Make Him Famous. discussion

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I really want to get that action kit. What's the night when we're supposed to cover the streets? It's in April, right?

Yeah, I want it too! It's April 20'th.

I really want to go and do this April 20th. I just don't think my parents would want me out in Atlanta all hours of the night :(

I know.. I wanted to do it in Seattle, but it gets a little frighting to be out there with a bunch of crazys.

Yeah, exactly. We have a lot of gangs out at night in Atlanta, so it can be really dangerous. It'd be cool though :)

I just want to know exactly HOW truthful this whole project is. I've been told that they don't even use half of the money they get to help Uganda. I'm kind of scared to give them my money until I know a little more. Am I the only one? Trust me, I want to help out with this problem as much as possible, but I don't want to give them my money if they aren't going to use most/all of it for the actual cause, you know?

Yeah, I don't know, I want to believe it will be used to help Uganda..but there is a small chance that it's not.

And yeah, Seattle is full of a lot of druggies and stuff, plus its on April 20'th which is 4/20..and if you don't know that is like the police number for weed so everyone out there is like, "Derp a derp lets go get high." *facepalm*

Yeah it's like do you or you don't. You trust the cause and want to help or not. Also it's good to find out as much as you can before being out in the open if your city is unsafe, yes :)

Yeah, It might be fine 'cause I would probably go out with Angelo, if my mom would let me go out with a group of boys at night. lol

Jayda wrote: "I really want to go and do this April 20th. I just don't think my parents would want me out in Atlanta all hours of the night :("

Did you know April 20th is HITLER's BIRTHDAY?

i'm writing letters to government guys. they have to reply :D

So, I have a question about something I've found out recently about Kony... I'm not sure if this is the place to post it, though.

Ask
I dont think it matters were we post

Oh, I don't care, you guys do what you want here. Make a folder if you want to Jayda.

Mehh, I'm going to post it here cause I'm too lazy haha.

So, I've been told/informed that Kony hasn't even been active since 2006. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

I have heard multiple times that Kony hasn't been active for 6 years...! I'm starting to doubt the KONY 2012 project more and more.

Me too. When I first watched the video I was so eager to do something. Then half an hour later I was still thinking about it and already doubting it because I didn't know anything other than what the movie said.

Now after several days I'm kind of done with it all. I want to help the kids sooo badly, but watching a video and making this guy famous isn't all it's going to take to get him to stop (if he's even still active) and sending in US Military to fix it won't do much, either. I mean, we already did, and did it stop him? No.

I don't know. I'm doubting the possibility of helping this situation, and I'm doubting what the creators of KONY 2012 have said :/

This is what I found Released March 11, 2012
By The IRC

Who are Joseph Kony and the LRA?
Ugandan Joseph Kony leads a rebel group called the LRA (the Lord’s Resistance Army) that has terrorized villagers in four countries in central Africa for over 20 years. While the LRA has roots in Ugandan government mistreatment and neglect of the Acholi people of northern Uganda in the 1980s, today it has no clear political agenda and its soldiers survive by attacking and looting villages and communities in remote areas.


What did the LRA do?

From 1987 to 2006, the LRA attacked and murdered civilians and abducted children in northern Uganda. More than 2 million people were uprooted from their homes and most ended up living in camps that lacked food, clean water, and sanitation.

Tens of thousands of children were abducted over the course of the conflict and turned into soldiers, porters, cooks or sex slaves. Many were killed or forced to harm or kill others, including their own relatives.

Fearing abduction by the LRA, children in the countryside left their homes at night and traveled miles on foot to sleep in bus stations, churches, storefronts and on the streets of towns before returning home the next morning. Called “night commuters,” the children made this trip every evening even though it put them at risk of harassment and rape.

In 2006, a ceasefire agreement between the LRA and the government brought relative peace to northern Uganda. The vast majority of people living in camps went to their home villages where they have begun to support themselves again.


Are Kony and the LRA still a threat to children and others in Uganda?


Kony and the LRA have left Uganda and have been on the move in remote areas of neighboring countries, including northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The LRA continues to terrorize villages, abduct children and massacre innocent people.

The legacy of the war continues to be felt in northern Uganda, where communities that were decimated during the conflict have not fully recovered.


What has the International Rescue Committee (IRC) done to support the LRA’s victims?

Beginning in 1998, the IRC supported health services and provided safe water and sanitation for hundreds of thousands of displaced Ugandans in camps in three of the four districts plagued by the LRA: Kitgum, Pader and Lira. We also helped formerly abducted children, including girls who had given birth to babies, and other survivors of atrocities.

In 2002, the Ugandan Amnesty Commission designated the IRC a lead agency in receiving and reintegrating into society formerly abducted children and young adults. IRC staff members included former child soldiers who had managed to escape and restart their lives.

In addition to our work in the field, the IRC has worked for years to inform politicians and diplomats around the world about the crisis wrought by the LRA and to speak up on behalf of the people the LRA has harmed.

