

Being from Africa, born and raised, this is a brilliant campaign. Support for KONY2012.

Josiah

03/07/2012 07:05

Your IP says you're from Cyprus. Please, tell me more about how you can relate to the 99% in Africa.

Bozo

03/07/2012 07:20

...like i said Josiah, born and raised. Im from Zimbabwe and i spent 20 years there, now moved to Cyprus for reasons someone who is not from there wont EVER understand. We are all entitled to our opinions.

Josiah

03/07/2012 07:25

Yes, I agree. After all, we're just all here to gain knowledge right? I respect your opinion, have a nice day sir, and thanks for reading!

Laura (not Lauren or Laure who can't spell her own name)

03/07/2012 07:07

I think the commenters who have become fixated with the validity (or lack thereof) of Wikipedia as a reference are completely missing the point of this article as I see it. Surely you can see the danger in the running jumps many are taking onto this particular bandwagon? Do you think that Hitler managed to persecute the Jews on his own or was it perhaps with the backing of millions of everyday German citizens who took his antagonistic stance at face value? I'm not saying this Kony character doesn't deserve prosection, I'm certainly not saying that this Invisible Children charity is akin to Hitler. What I am saying is that I know pretty much zip about either one (as, I'm willing to wager, do the vast majority of the people currently getting fired up about it) and before I invite all of my facebook friends to an event asking them to give money to a so-called charity I've never heard of, I'd prefer to step back and learn a little. I think that is what Josiah was attempting to get across.

Fervently supporting a cause you know little about - yep, seems like the best course of action to me. Can't see any potential problems here.

I also can't believe the snobbery being thrown around by some who clearly have over-inflated egos surrounding their attainment of a degree. The constant, childish jibes along the lines of 'you clearly haven't been to university' do little but to embarrass the writers and belittle tertiary education. Especially when they are so articulate and properly spelt. Josiah isn't writing a paper for uni, he's writing a blog which is obviously (and you don't have to have a degree to understand this - in fact, perhaps it would be best if you don't) going to be strongly based on his personal opinions. That said, he argues his case well - better than any of the facebook 'events' I've been invited to this evening.

As I said, I'm not saying we should all turn a blind eye to injustices in this world - just that we should make sensible decisions that will best work to rectify them. I don't know that the latest 'fad' will achieve this. If Kony is the devil he seems to be, do you think destroying him will solve the problems? Is there a better way? Will someone else not simply step up to fill the void? Are there not others already doing so? These are questions I can't answer yet but I won't raise my pitchfork until I've at least tried to do so.

Oh, and for the record - I have in fact been to university and graduated with honours so clearly my opinion carries weight and must be listened to by the uneducated masses. That's how it works right?

Josiah

03/07/2012 07:11

Laura, please, let me take your hand in marriage. You, amongst others have this uncanny ability to put my thoughts into words so eloquently. Thank you so much for your post, you are a diamond in a sea of industrial sludge.

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:30

You, madam, are wonderful. Beautifully put.

03/08/2012 01:21

After reading all the comments thus far, I would say this sums up my thoughts most accurately. Thank you for that

Katie

03/09/2012 12:26

I was thinking all of this, and you have put it beautifully.

I spent 30 minutes watching the Kony 2012 film. Then I typed "Kony 2012" into Google and spent 30 minutes reading a wide range of articles, written by a diverse spread of people: from bloggers to professors, to journalists to social scientists. There were a lot of troubling points brought up about the Kony campaign, and the more I read, the more I am doubtful that their aims are virtuous. I invite you all to do your own research too.

Laura, I'm so glad you made the point about Hitler managing to 'achieve' all the terrible things that he and the Nazis did by recruiting ordinary Germany citizens with all his delicious sounding promises. I don't want to end up like those everyday Germans during WW2: tricked into supporting something atrocious by a madmen who promised great things.

There are so many flaws within the IC manifesto/ plan/ charity as a whole, that we MUST discuss what really is going on.

There is a quote "Truth is that which precedes thought" meaning that truth is the pure and straightforward series of events that there is before anyone forms an opinion on what has happened........ I don't know what the truth is here, but the most important thing is knowledge and to research around the subject and gain different perspectives and make up our own mind, instead of just watching a video and then regurgitating it's message as the gospel truth.

We must look at history, and remember how many conflicts started - by inventing an enemy of the state to give an excuse to go to war in that country. The discovery of oil in Uganda has been mentioned in these comments, but also in many other articles I have read. The fact that Kony has not been in Uganda for 7 years, yet the video is leading us to believe that that is the location of the problem that he is causing. The US cannot afford to NOT be at war. It sounds incredibly cynical, but does this not sound like the beginning of pretty much every one of their wars? I'm not saying this is the truth, as how can I possibly know? But I am saying, please consider other perspectives no matter how uncomfortable they are. One of these statements will be true: IC may be leading the most important and potentially successful campaign ever to combat a terrible terrorist. OR we will one day be in the history books as those akin to the everyday German people in Nazi Germany who were promised beautiful things and rallied to carry out atrocities against people they were made to believe were sworn enemies.

Let's just do a bit of research first in case we are unwittingly become supporters of something really evil and hideous.

Ummmmwhat?

03/07/2012 07:27

lol @ the fact that most of the original news sources from the wikipedia sources that you sight regarding the topic (aside from the OVER 9000 unrelated pages regarding the Middle Ages, Hitler and other historical events you have read about in between reading Mad Magazine and jerking to PornHub) are at least 6 years old

Josiah

03/07/2012 07:36

Actually, my sources are pretty recent and good. I've checked them all.

- Charity Navigator is updated WEEKLY.
- The wordpress article, while old, still does not inhibit it's ability to convey my point.
- The Southern Sudan medical citation is updated yearly.
- As for the Wikipedia article, the last update for ALL of them have been from within half a day.

So, to correct your sentence, ONE of my citation is from 2006. Also, yes, the ages about the Middle Ages, Mao and Hitler are "unrelated". You my friend, and pure comedic gold!

Wolfram

03/07/2012 07:37

1. Spelling.

2. The video was shot in 2004. 8 years old.

Point?

Hahaha

03/07/2012 09:25

Good comeback

Rajit

03/07/2012 07:50

I hope that after the countless comments about Wikipedia being a non-scholarly website, there are some posts about the essence of the article itself. If not, well I feel a certain desire to post something, probably accentuated by the completely nonsensical digression going on up above.

As I have said in a comment before, this is no university term paper. This is no thesis that Josiah has claimed you have to accept if you have any sort of a brain. All this is, is a blog post and a commentary on the fairly depressing social condition of bangwagonnage (Just for you Raoul).

Hmmm....I don't know enough about this topic to actually decide on Kony. To be completely honest, and I am more than a little ashamed of this, I had no idea who Kony was until I read the troll-posts on Facebook and read up on Wikipedia (no scholarly article once again, just for my own interest). Yet there is a big degree of truth in your blog post, Josiah, because what I see to be your main point is the issue of no research. I mean, we have people complaining here about your choice of sources, when the main issue at hand is that people are following the crowd mindlessly without bothering to even go onto Wikipedia to find out some information about the matter. In fact, the embarassing part is that even Wikipedia can reveal much of what Josiah has in the post. So people being too lazy to go onto Wikipedia before giving away their money to a cause they don't know much about? That does sound like a bit of a problem considering many of these people would spend hours haggling in order to save a few dollars.

I feel like I've kinda lost the point of my comment, but hopefully something of my jumbled thoughts has become clear from my ramblings. On a side note, I liked the way you layed-out this post, great bite-sized chunks. :)

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:18

Thank you for that intellectual post, Rajit!

Black and white

03/07/2012 08:17

Josiah points out many legitimate points in this post. However, I don't think KONY 2012 is bringing more bad than good. I believe that this "bandwagon" is actually increasing interest and educating people around the world about some of the conditions in the mid-African region, including this critical post by Josiah. And that is never a bad thing.

Saying that there is one critical point view that is not mentioned here. And that is the hundreds of millions in aid money being paid out from western countries to Uganda (and other countries in the region) which mainly use it for military expenditures, in turn keeping the conflict with LRA alive. In other words, the aid money we (the western world) is giving to e.g. Uganda is contributing to more children soldiers over time. While there is certainly not an easy solution for the current situation, surely there is many things that can be done to narrow the distance between the current state and a desired state. But before anything, there has to be enough awareness with people, organisations and governments around the world. This is where a thing like KONY 2012 or critical blogs like this helps, to create awareness and encourage people to educate themselves.

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:23

I completely agree, sir! You are a beacon of knowledge, like Laura, in a sea of sludge.

Anthony Driesen link

03/07/2012 21:23

You put a lot of thought into that reply. It's smart and clearly states the point. I do think you're missing a vital piece of the puzzle, however.

This is the Facebook generation. In a month, tops, everyone will have forgotten about Brony, or whatever the hell his name is.

Example: How many of you were watching Egypt's revolution? How many of you spread the word, and rooted for the protesters? When was the last time you looked up the current situation in Egypt? I'll bet not since the protest was actively going on. Did any of you know that an Egyptian court has overturned a death sentence against the only police officer convicted of killing protesters?

In a short time, all of the bleeders (My term for the Facebook Lip-Service Charity crowd) will find something else to give a damn about. They'll act like this thing is the WORST THING EVAR, share some links about it, and promptly forget it, thus beginning the cycle anew.

Kony is an evil leader of men. For that area of the world, however, he's pretty much par for the course. Kill him and some other jackass will appear.

You want to magically fix Africa? No way. It's going to be a long, dirty fight with people who don't want you meddling in their affairs. The best you can hope to do in the short term is get the children and anyone else who wants to out. The rest is a quagmire of blood, mud, and death.

Black and white

03/07/2012 23:29

I understand exactly what you mean with the "Facebook generation" and "bleeders" and how things seem like they are forgotten as quickly as they first rose into spotlight attention, and everything seem to just have been the make of a fancy American movie. While you are completely right about the "bleeders" and how things like these instantly seem to turn everyone into social activists overnight, I try to see the good in it.

While everything is not black and white (except in Africa), you can, for the ease of argumentation, segment people in "bleeders" and "non-bleeders" if you like. The way I like to look at it is that it is better for information like this to spread than non at all, and I would rather see people be informed of things like these instead of the latest celebrity gossip. Even though the "Facebook age" is young I want to believe that it is something good, without sounding too cliche, I really do think that it gives a sort of power, or balance, back to the ordinary people, through ease of communication, even if it extends or changes into other social media vehicles. Balance is very important in many aspects.

I also know what you mean by "magically fixing" things. It is hard to see a solution to things when there is not really a good side to chant for. According to the IISS the Uganda Peoples Defence Force minimum age of service is 13, which also makes them eligible for use of child soldiers as well. I could list countless things that make any mid-African government or military look just as bad as any terrorist organisation. But in mid-Africa, there just isn't anything better to choose from, so it will just have to do for now, the way it has always been in Africa.

As for the rest of Africa, of course this entire Kony business, with his currently 80 or so forced followers, is very minor relative to other things going on in Africa at the moment such as the ACTA-treaty that may cause millions of deaths due to medical shortages, the problems in Libya and the subsequent collapse of the government and continued human rights violation in Egypt, not to mention the tens of millions dying every year throughout Africa due to drought and food shortages e.g. in Somalia.

Lok

03/07/2012 08:22

Some people are completely missing the point. We have established the fact that Kony is the "monster", however the flaw is in how we defeat this "monster". Let's all think for a second, once all the money is raised from the campaigns and donations etc., what are we going to do with it??? Give it to organisations like Invisible Children so that they can double the pay of the four entrepreneurs??? Give it to the Ugandan government so that more than half the money goes to the corrupt politicians so that they can continue to support their lavish lifestyles??? Yes the video says that the money will be used to invest in the technology of weapons and equipment, but two questions arise from that statement.
1. Will 100% of all donations be used to invest in the technology of the weapons and equipment? Time and time again it is proven that aid ALWAYS fails to do its job to its most efficient level. When you donate 50 pesos to almost any cause, more than 80% of the money is lost in transition.
2. More importantly, once the money is invested upon this stuff, what do we do with it? Kill more innocent lives to capture Kony?
This "monster" hasn't been active since 2006? (I forgot) It has been 7 years...
My point is, we are all aiming at the dartboard, but we have no idea where exactly on the dartboard do we have to hit. I am not being hostile or aggressive because I fully believe that this cause will benefit from raising awareness and donations, but we must consider the consequences and weigh the advantages and disadvantages before we act.
Peace :)

Lok 2

03/07/2012 08:23

Excuse the lame analogy.

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:49

I couldn't agree more, Lok!

Katie

03/09/2012 12:43

I agree with you Lok. And perhaps we don't even know what the dartboard looks like at this point - or where it is, or what form it takes. But we MUST consider consequences, and the most important thing is that we discuss and consider different perspectives, and most importantly, think for ourselves!

03/09/2012 12:45

Alyssa

03/07/2012 08:23

I enjoyed reading your blog for it has given me a better perspective of the this kony obsession, and laura i loved your point of view :)

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:19

Thank you, my aim is not to convince, but rather to educate and show a different perspective.

anna

03/07/2012 08:25

people are not supporting the charity but the ideal... i completely agree that unknown criminals like Kony should be made famous and face the dance... and i also agree that Kony is not the only problem in uganda but you got to start somewhere don't you? might as well start on the top... and no i am not donating obey to the charity but i will be definitely supporting the process of taking this monster to prison...

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:20

Yes, I agree. The support of the ideal is strong, but we should not donate to IC, a charity that has NEVER had an audit. Suspicious.

Rae

03/07/2012 08:27

PS if the writer has proved that the wiki page used is reliable because of citations, therefore that the information contained is correct then what is wrong with it. We are not in university here. I haven't been to uni. Does this make my opinion invalid?

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:49

No it doesn't, thank you!

Sal

03/07/2012 08:28

I back Laura, reality is we don't know the severity of the situation nor has the Joseph Kony group in question had an opportunity to voice their side of what's going on.

Don't get me wrong, I don't condone any of the practices Joseph Kony is being accused of however it is important to investigate all sides of a topic from a neutral perspective before jumping on the "bandwagon" and designating yourself an expert.

The fact that this blog utilizes "wikipedia" as a resource for citation is irrelevant, what source other then the video provided by this charity have you guys looked into?

It's a blog, not a research article AND the credibility of the video itself is disputable, especially when considering that its entire movement is based on a childs interpretation of the situation.

The underlying factor in this blog is: don't be so easily manipulated into an argument you know nothing about.
Before you put your name on anything, or speak about a topic with confidence you need to consider all aspects and do your own research, unless ofcourse you're not interested in doing so; at which stage I would recommend not speaking at all.

:)

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:48

Exactly my thoughts, thank you!

Allie link

03/07/2012 09:33

"The underlying factor in this blog is: don't be so easily manipulated into an argument you know nothing about.
Before you put your name on anything, or speak about a topic with confidence you need to consider all aspects and do your own research, unless ofcourse you're not interested in doing so; at which stage I would recommend not speaking at all."

I totally agree with this - in just one night, Kony2012 has taken over the timeline/dashboard of all my social networking sites and I see people getting all worked up over it (very confidently so) like they have been fighting this cause for years. Question is, how much do they know or understand it?

I admit, I knew very little about this until this morning when the hoo-ha begun and I am rather reluctant about posting up stuff regarding the campaign even though I got the gist of it (I still haven't posted anything). But I think it doesn't hurt to learn a bit more about what's going on, than fully diving in together with the crowd, raging all about it, when truth is; they probably know nothing more than the video they've all watched.

Just a thought.

ash

03/07/2012 08:29

Point 1:

The CEO of the American Red Cross is paid $995,718 per year. Would you argue this makes the American Red Cross an illegitimate charity? Also, $80,000 is not an overly large wage, you do realize these people need to pay themselves a wage to continue living...
(http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277)

Point 2:
The video clearly highlights the LRA's tendency to go into hiding, only to come back after regaining strength and continue with it's genocide.
Furthermore, to suggest just because the LRA has expanded to other countries does not discredit the need for Kony and the LRA to be disbanded and brought to justice.

Point 3:

No one is calling for an outright war, it is a call for justice, in order to save thousands from rape, murder and enslavery. How can you argue that is not a worthwhile aim?

Point 4:

Ridiculous assertion. Also, the LRA is not a part of the Ugandan Government, it is a guerrilla group. What are you suggesting, inaction? Let genocide continue?

Point 5:

Completely illegitimizes this whole 'article'. Not even worth responding to other than the obvious fact that a/ the LRA aren't revolutionaries and b/ they are practicing genocide, rape, abduction, massacres.

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:43

Point 1

It is not how much they are paid individually, it is the COMPENSATION OF LEADERS as a whole. WorldTeach has 40,000, IC has quarter of a million? How is that right?

ALSO, the RedCross makes approximately 2750% revenue than IC. If we take simple statistics, the Compensation pay to Total Revenue is WAY off in IC.

In terms of compensation money to leaders:Revenue

IC: $250,000:$13,000,000
Red Cross: $1,000,000: $3,587,775,430

By simple statistics, we can calculate using Red Cross as the norm, the IC when compared to their Revenue is being paid 680% more than the average charity.

That is NOT right. How can a 13 million revenue company pay half a million in "compensation to leader" when 3 BILLION and only has 900K in compensation money?

Point 3: No one is calling for an outright war, but any idiot will know that an outright war is the only way to capture Kony. Why do you think Obama ordered his troops not to attack at ALL costs? Don't believe me? Believe the president of the United States. The president knows that any confrontation of a militaristic nature against a CHILD army is more harm than good.

Poing 4:
I am not suggesting ANYTHING. Do NOT put words in my mouth. I am not even talking about Uganda, I am talking about South Sudan.

Point 5:
They are revolutionaries. Whether you like it or not, Kony has an ideal. Hitler was a revolutionary and he practiced genocide, Mao was a revolutionary and he practiced genocide (arguably the biggest killer of history). It is a common misconception that the term revolutionary has to have a good connotation. Make no mistake, the most well known revolutionaries of contemporary history and ancient history alike practiced genocide, rape, abduction and massacres like you so aptly put.

03/07/2012 15:23

How can a 13 million revenue company pay half a million in "compensation to leader" when 3 BILLION and only has 900K in compensation money?

*quarter of a million.
And how can you compare percentages like that? Doesn't make sense to me.

Marcus

03/07/2012 08:34

Even though its not a legitimate charity and doesn't really do as much as they say. the people that support KONY 2012 and who will do the night where everyone spreads the posters, people will still realise and try to stop kony. the charity is false, not the people

03/07/2012 08:39

Where and for what reason would you even begin to think the charity is 'false'?

Josiah

03/07/2012 08:44

A false charity is a corrupt one:

"It is not how much they are paid individually, it is the COMPENSATION OF LEADERS as a whole. WorldTeach has 40,000, IC has quarter of a million? How is that right?

ALSO, the RedCross makes approximately 2750% revenue than IC. If we take simple statistics, the Compensation pay to Total Revenue is WAY off in IC.

In terms of compensation money to leaders:Revenue

IC: $250,000:$13,000,000
Red Cross: $1,000,000: $3,587,775,430

By simple statistics, we can calculate using Red Cross as the norm, the IC when compared to their Revenue is being paid 680% more than the average charity.

That is NOT right. How can a 13 million revenue company pay half a million in "compensation to leader" when 3 BILLION and only has 900K in compensation money?"

To quote myself.

Bert

03/07/2012 09:12

Oi, Joshi boy!
Howcome When you say Leader of Worldteach, You're refering to ONE CEO, RedCross, ONE CEO, but IC, TWO Filmakers,ONE CEO, and a patridge in a frackin pear tree? You're distorting the statistics so that you can make the IC's numbers look worse than they really are...

Josiah

03/07/2012 09:17

I am not looking at individual leaders, I am looking at the TOTAL money spent on notable salaries. Think about it this way, WorldTeach needs 40,000 to run, RedCross needs 900,000 in manpower, but makes 2750% more.

It's not about the INDIVIDUAL, it's about the total amount of money spent on notable wages as a COLLECTIVE charity. And when we look at it that way, the IC has spent an obscene amount.

Bert

03/07/2012 09:07

Hey so um... "Invisible Children is a Uganda based organization and since they have been rid of Joseph Kony in Uganda for 7 years now, what are they still doing campaigning something that is not their problem? The essence of it lies in incentives (thank you Freakonomics). And that is money."

Firstly, money money money makes the world go round :P There are people who are making money in much worse ways than an inefficient charity, so although it's not right, don't put too much blame on them for that.

Secondly, they have 'rid' Uganda of Kony for 7 years now...so they just kicked him out? If Russians knew what Lenin, and later Stalin would do to the country, then they wouldve kicked them out too no? But there would still be a problem, you'd have guys like Lenin and Stalin running across Europe, Asia and the Middle East like leprechans trying to start revolutions elsewhere no? Same with Uganda, Kony is out of Uganda, but who's to say he won't come back? And that means he's just running around Africa raping, pillaging and enlisting children from other countries. This is one of the biggest problems that has existed for some time now, countries don't care because 'it's not their problem'. Just because Kony is out of Uganda, doesnt mean it's wrong to pursue him anymore by the Ugandan government, because it's not Uganda's problem anymore. That fact that they are going out of their way and boundaries to catch him makes this course of action better than most done in history. By the way, ever hear of defence? Just because Kony is out, doesn't mean he'll try to get back in, in addition to catching him, funding would also go to better border protection, which is not only generally a good thing, but it is a preventive measure, to stop Kony from coming back and running wild again within Uganda's borders.

Josiah

03/07/2012 09:15

Are you insane? Russia could NOT have survived the 20th century without Satlin. Pick up a history book please.

And I would argue that because the infrastructure of the charity is so entrenched in Uganda that donating to this organization is counter intuitive. The fight is in South Sudan, let an organization better disposed to help in terms of locality deal with this problem.

David

03/07/2012 14:44

I support what you're doing Josiah, and all your remarks have been spot on. However, I must ask you about how Russia couldn't survive without Stalin (Lenin himself didn't want Stalin to be the one taking over after him as I recall it..) Though it's a little off topic, I would be glad if you could enlighten me on that point :)

Josiah

03/07/2012 09:26

But yes, complete agree with your point of:

"Firstly, money money money makes the world go round :P There are people who are making money in much worse ways than an inefficient charity, so although it's not right, don't put too much blame on them for that."

Cutebun link

03/07/2012 09:22

I really like what you wrote about not jumping into the bandwagon and what's with people caring more about wikipedia than the content of the blog post itself?

Read the content not worry about citation and such. If you are so into details then might as well go research the facts by yourself.

Josiah

03/07/2012 09:28

Thank you so much for articulating my thoughts so well. I meant for the Wikipedia articles as a concise summary of the events so that my readers could draw a parallel between what is happening here and what is happening in the events I have cited.

If you want to read more in depth, I have provided scholarly citations to each event in the form of written prose. So what's the problem?

Your opinion is your opinion

03/07/2012 09:42

I believe in making a difference in any way possible, so I do support Kony2012, with good intentions in helping the children in Africa. However, I don't believe in accusing people blindly. We are not in the shoes of the creators of Invisible Children so we have no right to accuse them of such things. For all you know, they're fighting to better the lives of the people in Uganda and there are people who are just opposing them and bringing down the campaign.

Also, if there was a better solution to helping those children, it would've been in action long ago. But this seems to be the only approach to capturing and stopping Kony right now. I suppose there are people who jump into the bandwagon with ignorance, but please don't generalize the community who support the cause and genuinely want to help the children in Africa.

Brandon

03/07/2012 10:02

i got a theory, just become someone more monstrous than any of these guys, everybody will forget about them and go after you, hell they might even join together to take you out.Take the life's of of a few thousand to save millions right? Everybody just needs one common enemy.

Leal

03/07/2012 10:25

So how many lifes have you saved? More than the 'greedy fucks'?

Didn't think so.

Nick

03/07/2012 13:13

That's irrelevant, you tit.

The point is that this company is potentially abusing peoples good heartedness. The author of this article may have saved no one in his life, but he's not asking for money in the pure intention of ripping people off.

It's you bandwaggoners that look at nothing from the facts, it's always "You cited Wikipedia", "You're no better than them!". These neuroses are so irrelevant, considering that that's not the point of the article. Did he say "Donate to me I'm a SAINT!"? No, so take a look at the facts for once you ignorant dirt.

John

03/07/2012 13:31

"The author of this article may have saved no one in his life, but he's not asking for money in the pure intention of ripping people off."

- I'm sure the hits he's getting from us visiting his site IS giving him money. Face it, everyone is a greedy fuck, including this guy.

Leal

03/07/2012 14:00

Oh my, someone got a little overexcited!

And hating is not helping anyone. It's just annoying. Face it.

Leal

03/07/2012 14:00

Oh my, someone got a little overexcited!

Hating is not helping anyone. It's just annoying. Face it.

Leal

03/07/2012 14:01

Oh my, someone got a little overexcited!

Hating is not helping anyone. It's just annoying. Face it.

Leal

03/07/2012 14:01

Oh my, someone got a little overexcited!

Hating is not helping anyone. It's just annoying. Face it.

Leal

03/07/2012 14:03

sorry it posted 4 times, something is wrong with my connection!

Josiah

03/07/2012 23:58

I am not getting ANY revenue from this website. This blog is for my personal musings and charging/profiting off of it is wrong.

Susie

03/07/2012 10:29

Personally, I don't like the IC however the Kony 2012 is a good idea in theory as it makes people aware of the situation in Uganda but I'm just confused about what this will do, the US government have tried to get rid of Kony many times before and it's near impossible to do so without killing innocent people etc. what are the Ugandian army really going to do? It might just be me thinking this but I'm pretty sure they've used child soldiers in the past. Do they really want western armies going into Uganda? Won't that make the situation worse? To be honest, I think the western governments will only put all their effort into stopping it if there's a chance they will get oil out of it.

Fredrik

03/07/2012 10:45

Thank you for seeing the whole picture Josiah!

I am tired of seeing people letting their feelings control their actions, instead of their heart. I think it is great that information about the situatuon in Uganda is spreading around the world, but the path that invisible child is in my mind wrong.

Thank you for thinking twice! I feel like i am the only one in the world who are thinking twice after having watched the 30 min movie. I hate the fact that people are mad at me for not supporting invisible child. Watching a 30minute video does not make you a social activist

03/07/2012 10:55

I really think there's a confusion here between "thinking about the issues in greater depth" and "inaction". I believe the author is advocating the former, but many here are trying to attribute the latter to him, which is a gross misrepresentation of his position. Thinking does not imply inaction, and action should not be carried out without a lack of thought. Both are mutually constitutive, and I believe the author is merely trying to make the point that rash action (without thought) and jumping onto a bandwagon out of sheer emotional influence (or some kind of herd-mentality) could be dangerous, without any further research and/or additional information.

Josiah

03/07/2012 23:59

That was beautifully put. All I'm asking is to set aside your emotions and think a little.

Seriously laughing at all these comments

03/07/2012 11:03

Ok I have got to admit it's good to look at someone elses opinion about the whole Invisible Children "scam" and whatever BUT your blog is all about why everyone shouldn't support them. And to some degree maybe even a little bias. I mean what reason do you have to be so strongly against what they are doing? Have you donated to them? Have YOU been affected by their actions? Why do you care that everyone is jumping on board? It's not like you're related of friends with the majority of the supporters for Invisible Children. It seems as though you yourself are providing "evidence" to people about why we shouldn't trust them hoping that people would jump on the band wagon and follow you in distrusting Invisible Children, all based on your blog (cited from Wikipedia). Maybe YOU should form a charity? Just a suggestion :)
But on another note I take my hat off to you for having the balls to speak your mind.

Looking at this page in confusion ..

03/07/2012 11:31

I agree with you to every extent!

Anthony Driesen

03/07/2012 21:31

Wow, the meaning of the whole article went right over your head, didn't it. He wasn't saying "DON'T SUPPORT IC". He was saying, "Hey, these guys are doing shady shit, maybe you should try to understand their thoughts and motivations before blindly following them."

There is more to reading comprehension then the ability to read. As the second word says, you must COMPREHEND.

Josiah

03/08/2012 00:00

Anthony, I'm in love with your baby! You hit the nail on the head!

nikki sanchez

03/07/2012 11:05

wow great article thanks for the information! i was supporting the campaign, but now im thinking otherwise :/ I just dont know what to believe anymore...i wanted to help for the good, but how can i possibly know which is actually good? and how can i know what will help? to do something, or to do nothing? I guess its just best not to get involved..

Angie

03/10/2012 17:10

Follow your heart, Nikki. I think if you just look at the big picture it is better to get involved, than sit idly by. You are either a part of the problem, or a part of the solution. Promoting the idea that we, as members of the human race, have a duty to stand up for and protect one another is valuable in itself. It really doesn't matter if it's ousting Kony, or petitioning for tougher laws for child abusers within our own country. The bottom line is, if you desire to see change, then you must take action. "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

I know I will be attacked for being a "bleeder" and using this cliche quote, but for me, it is how I live my life. And the truth is that few people, not nearly enough people, actually DO anything to help create meaningful change. They merely complain. If I could physically go to Africa and eliminate Kony as well as his psychopathic regime I would. But I cannot. So I support people who are finding a way to make it happen. And it may not be ideal, and it may not be perfect, but at least it is something. At least these people care about making a change. Will I donate money? No. But I will support the spirit of this campaign: that each and every one of us CAN make a difference, and should. That we have the ability to dictate what we will and will not accept in the world. And for far too long we have passively accepted and ignored despicable acts being committed because they were affecting *other* people. In *other* countries. We're too worried about the price of gas for our giant SUV's cutting into our Starbuck's budget.

I find it exciting, inspiring, and reassuring to see people come together to fight against evil. The people of the world need to band together to recognize that human life is precious, and let it be known that it is unacceptable for any innocent being to be treated as anything but.

Thank you all for being passionate enough about a topic to take part in the conversation. Regardless of your position or opinion, I respect anyone who has the courage and passion to take a stance. I sincerely hope that even if you do not feel comfortable supporting Invisible Children, you will at least appreciate the importance of bringing the people of the world together in effort to create positive change.

Joey

03/07/2012 11:22

You say there was a tribal killing, killing 120,000 people in one month. Where is your source for this? But on the other hand, thank you for a critical view on this matter, even though these people make too much money on this, their will is good.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:22

Here it is sir:

http://www.sudantribune.com/Over-120-000-displaced-in-South,41356

Jacob link

03/07/2012 11:49

I am so confused. I first watched the video on Youtube and it really moved me. I decided to do some research and see what other people had to say about it.

I found it very difficult to find any articles that didn't seem biased in nature, and most of them were of the opinion that this whole Kony 2012 business is a scam. I'm not saying this article is biased; you actually make some pretty convincing points. What I noticed, however, is that people seem to be under the impression that since IC is a "nonprofit-organization" helping with the problems of third world countries, they must, by principle, contribute more than 30% of their funds directly to the children in need and the rebuilding of their community. While this may be true, there is a question I feel needs to be asked, and no one seems to have done so. That question is this: "Is IC a charity, or is it simply a non-profit organization with the goal of bringing world issues to light?"

From watching the video, I got the impression that their goal was not so much to arrest Joseph Kony or to save the children of Uganda, but rather to get a message across to the world that, in this day and age, we shouldn't have to be tolerant of this sort of thing, no matter where in the world these injustices are done. While there are many charities working towards more direct causes such as providing the children with food, water, and shelter, I don't recall IC ever saying that was what they, as an organzation, were spending their money on. I feel that, if that is the case, and if I'm not completely wrong about this, they really should have stressed that a bit more. It probably would have been in their best interest to at least mention these other charities and recognise them as helping the cause, but in a different way, the way that we all assume, whether we be right or wrong, that IC should have gone about their campaign and the distribution of its funds.

Like I said, I may be wrong. I just feel that there wouldn't be so much backlash to their campaign if they had expressed their goals more clearly than they have so far. I believe in their cause, but because of everything else that's been said, I'm very confused about what they're doing with all that money.

Curious

03/07/2012 11:54

Hi Josiah would you mind showing me where you found the facts about how much the ceo's and partners are being paid? (not in disagreement just in disbelief)

Jacob link

03/07/2012 12:19

That confused me as well. How can you have access to all these figures after saying IC had refused to be examined and evaluated by the BBB? I may just be ignorant though. I'd really appreciate it if that was explained to me.

I have all the answers

03/07/2012 16:09

It's from the charity navigator site he referenced earlier on. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429

Jacob link

03/07/2012 20:23

Thanks for clearing that up!

The "30% to direct services" doesn't worry me much because IC is really more of an activist organization rather than a charity. Sure, they provide "charitable services", but that's not even their goal, as described in their mission statement. They're much more focused on raising awareness of the plight of Uganda and bordering African countries, which requires funding in and of itself.

As of the 80k salary given to its CEO and filmmakers, totaling about a quarter million and 400% higher total pay than WorldTeach (the other charity mentioned in the article), I really don't know what to say about that one. At the very least, it's poor business practice on their part, when it comes to keeping a good public image. When you look at percentages though, WorldTeach pays about 0.5% of expenses higher than the individual CEO/filmmaker. Does this mean anything? Probably not. Still, IC gets a 400% higher revenue than WorldTeach. Does THIS mean anything? Again, probably not.

I'm looking at these figures, but I feel I'm not at liberty to say how "shocking" they are if I barely understand what they mean. I also suspect that there are many people out there accusing IC of greedy business practices, when many of them, like myself, barely understand how the system works and why they do the things they do. Indeed, IC should really have been more transparent in their dealings but, while I realise how fishy this whole situation is, I can't help but give them the benefit of doubt. I am NOT about to give my money away to some random charity I've just recently heard of, especially if don't have any assurance of what they will do with that money. I really hope it's nothing more than poor PR on their part, and not some convoluted scheme to get rich like everyone is saying it is.

Ben

03/07/2012 12:48

Firstly all those who are picking holes in the article because of the Wikipedia referencing are completely missing the point. Wikipedia is generally a good source of information anyway, I use it all the time for uni work.

I have seen so many people sharing the Kony 2012 video today and have watched it and shared it myself, but with the warning of not taking everything in it as the whole truth. There are some worrying issues in the way this charity is run but I do believe that their ultimate goal is one worth supporting, not by giving money but by raising the awareness of the strife that parts of Africa are in.

You make a huge point about the amount of money that the founders of the charity make and use Red Cross as an example. Going on what you have suggested about the ratios of revenue to money to leaders, only around $3600 should be set aside for the CEO etc of IC to take home. This is just ridiculous, any smaller charity is always going to have to take a larger proportion of their total revenue for their staff and this will always make the stats look worse. IC give fairly large salaries to film makers too which may seem strange but then you look at the fact that they communicate and get their message out through various videos, and at the end of the day someone has to be paid to make the videos. I guess my real point here is that despite popular belief; statistics lie. They can be manipulated to tell whatever story you want so I don't think a huge amount of thought should be given to point number 1 in the blog.

The fact is Kony is still out there and still killing innocent people and abducting children for his army. Yes, he is not in Uganda any more but that doesn't make what IC are doing any less relevant. While he is still out there, we should be trying to stop him. The only way to stop him is with force, several peace pacts have already fallen through proving in no uncertain terms that Kony will not surrender. Yes, this means that there will be innocent people killed, this is unfortunately unavoidable. Suggesting that direct combat with Kony will cause millions of lives to be lost is outrageous. The number would be anywhere near the millions, Kony and his army are 1. not well trained and 2. not anywhere near as large as they used to be.

I could go on but I shall stop. The blog was very interesting to read and I agree with some points and wholeheartedly disagree with others but that's just my opinion. If you were just trying to get people to think about what they are supporting before doing it then job well done. If you were seriously trying to bring the charity and what they are doing into disrepute then a lot of your points are severely flawed.

The IC charity is clearly run by some very naive people as proven by the picture of some senior members posing with weapons, but more naive is the person that doesn't believe that removing one more bad person from the world is the right thing to do.

So watch the video, if it pulls on your heartstrings and makes you want to do something then do this; research the charity, research Kony and then make an informed decision on what you want to do. Don't go running headlong into something you know nothing about, that's just plain crazy. I guess the huge levels of support gained by IC in such a short space of time is partly what prompted this blog and if it does nothing other than to make you think twice before you support it then it's done a good job.

Remember this though; Kony is one of many people wanted by the International Criminal Court and this case doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the atrocities committed across Africa and anything that raises awareness of this can never be a bad thing.

03/07/2012 14:30

Very well put, I fully agree with you!

Josiah

03/07/2012 23:57

That was extremely well put, I respect your opinion sir!

Helena

03/08/2012 01:32

Well said Ben. We can procrastinate and discuss details and all the while Kony (and countless others) are carrying on with their despicable lives. The internet is a revolution in itself, let's use it in a positive way and try to get rid of these evil people to make the world a slightly better place.

Loz

03/07/2012 13:07

minus the odd spelling errors, you blog has widely opened my eyes to what the 'Kony 2012' project may enfact do to Africa. Your piece has clearly been well reserched and sure it took you weeks. I would like to congratulate you for writing the blog as I'm sure there would be many others with the same view who are to cowardly to speak out.

Tom

03/07/2012 13:08

Great post, valid points and at least you have actually gone the extra mile and included sources from where you got certain bits of information.

I think one of the scariest things is the eagerness in which people have jumped on this because of one video, I'm all for raising awareness but so many people are just seeing "kids in danger, I'll give them $30 for an action pack", would it have the same effect if this was a different age group?

Also it's a very cleverly constructed piece of media, particularly one of the posters they are using with Kony's face printed in front of Osama's and Hitler's, which to some will simply connote that he is more evil than either of those two, I've even seen some comparing him to Hitler, no doubt he's an evil man but as evil as Hitler? Wow.

Ale7x

03/07/2012 14:05

Well, I think he's honestly more evil than Hitler in some ways less than others, and think, if he had the rescources that Hitler did, would he do more? And possibly worse? I'd think so. Hitler had the rescources of one of the great European Powers, Osama had religious fervor and shady weapons suppliers, Kony's got not a lot, Ill tell ya that much, if you have to resort to abducting children to bolster your forces? (which in itself is a horrid crime) Then you've gotta be desperate, If Kony had the power of a Nation at his hands, or the alms of the feverishly religious, he'd be doing much worse.

Ale7x

03/07/2012 13:57

Hi, While I agree that Invisible Children is not exactly Doing everything it can with its money, "Charities" Like the march of Dimes, well the CEO of that little organization gets almost 3 times what the three you stated above make ALL TOGETHER, and yet, the March of Dimes gets things done. No charity is perfect, greed is just part of human nature. But, they work, and money IS going to towards the fight. Granted, I agree with you, but you didnt say anything about Tri, is that legit? Because it was mentioned as well.

Ale7x

03/07/2012 14:02

Yeah, same guy, I tried looking it up myself too, I couldn't find it anywhere, which probably isn't a good sign. Is it a foreign charity? It wasnt on BBB, It wasn't just on google search, I couldnt even find their logo in google images.

03/07/2012 13:59

Could you please give us the links and sources that were cited on Wikipedia that hold the original source of the information? I'm not doubting your facts, just asking for the original source.

Josiah

03/08/2012 00:03

Yup, above each wikipedia link, I have posted a scholarly piece of prose for further reading on the events if you wish to do so.

Jaimin

03/07/2012 14:05

I am joining the protest but did not intend to give the charity any money as I am aware of the corruption by many charities like the mother teresa charity. I have brought the suggestion to my group that we make our own posters. But one thing I see that is positive that this whole thing has done is that it has spread overall awareness as the people around me, some of them didn't even know Sudan existed. Noone around me has brought any kind of effort to the plight of those around the world. What this is doing is bringing light to the darkness. I say lets participate but in our own way, we don't send any money to ICI but instead make it useful to get exposure of issues like this to the people around you and those that aren't so close to you.

Annoyed

03/07/2012 14:21

I cannot believe some people. EVERY situation has two sides and usually both has some valid points. In this case I think the article above highlights that there is another side to KONY 2012. If you don't agree with it fine, there is no need to do a 2 page article on how Wikipedia isn't valid because, the core idea should be the debate not the references.

The idea here is that the movement may not be the best way to solve the problem and that mindlessly following it without knowledge is bad. Following it with this knowledge means you are aware of more than your own opinion.

EVERYONE HERE SHOULD AGREE, KONY SHOULD BE STOPPED!!

But maybe the "Charity" you support isn't as angelic as it seems...

love every person.

03/07/2012 14:24

well, if you are bashing so much on invisible children, then why don't you come up with your own idea? at least they are trying to make a change, and not just sitting behind their computer arguing about the validity of wikipedia! you have a bad attitude. you say we don't understand the situation in africa? well of course not! how could we ever? i am pretty sure you don't understand what it feels like either. i know that you want to end the war as well, but honestly, all you've done is complain about how IC is doing it, and you've done nothing else! if you think you're so smart, why don't you get 9 million followers to help the situation? while you may disagree with IC, they are changing lives in africa, and the US. kids can open their eyes, and learn to LOVE EVERY PERSON.
you say learn from history? we have. hitler killed 6 million. how did we stop him? military intervention. kony must be stopped too, and if you have no other ideas how, then stop complaining.

Grace

03/09/2012 18:04

You seem to think that it's really easy for anyone to come up with an idea about how to tackle a problem like this. Just because no one else has managed a sensible solution yet doesn't mean we have to go with the one with the most widespread video. Easy for you to whine about someone else's critique. If you feel so strongly about the movement, you go to Africa then and join the cause and be a part of the militants instead of sitting comfortably in your chair putting down someone else who actually spent time and effort doing researching IC in order to make sure people are properly educated about what they claim to support.

Josiah

03/09/2012 19:29

Uh, if you've bothered to read the article, I HAVE suggested another solution. - Tackling the much greater evils within South Sudan. Read point 5 of the article.

ben

03/07/2012 14:54

when i read these comments i see dumb not thinking teenagers..oh my god-.- KOny isnt the the right weay, Invisible isnt eihter so dont support any of them..thats what the auhtor is saying and i agree, thanks for thea etic le and lets hope these dumb fucking american and european teenagerslearn to use their brian and common sense one day..

i support life.

03/07/2012 17:07

AT LEAST THEY ARE TRYING. what are you doing? sitting here behind a computer complaining. want to get up and do something about it? thats what they did. use your brain.

Vanessa

03/07/2012 15:00

Invisible Children:
Compensation % of Expenses Paid to Title
$88,241 0.99% Ben Keesey Chief Executive
Officer

WorldTeach:
Compensation % of Expenses Paid to Title
$41,846 1.32% Helen Claire Executive Director
Sievers

Yes, $88,214 is bigger than $41, 846, but 1.32% is greater than 0.99%

Just something interesting to note.

Taken from http://www.charitynavigator.org/

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:15

I'm in college and I doubt any of my professors would look down on my writing merely because I sometimes use Wikipedia. Many instructors also encourage students to use it as a starting point to find works to look into further.

I hadn't looked at the other side and I thank you, dear sir, for opening my eyes a bit further. Politics are most certainly not my forte, so I appreciate things like this that help me understand more than one side.

Yenala

03/07/2012 15:16

Right, history really show that dictators and tyrants shouldn't be fought.
I'm sure much less people would have died if there wouldn't have been a war against Hitler - I mean, one day every jewish and black and disabled and gay, etc. person would have been killed, and after that everyone would have lived in piece - oh why didn't this happen.... WHAT ARE YOU, AN IDIOT? Like, SERIOUSLY???

Leo

03/07/2012 23:29

Your knowledge of history needs a bit of an update here I think.
Hitler was the one who started the war it was inevitable.
Also I dont think you get his point. All he is trying to do is make you look from different perspectives beyond your (american) good-evil way of thinking. He´s trying to tell you that even the bad things do have good sides. I am not trying to say that Hitler was a good man but because of him things happened in germany that are still very important:
These are only 2 examples of what Hitler accomplished.
First of all he built the Autobahn, which still functions as the main
traffic routes in Germany.
also he completely changed the way of politics. Without him there wouldnt be any speeches no rethorical training.

All the author wants to tell you is that you should first look at sth from different angles and think first before you categorize into your antiquaded good-evil world view.
thanks and one love

Izzy

03/07/2012 15:23

Okay, starters, you're using WIKIPEDIA. That site is so full of lies and loopholes that I failed many a school project using it, so I don't use it because of that, it is not a reliable source at all!

Joseph Kony is a dictator, and nothing good comes out of dictatorship. Hitler? Saddam Hussein? Gaddafi? This man is the same.

You honestly think people don't know where charity money goes? Don't be dim, we all know half of it goes to the workers pockets, but without workers, no charity at all, it's called a compromise.

Children are dying because of this bastard's 'leadership' and it's people like you who prevent it from happening by throwing up hurdles to slow us down because you don't want to be 'Mainstream'.

I agree on the violence on Violence, but then again, I doubt a tea party for 2 would solve anything, unfortunately, we have to be drastic at times.

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:39

I am really tired of all of the "Wikipedia is bad, hurr durr" comments. I've used it as a starting point and a reference point to validate some vague facts that academic references tend to throw at me with the assumption that I will know what they are talking about as if I had studied it extensively.

Dictators are bad, yes. But they are also strong and they would never rise into power if the people didn't want them to in the first place. There are two sides to every coin.

Half of my money that I donate goes into someone's pocket? I don't think that that is the case in many charities. Many charity workers do have other jobs to support them.

We don't want to stop people from preventing these pointless deaths, but we DO what to stop and think about how we do it so we don't utterly destroy any organization that this country has left.

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:39

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:39

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:40

Devynn

03/07/2012 15:40

Alexs

03/07/2012 15:32

If your going to use a photo-shopped picture, at least make sure its a good quality one. Also..MILLIONS of lives? really...MILLIONS? since the population of Uganda is 33 million (give or take) you are saying that 10% of the population would be killed by removing a man with 30k or so child soldiers? I'm not that hot with math...but even assuming every soldier under Konys control killed 5 people, that still wouldnt make a million...

teen girly twit

03/09/2012 11:54

YOU mean little Justin Bieber clones aren't being made in Uganda for kony s army to use as killing machines??? and EVERYTIME someone doesn't make it their status or forward or tweet it, bieber himself leaps forth from your device and cuts your hair into the douchebag "flip "hairdo. that was his lame trademark! scary!!!!

Josiah

03/07/2012 15:33

Thank you SO much for the comments, like I said, please if you liek the blog, share it on your facebook, twitter etc. As for those you who have asked question regarding historical facts and various sources I've used, do not fret! I will answer your questions later tonight when I have time. Once again, share this blog, people have the right to know BOTH sides of the story! Thank you so much for the views!

Josh

03/07/2012 18:50

Your right. people do deserve to see multiple sides of the story. But people dont deserve to see both sides of the story, they deserve to know ALL sides. Kony has become a big organization. Compare them to other big organizations. You know those pink ribbons you see to support breast cancer? Ceo makes about $500,000 a year and you are yelling at this guy for making $85,000? Also, Kony gives about 32 cents per dollar to the actual effort. Remember those little pink ribbons? 29 cents per dollar. No one seems to have a problem with that though. There are good points on here but what you must realize is this is an EXTREMELY biased blog and if you wanted to make a legit blog, you shoulda stepped back and let the people decide and given them ALL the information. Thats all i have to say.

josh

03/07/2012 15:34

Josiah
Thank you for writing this blog, i really appreciate the fact that you have sat down and looked and this Kony 2012 "movement" from another angle, and have posted your findings on a blog for me to read. I don't particularly agree with all the points you made but i really do appreciate the time and effort that you have put into this blog. I am all so upset by the grief that you have received in the comments area, and people not looking at it as another source of information that is just not put together as well as the near perfectly formed "advertisement" that the Kony 2012 video seemed to be, in my opinion.

Yours sincerely
Joshua Thomas

03/07/2012 16:13

This has been going on for about 10 years. Any important person who could have helped or done anything at all would have by now. i watched the first video the invisible children did and that was almost 6 years ago. Nothing will change and this whole thing will die down in about a month. Plus America needs to stay out other countries business. America is not some kind of super country that helps everyone out. They can solve there own problems

have a heart.

03/08/2012 03:17

THEY CANT SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. have you seen their government? if they could solve their own problms, kony would be dead. have a heart. when hitler was killing 6 million jews, would you just sit back and say, "not my problem?" i am disgusted by humanity and their lack of action. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE DYING, this is not something we can just let go!

Josiah

03/08/2012 03:37

I don't have a heart? You don't have a heart for advocating military intervention towards a predominantly child army.

Joe

03/07/2012 16:15

How is one suppose to believe you are a reliable source when you can't even proofread your blog. Not only is it gramatically jacked up but your so called "points" are ridiculous and hold hardly any validity or solid "point".

Paulette

03/07/2012 16:17

The people supporting want to help change the world, and we start with Kony. You did make a very good point, but people are making their own dessions (I have horrible spelling) to support this. No matter what happens we all want Kony gone, so we can move on to other problems like this. Js

Laura

03/07/2012 16:55

I agree with you, it's upsetting that after we see a video shedding light on this horrible story - most people jump to debating whether it comes from a reliable charity or not.. The main point here is that this world is far from being a good place, and a lot of people would like it to be. It should start with taking out the worst people, people like Joseph Kony who do such horrible things to innocent people.

Right now, we are all just standing by. We are not the victims. If we lived one day in their shoes we would see what they really live through every day. That every day is a battle that they can't fight, and if they were to try - they'd be killed.

Can we just focus on doing something about this? It doesn't have to be with supporting Invisible Children.. I would just like to see that problem gone for good.

Brook

03/07/2012 16:21

While this information may be useful, your blog loses credibility when you use words like "fuck" to get a point across. A true scholar can refrain from using such language when trying to express himself/herself. Just thought I would throw that out there.

Laura

03/07/2012 16:22

********************************************************************

I think people need to stop debating about KONY 2012 and focus on the real issue: Joseph Kony is a real person, He does real damage, Nothing is going to change if we sit here and argue back and forth just to prove that "we are right". Let's just focus on making this world a better place. I would like that... Wouldn't you?

****************************************************

Ale7x

03/07/2012 16:55

Just saying, you have my vote for the smartest person out of all of us now XD

Laura

03/07/2012 17:14

Haha, I just think people need to set their focus straight. Kony needs to be stopped, the world needs to be better, that's all :)

Support

03/07/2012 16:26

You blog is a load of pretentious wank ! Help the children by raising awareness and stop passing judgement on your cushy sofa. Unless you ve seen the pain first hand u can make no judgement that is relevant . Invisible children 2012 - let's do this!

Grace

03/09/2012 18:08

So by your standards, neither can you on your sofa (cushy or not) pass judgement on someone's opinion about IC, unless you've done extensive research on them and their dealings.

LOL

03/07/2012 16:27

HAHAHA at your attempt to attack the CEO's salaries by using WorldTeach as your example. The CEO of WorldTeach gets paid 1.32% of revenue. The CEOs of IC get paid 0.99%. Sure, it might be double, but get real. The entire revenue of IC is more than 4 times the revenue of WorldTeach. Stop trying to be a dick and focus on the big issue, Joseph Kony.

AT LEAST THEY'RE TRYING TO DO SOMETHING.
Don't be so critical when they're the only people with a plan. Go ahead and make your own plan. We'll all be waiting to douche on yours like you just did with IC.

Diane

03/07/2012 16:57

....on a lighter note.....just love your "About Me" page.....made me smile - actually, I laughed out loud...

Josiah

03/09/2012 19:34

Haha, thanks! Love making people smile.

Waffle

03/07/2012 17:13

Thanks Josiah for this post... good thing somebody's breaking out of the mediocrity of ineptitude generally present in modern-day society. Shame people tend to focus on the reliability of wikipedia and appear to read only part of your blog before trying to take a moral high ground with their pretending to be intelligent. Keep it going.

Michelle

03/07/2012 17:13

1- Their videos talk about fighting outside of Uganda
2- HEY GUESS WHAT? Not everyone with Kony "joined". Many were KIDNAPPED children.

I'm not saying this organization is perfect, but it is raising awareness for an issue that's there, regardless of the actual government or where it is located.

Edi link

03/07/2012 17:15

It is annoying watching dumb people jump on a bandwagon based on a viral video that pushes some very basic human emotions. I find it really difficult calling a bunch of excited, disconnected, summer soldier teenagers a movement of change. Sure there are a core group of passionate members, but these body of members are just excited high school kids.

So if I was Kony, I would just lay low until the next viral youtube clip rolls out.

Maybe starwars kid could do a save the whales video?

MissM

03/07/2012 17:22

Bold move, Josiah. It's good of you to actually research facts in a charity, as let's face it, there are those that think nothing is above corrupting and using for their own personal gain.
It's a shame that so few people actually realized that you weren't supporting Kony, only simply questioning a highly suspect charity...

However: word of advice from a troll-weary reader, you have a few spelling mistakes you might want to stop feeding the grunts who cannot find anything better to argue against with.

Nick

03/07/2012 17:22

Unlike many people, I don't care if you used Wikipedia as a source since it is a reliable source whether people know it or not. Now I agree with most of your points and respect your opinion but you did say no one knew about the military intervention part, but if one pays attention to the video and read about how the group wants to bring Kony down then one would know that military intervention is needed. Now in the end this organization is trying to do good and stop what Kony is doing whether you agree/disagree or believe it or not, so I think people should just let the organization try to do what it wants to do rather than doubt it.

time to call it a night!

03/07/2012 17:28

If you want to support it, great! If you don't want to support it, great! we're all winners!

Nick

03/07/2012 17:32

Ha ha, so true.

Leporello

03/07/2012 18:22

Does your balls hurt from being on the fence?

Wolfram

03/07/2012 17:38

Anyone thought of the publicity Kony is getting from this?

The Steve

03/07/2012 17:43

Thanks for posting this. I was actually thinking a lot about the topic lately not knowing what to really think--I too like to question everything. Being a skeptic is never a bad thing. Your use of Wikipedia is fine. Every person freaking out about it are the same idiots who think they're smart as can be because they're in an school and are told not to use ONLY WIKIPEDIA. (more or less).

Wikipedia cites its sources, much like you have to when writing your own papers.

ROCK AND ROLL.

soooo

03/07/2012 17:47

so after all of this evidence, what do you suggest people do? not support the organization in any way? i'm just curious since a whole lot of people are so strongly against kony2012. Exactly what do all of you against kony 2012 want to happen?

Marques

03/07/2012 17:59

Thank you for instigating critical thinking amongst your readers, however the discussion missed an important point of the campaign. In this digital age where an idea can literally travel around the world instantly and reach millions of people, our apathy and ignorance as a species can be overcome by informed ACTION. I encourage all readers to think for themselves and ACT accordingly. May the collective will of every human prevent another needless death and may Love and Acceptance prevail. :)

jpi

03/07/2012 18:24

the word 'informed' should have been in capitals too there. that's the problem for me; action without information. mindless spreading of links and cries of "KONY 2012" with no idea what it even means. it may as well be yet another meme of a chimp masturbating for all the notice the sharers are paying to the details of the issue.

bill

03/07/2012 18:00

Fuck Bitches, get money

Jon

03/07/2012 18:07

On a more important note, Mila Kunis cannot get a date.

Stephen

03/07/2012 18:31

think about it this way the whole reason you guys are to speak freely to each other like this is cause guess what you have freedom of speech, its doesnt matter if they are in direct military confrontation or not the fact of the matter is change. american civilization went through a change and now we are free. now we are trying to help other people. is that so wrong? perspective is the worlds most dangerous foe what some people view as a liberation some view as a rebellion that's happening here. instead of discussion do some action. i give props to those people, even if they are wrong, EVEN if they are corrupt without them alot of more lives would be lost

Grace

03/09/2012 18:15

There's this saying about removing the plank from your own eye first before trying to get the speck out of someone else's eye...

meg

03/07/2012 19:03

Get the Kony app its free
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bruno.kony&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5icnVuby5rb255Il0.

Nick

03/07/2012 19:05

WHY ISNT THIS ON THE NEWS!?!?

Buddy love

03/07/2012 19:11

Boobies

Slightly annoys me

03/07/2012 19:13

All this information is great, but one thing needs to be noted.

THEY ARE ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING AND TRYING TO MAKE CHANGE.

I don't see you doing shit. All you are doing is trying to put them down so they can get stomped on. If something like this happened in America, the people wouldnt care about the insignificant details that don't change anything, they would want something done. But since it doesnt effect us, there are always the critics like you who tear appart the dumbest things in the organization.

This blog is competely biased. In school, i still remember the lesson we had in English about being careful what you read on the internet because if you cant seperate the facts from the biased comments, you will never be able to make your own decision. I put a great deal of time researching this organization and i see nothing wrong with what they are doing. To me, everything in this blog is completely irrelevant.

adam

03/07/2012 19:25

Yes. good. agree strongly.

christina

03/07/2012 21:26

As a person who wanted to donate to this cause, I was wondering if you could tell me what you found when researching this organization. What do you think about the fact that they have refused requests to be examined as a charity organization, as Josiah said?

Nicole

03/07/2012 19:21

Kony 2012 is not a fashion statement. It's a real problem in the REAL world. To refer to this real atrocity as any form of a "trend" is petty. Sometimes hoping on the bandwagon is not a bad thing. There is such a thing as positive peer pressure. Assuming you have not lived through the obvious unsuitable arrangements the people of Africa have (I made this judgment based on your about me i.e. long walks on the beach and America's Next Top Model), it is safe to say that all of us do not truly understand the information but we do know that the situation is bad and there is a cause. Joseph Kony, just like Adolph Hitler or Saddam Hussein, is the cause of the murder of thousand of people and the abduction of tens of thousands of children. This alone is enough reason to stop the cruelty. As a human being it should be natural to have the compassion, the humanity, and the repulsion to want these horrors to end. There is not a stable government in Africa- not an appealing one anyways and this is the first step to turning that fact around. To relate to these people as human beings inhabiting the same Earth and having the same desires to live without fear and to prosper. Kony 2012 is a revolution. Not a bandwagon. Kony 2012 is people from around the world relating to each other in agreement. That in itself is a miracle.

Kyle

03/07/2012 19:38

While your heart is in the right place, you are unfortunately woefully ignorant. The fundamental flaw is that you believe Kony is the cause of the problem. He isn't - he is merely a symptom. Eliminating Kony is futile because someone else will merely take his place. You have to strike at the disease not the symptoms. The disease is a nearly nonexistent economy and horribly corrupt government. Eliminating Kony will do nothing to fix these problems.

On a second point - these Invisible Children guys make WAY too much money off of this. Failure to submit to audits is particularly disturbing. While doing something is commendable - don't make these guys out to be saints. If they were saints they'd give part of that nearly $90K each to the people they claim to be saving.

Adam

03/07/2012 19:47

Correct and well said, I am however NOT, ignorant of the fact that he is not the only problem. but no-one else seems to have come up with a better plan to help these guys, and if getting rid of a symptom is one step forward to removing the disease (if that is even possible) then it sounds like a good idea to the world. If there were a simpler way it would have been done by now. Fact is that nothing has been done. at all. and these guys are giving people hope to stand up and try and attempt something that may have even a slight chance of fixing the problem (again, if this is even possible to fix) , their heart is in the right place, and i don't argue that you yourself, your heart is in the wrong place, because anyone deciding to speak up their opinions will agree that SOMETHING has to be done.

As many have posted before, it's just a matter of how the people tend to it.

Adam

03/07/2012 19:47

Adam

03/07/2012 19:47

adam

03/07/2012 19:47

Nicole

03/07/2012 22:37

@Kyle You're totally right about all of that I agree. My main point is that no matter how naive the public is, it is still demonstrating cooperation, communication, and motivation. This little video has brought an uncountable number of people together in a humane and inspirational way. A lot of people don't realize the power they have as the common man. This whole ordeal has been good for that main reason. To inspire people.

As for the whole "Kony isn't a cause only a symptom thing" I get it. I really get. Really. But really, think for a moment will you- about the obvious Holocaust. The Holocaust was bound to happen. Germany was in a horrible economic and political time. People were killing themselves. Threatening others. Hitler was just the first guy to act on this weakness for his own power. Kony is Hitler. Sure, if we arrest Kony, there will be followers. This is parallel to the modern day Nazi. If we hadn't have stopped and intervened back in the 40's with Hitler and his wrong-doings he would have continued to kill and eventually some other country would stop his as well. It important to think of the repulsion the modern American has to anything in the realm of genocide due to having the Holocaust rubbed in our face. If we don't stop Kony it is representative of our morals as a country. It may not stop violence and poverty, but it is something we cannot simply ignore.

As for the Invisible Children thing... I really had no idea about that. That is disturbing. However, the benefits that come out of what they have caused out weighs that strange blemish...

Adam link

03/07/2012 19:24

Stop trying to ruin this man's attempt to make the world a better place. lets see you do something apart from argue the point.

Kyle

03/07/2012 19:43

Let's see that man make the world a better place without earning $90K each to do it. When only 1/3 of donations actually go to the cause, it should be opposed. Find a more efficient vehicle.

Kyle

03/07/2012 19:29

I'd like to thank Josiah for his efforts in writing and defending this blog article. It is an insightful look at a problem in American society and politics. Bandwagoning onto a cause like this is utterly futile. All Kony 2012 is going to accomplish is to allow those that donate to feel good about themselves without actually accomplishing anything worthwhile.

1) To all those whining about the use of Wikipedia. Get over it. This is a blog not a journal article. Wikipedia is a tremendous source of information. If you have a problem with a particular point - find yourself an alternative source that disputes Josiah's position. Otherwise all you are doing is bitching. Just so you know I am at the top of my class at a top 10 law school. So yes I know how to do citations.

2) Without question the organizers of Invisible Children are drastically overpaid. Don't even bother to try to deny it. Furthermore, as Josiah points out their failure to submit to auditing is particularly disturbing.

3) Is Kony a good person? - I don't know the guy but everything indicates that he probably isn't. Great. Now what? Do we remove him as Invisible Children advocates? The wisdom of such a move can certainly be debated, but the bigger problem is that ultimately it is futile. Kony is a symptom. He is not the cause of the problem. Tear him down and another will rise in his stead. The fact of the matter is that the African economy sucks and the governments are corrupt. So long as the economy is terrible and the legitimate governments are untrustworthy new Konys will always be at hand. If you really want to bring about a change in Africa - fight the disease not the symptoms. I shake my head at the overwhelming ignorance of those involved with this Kony 2012 movement. Sure opposing dictators and mass murderers is a good thing, but your time and money is better spent effecting lasting changes. Go build schools or get quality jobs for people in Africa and you will see people like Kony disappear. Will it be quick? Of course not. The African continent has been a mess for hundreds of years. Expecting immediate recovery is naive.

4) So, if you want to pay these guys to make pretty videos or you want to get your awesome bracelet and t-shirt so you can feel good about yourself, then by all means feel free to do so. Just don't actually expect any real changes to occur. After spending billions of dollars and exercising the full might of the US military, it still took a decade to find Osama Bin Laden. So yeah, sure, buying a couple of t-shirts and bracelets is really going to bring this criminal to justice.... morons. Don't give me any of your self righteous drivel about how doing something is better than doing nothing or how this brings awareness. You want to impress me? You want to actually bring change? Instead of buying a t-shirt, try this..... GO TO AFRICA AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:12

Thank you so much, please share and spread the information. Critics, please read the above post.

christina

03/07/2012 20:56

In reply to your point 4, most people support this cause because they are sincerely trying to help, but are unaware of the sketchiness of this charity. Calling people "morons" is hardly going to get them to listen to you. If you want people to listen, a respectful argument would definitely help. However, you made many good points. Referencing what happened with Osama definitely helped.
My overall comment to both you and Josiah: please don't think that you are the only ones who know what is going on and that everyone else is inferior for getting caught up in this KONY 2012 craze. In general, the people's will is right, but their way of trying to solve this problem may be wrong. They tend to see a touching video and jump to our feet, ready to help. And KONY 2012 tells them exactly how to do so. It literally shoves a "solution" in their faces. I think it is judgmental to assume that every person just wants to feel good about themselves, and therefore spend money on this cause.

James

03/07/2012 22:04

I visited Uganda just this last summer. We helped to build schools, we brought clothes, we provided school supplies, we brought water filters and aided in providing the cities we visited with clean water. We did this through an organization called Parental Care Ministries. The children of Uganda are incredible and wonderful and their lives are of great value. Stop Kony. It may not prevent another "head" from arising somewhere else but it will let every potential "head" know that behavior like this will be met with resistance. Its not an end all solution. But its a beginning. It's a step in the right direction. If you have a cold you take cold medicine to clear the symptoms (as you put it) not because that will cure it but because its better than just sitting back and letting it all hit you. Sitting around complaining about how this won't solve the real problem sounds a lot less helpful than stopping a man from hurting innocent children doesn't it?

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:42

Did you even read my blog post? The conflict isn't even in Uganda, it's in South Sudan.

Sergii

03/07/2012 19:49

I Enjoyed Your Argument Thanks

Rob Banks

03/07/2012 20:00

I keep seeing these Anti-Kony blogs pop up everywhere but one thing is missing from all of them. A solution.

Rob Banks

03/07/2012 20:11

Sorry, I meant to say Anti-Kony 2012/Invisible Children blogs.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:15

I don't claim to have a solution, but I have a problem with this "solution" because it is inherently counter intuitive. Military Intervention is NOT the answer.

bobby

03/07/2012 20:07

you are disgusting for writing this. you have no idea what they go through over there, and what a difference these people are making on their lives. shame on you.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:10

Do you know what else is disgusting? Military intervention against a child army. Imagine the bloodshed of innocent children. IC's solution is not ideal to say the least.

Rob Banks

03/07/2012 20:15

You got a better solution?

Santheep

03/07/2012 20:28

Hey Josiah, I find this pretty well done! And am glad that people are questioning the campaign. I just want to add this article, it may answer your questions about it's legitimacy: https://www.facebook.com/notes/john-rudolph-beaton/visible-children-viewed-critically/10150614970287933

I also want to add that the KONY 2012 campaign is centered around rescuing the child soldiers and the sex slaves from the IRA (Hence the organization's name, 'Invisible Children'. The IC only cares about the children's welfare and human rights, and not as much about Sudan's stability. They will leave the children in the hands of those who will NOT abuse them, whether stable or not.

In the video, it is mentioned that Kony used peace talks to 'rearm' himself and 'increase' his power, hence violence seems to be the only solution. It should be noted that with the help of the American advisors, and practically the whole world watching them, they will be motivated able to limit child soldier casualties.

Santheep

03/08/2012 01:17

*motivated and able

Michelle

03/07/2012 20:41

So...I didn't have time to read all the comments, so I apologize if you already addressed this...but are you suggesting any alternatives to supporting Invisible Children? If there are people who wish to aid in this fight - and Invisible Children is too corrupt to actually do any good, then what are other options? If your goal was to sway people away from Invisible Children, then it might be helpful to steer them in another direction. And I'm curious where you got the information that the drive to 'prosecute' Kony will result in deadly military action. The involvement of the International Criminal Court seems to indicate that the goal is to take legal action against Kony...including indictment and incarceration if they're ever able to capture him. Isn't that what prosecute means?

Raelynn

03/07/2012 20:47

Could you please cite where you got the salaries for the founder/co founder of the invisible children movement

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:52

Yup,

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12429

Here it it is, under the notable salaries.

Jake

03/07/2012 20:49

So living under the corrupt South Sudan government is worse than a man ABUSING and even KILLING thousands of children? What WE are doing is not supporting the Invisible Children organization, but raising awareness of this very serious issue. Also, since when does any issue along these lines not involve violence? They are not going to shoot children, I believe that. I just cannot believe how skeptical people get when donations come into an issue. The CEO's need money because they do not receive near as many donations as places such as the Red Cross or others, but money is still going towards the cause.

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:58

Yes, I believe living under the South Sudan rule is much worse. Like I cited above, 120,000 people were killed in one month in TRIBAL CLEANSING. Kony's numbers pale in comparison to those.

Nic

03/07/2012 20:57

I must say I quickly jumped on the bandwagon and even donated a bit of money, but I am starting to question if that was the best thing to do.

Of course, Kony must be stopped, but what about the person that will probably arise next? The whole situation in Africa seems completely corrupt and messed up, and there is probably a way much more complicated but much more useful at long-term for all of Uganda, Sudan and maybe all of Africa. I can't propose anything, but I hope people who now what they are talking about are trying to find solutions.

The problem with IC seems to me that the people in charge might not be the ones with the most qualifications to do so. Yes, they know what is happening. But do they know how to properly react? I am personally for the raised awareness, but I suspect that it wont last long. In a year, most people who are currently jumping on the bandwagon will probably have forgotten it.
On the other hand, I am concerned about their military actions. The U.S seems to have though about the situation, and sending a small force with orders against violence seems smart. But the army? This is hopefully not going to end with millions of victims, but it could be handled in a inappropriate way very easily. The last thing we need is a new Bin Ladden.
I am also against one of their poster, specifically the one were he is show in front of Hitler and Bin ladden. It is pretty easy to compare bad things to get reactions, but comparing Kony and Hitler is kind of like comparing a bear and a tiger ( Look! Their both scary and they kill lots of things!) This could also be said of Bin Ladden, even though I did compare them earlier. Yes, they are all horrible persons, but it seems to imply he is their successor, witch is absolutely false

Anyways, this probably doesn't make much sense as this is pretty much just a string of though, but I feel like I should post my opinion (despite my lack of knowledge on the subject)

Josiah

03/07/2012 20:59

Thank you for the intelligent post, you were very convincing. Made me rethink my stance a little!

Mikayla

03/07/2012 21:02

My 2 sense on the matter:
I am currently the leader of my school’s invisible children chapter (3rd year in position), and I’ve had the opportunity to actually meet and talk to the Co-Founder Laren Poole and I fully support this organization. I think that while some of the blogger’s points made sense, but nothing can justify leaving a man with that many counts of crimes against humanity in power. Also, the whole point of this campaign is to band wagon to raise awareness. :)

Mikayla

03/07/2012 22:27

Whoops I copied this directly from another conversation I was having and meant to say josiah instead of "the blogger"

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:41

I agree, let's raise awareness, but what if your money is being spent on weapons? What if your money is going to a organization that refuses to be evaluated by the BBB? I'm not against spending money, I just advocate smart donations. 10 dollars can mean life or death depending on the organization.

03/07/2012 21:12

Josiah, How nice you like to cuddle and walk on the beach and tap dance but perhaps you should go to Uganda and spend about a month there. I would be interested in seeing what you write when you return. I don't think you'll see too much cuddling and tap dancing there! I fear you are writing you're feeling from WAY too far away from the source! Been there done that........ You're writing too much theory and not enough REALITY!

WHAT EXACTLY AM I READING HERE?

03/07/2012 21:48

Josiah, please reread what you've written before you post it. It's intriguing that this is such a quick-growing movement, but that doesn't necessarily mean that someone who posts about it should be so hasty in spreading their own thoughts and ideas on the matter that they come off as, well, sort of unprepared. It's a little upsetting to read an article that seems to be so well put together and (I think) documented, for it only to have poor phrasing. All I'm saying is that I'd definitely share if there were some edits...

Xavier

03/07/2012 21:49

The fact that men like Kony can act like they do and be left without meeting resistance to do what they do because some people believe that he is the best option in a bad situation that some children will have is insane. Stopping Kony will not end all the suffering and poverty of Africa, this much is true. But to stand back and do nothing is proposterous. Much of the evil of this world occurs because good people stand back and do nothing. So get up and do something. If you don't like this organization then get up and start a new one and don't take a penny for salary. If you don't believe its right to prosecute Kony then give us other solutions. But I personally don't believe that your sit back and do nothing approach is beneficial to anyone but Kony. It is because people sit back and do nothing and find problems with every little thing that evil men can stand unopposed. I don't know how accurate your claims about the salaries and budgets of Invisible Children are but what I do know is if 30% of my buying a $10 bracelet can go to support capturing a monster like Kony and helping the children of Africa then I am already doing more than you who refuses to buy into this because the CEO gets more money than other CEO's. Bottom line friends, if ONE child can be spared from mutilation, if ONE child can be spared from losing his brother or sister, if ONE child can be given back their childhood, was it not all worth it? YES!

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:39

Agree, except that 10 dollar bracelet is not only suffers fromt he 30% problem you mentioned, they are ill spent on weapons as evident in the photo I posted.

mike

03/07/2012 21:56

I'd like to point out your Hitler allusion. Look at what he did when all those people followed him. if history is doomed to repeat itself, we are now in a position to stop a 2nd Holocaust. just saying. while invisible children might be a little sneaky, their goal is to stop a monster. that goal is noble. and the people aren't flocking to him, he's conscripting kids into his army and using girls as sex slaves.

nana

03/07/2012 21:58

People seriously stop picking on his use of wikipedia. What makes the other sources you use more reliable? News is biased, journals are written by people who do research and put it in fancier language, write more, and print it instead of publishing it in wikipedia. You just watched that one movie and kept spreading it because it had some nice spiel on "making a better world"-a term really overused everywhere and spread it everywhere supporting a suspicious group! And now you just take what the teacher nags you about to criticize this which is written after more consideration of historical, political contexts? Just because the filmmakers had the time and money to make a fancy presentation? There are many knowledgeable people out there who simply don't have the time or money and power to spread it everywhere and resort to writing blog articles. There is another Africa expert who wrote on his blog that Kony has not been the worst issue in Uganda and that he is off dying in Congo. Must he make another heart-warming movie to convince everyone? Progressive academics think wikipedia is the most democratic forum for sharing knowledge while the university system keeps knowledge among the wealthy and selective ones keeping an authoritarian structure. There are journals that get published just because they have a bunch of fancy names in it that no one can comprehend. (I read an article about an English professor in the UK who tested it. She wrote random bullshit with "academic language" and got it published. Many things written by scholars are bullshit.) Of course you might as well dig deeper and consider more sources when possible but if you want the fastest update in comprehensible language and when you are not relying too heavily, wikipedia is good for you. So suck it!
At last, here is Randy Pausch who was a reliable scholar in engineering who also wrote those scholastic journals but he also was asked to write an article in an encyclopedia which made him believe that wikipedia is not that unreliable. Here is one man who doesn't consider him God and the authority of knowledge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:37

That was beautiful. You are right on with Wikipedia! Randy Pausch is one of my heroes as well.

F.M.H.

03/07/2012 22:06

Trollololol.

Lorenzo

03/07/2012 22:22

Ok I understand the criticism but I think you are going into hyperbole a little. You imagine millions of lives would be lost in an engagement with Kony. Well, most recent estimates claim that his organization has been severely beaten back over the last couple years with a few hundred members. I understand your assertion with violence for violence but you didn't need to misinform or rely on rhetoric to get that point across (ironically exactly what many critics of Invisible Children claim they do).

Also you misinterpret Joseph Kony's militia. Its not a revolution, its a rebel group, and despite the overly corrupt governments in the area people have not "flocked" to him, hence the reason he press gangs children into his ranks because he cannot fill them with volunteers.

Also, I understand the idea of dealing with the underlying cause of the suffering in the area, but to make that a reason not to capture Kony is counter-intuitive. I mean, that's like saying lets not prosecute murderers in the United States because it doesn't stop other people from killing. Well of course it doesn't, but that doesn't mean that murderers should not be held accountable for their crimes.

Final note, take down that tumblr link, its written by a second year political science major and has no place in your article as a factual representation of the situation.

troll

03/07/2012 22:29

Fake,

jacket

03/07/2012 22:40

I hope Kony captures and guts the fuckers running this scam. At least we'll get see how good they are with AK-47s and RPGs first hand. Maybe then people would donate to actual charities rather than money hungry shills for Uganda's state sanctioned rapists.

Though I am kind of jealous that I didn't think of it first. 85k a piece plus all paid travel expenses is not bad. Not bad at all.

Josiah

03/08/2012 00:07

That was brutal, but it felt oh so right.

Camilo

03/07/2012 23:18

Amanecerá y veremos. Prefiero intentar hacer lo correcto que quedarme sentado sin hacer nada. Translate if u want.

Rodrigo

03/08/2012 00:30

Sí pero intentar algo que cree Ud. lo "correcto" podría hacerse algo muy mal o negativo. La cosa es...¿Qué es "lo correcto"? Pero estoy de acuerdo con usted. Con tiempo veremos lo que pasará.
Decided not to translate. :)

Molly Alvarado

03/07/2012 23:21

I respect that you took the time to research and question what the organization is doing and cite your claims. What I find interesting is that you think making a living while doing great and meaningful work is a waste of money. This group was established in San Diego, Ca. where $88,000.00 is not considered above average for an annual salary. In addition, they travel to Africa and raise all this money themselves. From what I can see, they are pretty brilliant and clearly believe in what they are working toward. Making this type of impact toward a cause like Kony 2012 takes emmence energy. How dare attempt to decide what a "fair value" is on the founders and their employees work. I hope more people get inspired and choose a mission in life, they have.

Molly Alvarado

03/07/2012 23:27

I am very experienced with research and one thing I know is that your sources are the most important part of your findings. So people....check out the sources used in everything you get involved in.

Josiah

03/08/2012 00:06

The organization that you are talking about POSES with Rocket Launchers, AK-47's that are undoubtedly bought with donation money. The SAME organization also REFUSES to give ANY kind of audit or examination of their charity to ANY charity investigator.

BIGGEST TROLL

03/07/2012 23:28

WOW REALLY GUYS?

Nathan

03/07/2012 23:30

Writer of blog: SHUT THE FUCK UP

Josiah

03/07/2012 23:56

No.

anon

03/07/2012 23:30

http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html

ANW

03/07/2012 23:36

coney dogs anyone?

cornwalis

03/07/2012 23:36

Interesting read. I haven't had the chance to watch the said video but I've seen my friends been promoting the video. Guess I will watch it to form my opinion on the matter. Thanks for the heads up!

kill niglets

03/08/2012 00:07

I love guns. If these guys spend most of the money on guns and mercenaries it sounds like a good charity to me!

Alex

03/08/2012 00:19

From my understanding, this whole Stop Kony thing is to just make him well-known for the bad things he did, regardless where or when. We are not trying to save Uganda; we are simply hoping that this project would eventually lead to his capture. I support this cause with all my heart for his capture might put a stop to his crimes and what not. If we really want to help make this work, we can do it even without buying the action kit (the money which you assumed will go to the organization instead of the Africans) we can make our own posters, stickers and what not just to create awareness.

John

03/08/2012 00:34

Thanks a lot for the information

I just found out about this Kony2012 movement today, and had a feeling there was something shady going (considering especially how with all these young people and hipsters are jumping on the bandwagon - I had a feeling there must be more to this).

Again, thanks!

Compassionate but not gullble

03/08/2012 00:54

All the talk about Wikipedia is redundant. The point is, look in to things, research, use your own mind. Don't blindly follow and support something if you don't have the facts. What's wrong with questioning things? If no one did that where would we be?

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:35

Thank you. Exactly my thoughts! I'm not saying we should abolish the event, I am saying we should take a step back and look before diving in. Questioning authority figures have lead to some astounding developments in contemporary history. Like you so aptly put, if no one questioned anything where we would be today?

heather

03/08/2012 01:09

ok, i just came across this article and you know some people these days are rediculous! You say you have "Facts" from wikipedia whos to say that those "facts" are true, did you aprove them? Do you run wiki? no i dont think so! Even if the Kony 2012 is fake and people are jumping on the "bandwagon" WHO CARES! Wouldnt you rather stand up for something and take the chance of there really being a problem there, then sitting back on your lazy ass reading a few articles that could or could not be "facts." Its like the saying goes would you rather believe there is a God and take a chance at being wrong because if you are nothing will happen but if your wrong there will be consequences, im sorry but spending $10 on a bracelet that could help save a childs life isnt breaking my piggy bank, and if its fake, so im out $10!!!! Whats the point in trying to stand against millions of people that believe they can help?! To make yourself feel special? Sorry buddy your not that special! And to everyone that agrees with him on his blog, are you not jumping on his "bandwagon"? so whats the difference? really people is this what the world has come to these days? where people stand against eachother instead of band together to help not one but thousands of children????

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:33

All my facts are NOT from Wikipedia. The Wikipedia articles are there to promote further readings. The facts used within the article do not have a shred of Wikipedia within them.

And no, Heather, I would not "rather stand up for something and take the chance" blindly. That's the whole problem with 20th century history! People follow leaders blindly.

And spending 10 dollars on a bracelet is fine, but do you know where your money is going to? Do you see the photo I posted about with the three Invisible Children members with rocket launchers and rifles? Those weapons were undoubtedly funded by donations as that is their only source of income. So to answer your question, no, I would NOT spend 10 dollars on a bracelet because of the ambiguity as to where the aid money is going to.

Student (British)

03/08/2012 01:10

Thanks for posting this. Naturally there is a counter argument to every argument, and yours is certainly a compelling one. Its a shame that only a small percentage of people will look for this kind of thing.

I think the bigger picture is being lost here amongst all this Kony hype. At the end of the day there are hundreds if not thousands just like him, its just the way the world is, who is their next target, Mugabe?

However, in the 30 minute clip that is turning an entire generation into social activists, they raise some profound points about the shift in capitalist structure and the role social media is playing in it.

The ability to shape viewpoint across continents is something that the elitists population (who really control what's happening in the world) haven't had to deal with before, and the power is coming from all angles not from the top and filtering down, this is a very interesting concept and has the potential to slowly reform the general populations' warped perception of how the world actually really functions. (Anybody who is interested on this subject you will enjoy researching the Rothchilds Family Histroy, and in particular the Balfour Treaty).

I think that it has to be viewed as a social experiment, and if it works then great, why not apply it at home to our own problems, if not then its just another viral internet craze.

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:29

Wow, that was thought provoking. I think the whole event, although wrong in the inherent philosophy, shows the true power of Social media. When the young people get on bored, regardless of the number of counter-arguments involved, it is a force to be reckoned with. If we learn how to harness the power of viral videos and social media, we find could find ourselves with the most powerful tool man has ever seen.

Anansa Jacob

03/08/2012 01:22

Thank you very much for posting this up. It's made me want to learn more about this issue. I too was wary about the whole Kony 2012 'movement', and I'm glad I didn't immediately jump on the bandwagon. I'm glad to hear someone with a different view about this. Hopefully the horrible situation in Uganda will be resolved in the future, but I don't think by simply sharing a video link we can make everything better.

Josiah

03/08/2012 01:45

I'm glad you liked it. All I provide is a antithesis about the whole event. Regardless of whether you agree with me or not, you WILL walk away with more knowledge after reading this article, and that is never a bad thing.

Alex link

03/08/2012 03:07

What is your probolem? Is life to quick for you? Are you slow? The so called 'bandwagon' is what leads the way to a better furture. I'm not rushing anything, but... YOU ARE SO WIRED!!! INOCCENT CHILDREN HAVE BEEN RAPED, MURDERED, ASSOULTED, CUT, KILLED... ITS AN ENDLESS LIST!!! SUCK IT UP THAT YOUR HAIR ISN'T STRAIGHT EBOUGH IN THE MORNING OR THAT YOU HAVE ROLED WHEN YOU SIT DOWN, OR YOUR STUPID FAMILY ANNOYED THE LIVING HELL OUT OF YOU!! LOOK AT THESE CHILDREN!!! THEY ARE RUNNING FOR THERE LIVES!!! AND ALL YOU DO IS SIT THERE, THINKING??/ YOU ARE CRAZY AND I HATE YOU!!!

I don't rest my case.

Travis

03/08/2012 02:07

All in all, Invisible children have done extremely well to raise awareness. However, given their refusal to disclose expenses in over six years, and the fact that 20%of expenses was spent on staff salaries, invisible children are not the right charity for this cause. Each of the founding members pockets 1% EACH. Thire salaries alone almost covers film making costs. On top of that, $6 million was their total net assets, while a meagre $3 million was spent on direct aid.
By donating to more reliable charities such as amnest.org, UNICEF or warchild, youll be contributing ALOT more to the cause.

(apologies for typos/spelling errors, writing this on my phone)

Big E

03/08/2012 02:41

Wow, it looks to me like all of you people are more concerned with the validity of Wikipedia than with the guy the World Court has deemed enemy #1 to humanity. How it ends doesn't matter, just freakin end it already.

RChol

03/08/2012 03:24

Agreed, completely. Thing is, I can't knock this campaign - all I care about is the fact that awareness is being raised of these affairs. Surely that's what matters here? Even in the video they say at the very least share the video, which is free - and most people will do that, for a decent cause.

Yes, there might be some issues with the company itself - but at the end of the day, they're trying to do the best they can in a complicated and harsh world we live in. It may come to nothing, but the more the awareness is raised, the better people are clued up on the subjects and can ultimately read into it more, and make their own decisions from it.

As for the picture with the guns - we honestly don't know the context so I think it's a pointless picture to debate about, since we know nothing of it.

fcukwits

03/08/2012 03:28

Coming from Uganda myself 12 years ago, I would like to thank you all. Thank you all for raising the awareness. Whether positive or negative publicity for Jason's movement, thats all he wanted, publicity. Yes there are many many other important issues in the world but for Jason, this was important and he wanted people to know about it, and now, they all know, including you all. Reading some of the comments above, there doesnt seem to be a lot of support. Its a shame, Ive come from a country with nothing, no family, no friends, no money, just 1 person who decided to help me. my life has been saved and instead, you all have negativity towards KONY 2012. Shame on you all.

Josiah

03/08/2012 03:35

Are you serious? The fight is not even in Uganda and hasn't been since 7 years ago. The fight is in South Sudan so please, before you "shame" us, please get your facts right.

LOL

03/09/2012 09:31

Most of this ignorant people are here mad about the fact that josiah put up some links and reference from wikipedia, when a lot of you people are just jumping on the bandwagon WHY? Because u guys saw it on FB and decided to repost!!! LMFAO at least Josiah saw this kony2012 stuff going around and decided to do some research! And yeah kony should be stopped, but there are different ways and for all of you that are questioning Josiah and don't agree with him because of wikipedia! Most of you IGNORANT people, only soppurt kony2012 because you saw it on a friends wall on FB Bahahhahahahha idiots grow up. And Thunmbs up Josiah for doing some research and not jumping on the bandwagon!!

LOL

03/09/2012 09:41

Ohh and one last thing, I do think KONY2012 is a horrible person and should be brought to justice, but I for sure will not donate and make some dudes that I know nothing about more rich! All I can do is pray for all the horrible things going on! And Josiah is not telling you all what to do he is simply giving an opinion and if anybody doesn't like it there is no need to bash the guy and argue with him, very easy stay out of his blog and GTFO with ur negative comments!

fuuuck

03/09/2012 09:49

You're such a cynic, Josiah! Thank god we have sharp minds like yours to see through this FACADE.

Josh

03/09/2012 11:08

KONY should thank you for your support! You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to kill this movement! Clearly what they have done is working, awareness has increased! That was their goal from the beginning!!

Josiah

03/09/2012 11:20

Why should I be ashamed of myself? Thinking critically and providing my 120,000 unique visitors another point of view is something I will hold with great pride.

linds

03/09/2012 12:21

your entire blog is just posting other peoples writings - how does this make you an expert? i think its great that IC is causing people to get together to raise awareness for a great cause. would you rather people just sit around not caring while watching jersey shore and bad girls club?? stop being so negetive.

Katie

03/09/2012 12:52

So there are two things I have learnt in life, and from the comments in this article, and from my research of the topic itself:

1. That EVERYTHING is good and bad at the same time.

2. That you should do everything in your power to research, gain knowledge, consider different perspectives, and think for yourself.

Greg

03/09/2012 14:05

FINALLY. SOMEONE ELSE REALIZES THIS.

James Brennan

03/09/2012 16:37

The KONY 2012 campaign has hit Facebook like a tsunami, and MANY people have re-posted the 30 min. video produced by the charity "Invisible Children." I have rebutted this several times and have been called every name in the book... I think that while their hearts are in the right place, their actions are totally wrong within the context of a VERY complicated and complex situation.

Let's start with Kony and the LRA... Joseph Kony, simply put, is a bad, bad man. He is the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and is a war criminal. While claiming to be a "pure" Christian, he has proven to be anything but. He has been accused of murder, rape, and cannibalism. He is NOT somebody I want living next to me, or even walking the planet to be totally honest. In 2009, the US aided both financially and logistically an operation named Operation Lightning Thunder, with the goal being the the capture of Kony. They were wholly unsuccessful, only pushing Kony into Sudan. As a matter of fact, that operation resulted in the LRA conducting brutal retaliatory attacks resulting in over 1,000 people killed in both the Congo and Sudan. In October 2011, the US sent 100 combat equipped troops to the region to work as military advisers. "Although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense," said President Obama in a letter to Congress. Sounds pretty pointless to me...

Now, let's talk about the Ugandan government... While they have a slightly better human rights record than Kony, they aren't exactly angels either. First off, they are rated as one of the most corrupt governments in the world... 2.4 on a scale from zero to ten, with zero being the worst (this comes from Transparency International). Add to that, their parliament recently considered passing a bill that would make homosexuality a crime punishable by death. This bill also has provisions for Ugandans outside of the country who engage in same-sex relationships; it states that said parties (including individuals, companies, media organizations, or non-governmental organizations) should be extradited to Uganda where there can be punished. The government has also been cited for forcible deportation and violence against refugees. The current "President," Museveni, is a border-line dictator who has previously restricted other political parties from operating at any real level. While he said this was being done to stop sectarian violence, he wouldn't allow them to hold rallies or even field candidates. Lovely people, right?

So, this war in Uganda has been going on since 1987. Both sides are bad. What do we do? Direct military intervention is not, in my opinion, a good idea. The western nations involved would only get drug down in another long war that would probably not produce any real results due to the fact that these groups are notorious for border-jumping. Do we just invade all of equatorial and central Africa? Probably another stupid idea since just about every nation in this area is at war in some shape or form.

YES, ALMOST EVERY COUNTRY IN WESTERN AND EQUATORIAL AFRICA IS CURRENTLY AT WAR!

This includes:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Uganda
Somalia
Chad (Darfur)
Mauritania
Niger
Mali
Central African Republic
Nigeria
Senegal
... and finally, possibly Kenya after their presidential election this year (per the UN)

I didn't even mention The Ivory Coast or Liberia, both of which have been in and out of a state of war almost constantly for quite some time. So why focus attention solely on Uganda and Kony (especially since he isn't even in Uganda anymore)?

Now, for the next hard question: Is a humanitarian aid approach a good thing for Africa? We've all seen the pictures of people mobbing UN aid trucks in Africa, but how much of that actually gets to people who need it? The answer: VERY LITTLE! Most of it ends up in the hands of either warlords or corrupt government officials who use it to further their causes via bribery or starvation.

Most of us remember the pictures of starving people in Ethiopia back in the 80s, right? It was because of a famine, right? We all rushed out and bought a copy of "We Are The World" to help said starving Ethiopians. Were they really victims of famine? The answer is yes and no, they were victims of politics and war, with famine being the result. In the end, we all helped prolong a war and the suffering of the people we set out to help because WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. Ethiopia is in no better shape today than it was then, but where's the concern for them now?

As a matter of fact, Ethiopia is arguably much worse off now. Meles Zenawi is the current Ethiopian dictator and leader of the rebellion that took place against Li

James Brennan

03/09/2012 16:39

CONTINUED...
As a matter of fact, Ethiopia is arguably much worse off now. Meles Zenawi is the current Ethiopian dictator and leader of the rebellion that took place against Lieutenant Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam, the previous dictator. He has been cited for human rights abuses against the people in the largest of its nine states, Oromia. He also brutally put down a Somali rebellion in 2008, in which he was accused of torture and burning villages. He has been quoted as saying "Ethiopia will have to stay undemocratic until the important work of development is done."

But let's move past Ethiopia... We've all heard of the groups that send shoes, shirts etc. to help the poverty stricken of Africa. Does any of it do any good? Unfortunately, the answer is "NO!" Instead of helping, these things ended up collapsing an unstable textile industry and put mom and pop retail businesses under. Has anybody found out if it's all that hard to get clothes in Africa? Apparently not... Rasna Warah is a Kenyan journalist who has said "Africa is the greatest dumping ground on the planet. Everything is dumped here. The sad part is that African governments don't say no — in fact, they say, 'Please send us more.' They're abdicating responsibility for their own citizens."

Now you should ask: How about monetary aid? Zaire's former President, Mobutu Sese Seko, reportedly stole $5 BILLION from his country! But it's not all stolen... African countries are paying back $20 billion/year for foreign monetary aid, usually at the expense of infrastructure, health care and education. The per capita income is lower today than it was forty years ago with 50% more population. So we give them more money. Now there is no reason for these countries to find alternative ways to raise capital. 70% of the coffers in Africa come from foreign monetary aid, and in Ethiopia it's 90%! On the other hand, after Ghana ousted their military dictatorship, they adopted a pro-market governmental system. Fisherman and farmers are now using cell phones there to check various market prices, creating competition, income possibilities and self-sustainability. The moral: "No nation has ever attained economic development by aid" says former Goldman Sachs banker Dambisa Moyo. Well put...

All I'm saying is be careful about what you blindly support without knowing all the facts. I do not have all the answers, nor am I an expert. My interest in African politics started when I was 12 years old and a family from Ghana moved in down the street. I heard about how Americans want to feel good by doing what they thought was right, without really knowing if what they were doing was good or right. Personally, I think that the Peace Corps may hold the answer. People with boots on the ground, getting hands dirty and teaching skills like how to dig a well or modern agricultural practices would probably go a lot further than blindly supporting a group (by proxy) that you know nothing about.

So, let's look at some of the things Invisible Children plans to do with the money they raise...

#1 HF radio net throughout Uganda to work as an early warning system.

OK, I have an amateur radio license, so this is something I am intimately familiar with. Basically, the HF (high frequency; 3-30 MHz) is utterly useless unless you want to talk to somebody on the other side of the globe. It uses the ionosphere (particularly the D-layer), and bounces the signal very far distances. For a country that is less than 500 miles at it's longest, this is a silly and absurd frequency range to use unless the people using this network in Africa are supposed to speak to people in the US, and the people in the US will repeat this warning back to Africa. And that's only if propagation is in everyone's favor...

They have also been very proud of their partnering with UN DDR/RR and Interactive Radio for Justice (IRfJ), which are FM radio services. They have increased the range from 10 km to 30 km. This is being used to directly communicate with LRA soldiers and to try and get them to defect. Unfortunately, the range has increased from 6 miles to 18 miles.

Both seem pretty ineffective if you ask me. I doubt that they'll ever read this, but the Invisible Children people should be looking at radios for their early warning network in the 150 MHz range with a VHF repeater network and a HF tie-in if they want to actively be a part of the network.

#2 The Strategy To Arrest Kony

From the Invisible Children website: "For more than two decades, Kony has refused opportunities to negotiate an end to the violence peacefully, and has used peace talks to build up his army's strength through targeted abduction campaigns. Governments of countries where Kony has operated -- including Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Central African Republic -- have been unable to capture Kony or bring him to justice. This is because regional gove

Paige

03/09/2012 16:50

I think this is an intelligent outlook on the situation. I had already heard a couple of thing about this and I just have a few comments- first, Kony has obviously been a huge problem and has the potential to be again, so I do not think we should stop spreading awareness. Second- I don't think anyone should donate blindly to Invisible Children Inc. because the children do not even receive 50% of the profits, which is obviously wrong. Third- I don't think anyone is saying that Kony is not bad, I think the issue is trying to find an appropriate way to stop him. Fourth- I don't understand why this situation is just now surfacing, why didn't they post a video when they first new about the invisible children? Fifth- Are there any organizations that help South Sudan?
Thanks! I enjoyed the read and it is definitely...enlightening...

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03/11/2012 21:29

These are some information and unique contents you have mentioned about this concept and great writing skills.

Angelina

03/13/2012 19:47

You are either a part of the problem, or a part of the solution. Promoting the idea that we, as members of the human race, have a duty to stand up for and protect one another is valuable in itself. It really doesn't matter if it's ousting Kony, or petitioning for tougher laws for child abusers within our own country. The bottom line is, if you desire to see change, then you must take action. "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

I know I will be attacked for being a "bleeder" and using this cliche quote, but for me, it is how I live my life. And the truth is that few people, not nearly enough people, actually DO anything to help create meaningful change. They merely complain. If I could physically go to Africa and eliminate Kony as well as his psychopathic regime I would. But I cannot. So I support people who are finding a way to make it happen. And it may not be ideal, and it may not be perfect, but at least it is something. At least these people care about making a change. Will I donate money? No. But I will support the spirit of this campaign: that each and every one of us CAN make a difference, and should. That we have the ability to dictate what we will and will not accept in the world. And for far too long we have passively accepted and ignored despicable acts being committed because they were affecting *other* people. In *other* countries. We're too worried about the price of gas for our giant SUV's cutting into our Starbuck's budget.

I find it exciting, inspiring, and reassuring to see people come together to fight against evil. The people of the world need to band together to recognize that human life is precious, and let it be known that it is unacceptable for any innocent being to be treated as anything but.

Thank you all for being passionate enough about a topic to take part in the conversation. Regardless of your position or opinion, I respect anyone who has the courage and passion to take a stance. I sincerely hope that even if you do not feel comfortable supporting Invisible Children, you will at least appreciate the importance of bringing the people of the world together in effort to create positive change.

Josiah

03/13/2012 20:35

The last two paragraphs were on the dot!

Phil

03/15/2012 20:23

You went from number 3 to number 5. Just fyi

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