Members of the IRC’s board and staff have issued statements, briefed policy makers and journalists, lobbied for action, supported and spoken at rallies, and helped documentary film makers.

In recognition of everything the IRC has done to help the victims of the LRA and bring attention to this crisis, IRC President George Rupp was invited to the Oval Office of the White House to see President Obama sign into law the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009.


What is the IRC doing for Ugandans today?

Today the IRC works closely with local government and groups in Kitgum and Lamwo districts, with a special focus on the unique needs of women and girls. These local organizations need our support for vital healthcare, psycho-social and jobs programs.

The IRC has:


trained health workers to provide clinical care to survivors of sexual assault. We’ve also taught health workers how to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV.
worked with a local organization to start an innovative telephone hotline in northern Uganda where survivors could call to learn what services were available.
rehabilitated health centers and taught local community members to diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses.
helped farmers who have recently returned to their fields to increase their harvests and market their crops.


The IRC continues to work in the three countries that are threatened by the small numbers of remaining LRA troops, but we are not located in the extremely hard-to-reach areas where the LRA has continued to perpetrate attacks.

Okay, so BASICALLY... they haven't been active since 2006 like I was told. I have to admit I just skimmed that post because I can't read it thoroughly right now. I just wanted to make sure I read it correctly?

So then why is KONY 2012 even a thing? I mean I know we're trying to make people aware of him, but they said the whole point was to find him and track him down BECAUSE he was still sending attacks on the people in Uganda?

Yeah.. That's how I feel right now. I think that there are better thugs we could be protesting about than a man that hasn't been active for years.

I think this is what I pinpoint most from the article. I think international pressure has forced 
Kony and the LRA to hide

Are Kony and the LRA still a threat to children and others in Uganda?


Kony and the LRA have left Uganda and have been on the move in remote areas of neighboring countries, including northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The LRA continues to terrorize villages, abduct children and massacre innocent people.

Yes, though if they are paying for the Ugandan army forces to get rid of him and he's out of Uganda they can't do a single blasted thing.

Coolio! :) I don't think I can go sadly.. :(

Okay, I just wanted to make a point before I leave:

1) Kony IS an evil man, but what will getting rid of him do? Nothing. His other leaders will split off and make or join other groups just like the one they have already and continue murdering people and using children.

2) Why should *our* government have to be the ones to stop this? Why should we send in troops and start a war? We do not need that right now because we have our own problems. Uganda has many pressing problems, and Kony should be stopped, but dropping a bunch of U.S. troops to look for one guy is pointless, because it's not going to make a difference.

3) Now, the video. You think because he can make a five year old sad about something you should rush to clean out your pockets to buy something? The things the IC is claiming to do is a great cause, but are they actually doing anything? Look at the organization itself. Yes, they're trying to stop a man who is horrible and evil and who will pay for what he has done, but guess what? All those "action kits" you're trying to buy to support the cause? Only 30% of the proceeds is actually going to help get rid of Kony; the rest is going to line the pockets of the three leaders. The IC is a charity, but they refuse to be "transparent", or in other words, they refuse to let people know where their funds go. They are rated two stars out of FIVE STARS. That is the lowest ranking charity, while most others have at least four stars.

Open your eyes. You're lining the pockets of these guys because they have taken advantage of you. They're advertising against Kony and how he uses youth to do things that are unspeakable, but what is he doing? He is getting the YOUTH who want to make a difference in the world to go to their parents and get them to buy this "action pack" which will only partially fund the IC's "efforts" and which will hardly make a difference in the world because if we get rid of Kony, NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

Have any of you done any real research? Things that aren't just put out there by the IC?

Here's what my brother had to say about it:

1. Invisible Children is a VERY shady program that puts little of its money towards actually DOING anything about the issues they advocate, and that little amount they DO utilize is put towards things that will have little to no lasting effect (see my second point). There are countless other, more legitimate programs highlighting similar issues, and better ways to resolve those issues that you can donate to. (see the article).

2. Blaming all of Africa's problems on Kony is like a long-term lung cancer patient blaming their cancer on the ONE cigarette they smoked that morning, (and not the thousands of others they had smoked in the past and the thousands they may continue to smoke in the future). Sure, the cigarette's bad, but you're not going to get rid of your cancer simply by throwing that one cigarette away.

3. Invisible Children is a hypocritical organization that utilizes the same tools that they condemn the LRA for using, (albeit to a lesser extent): the manipulation of youth. Okay, IC doesn't give their kids weapons and force them to destroy their "enemies..." Or do they? Is IC not equally responsible for using maniulation to marshal an army against a common threat simply because they told us he is the "bad guy?"

I guess what I'm trying to say is, yes, awareness is good. Helping solve problems in Africa is an excellent goal. the LRA is a terrible organization, (albeit only one of many throughout Africa). But if you really want to help, I would encourage you all to do some of your own research on the issues and how to resolve them, rather than relying on your facebook friend who thinks that "This is really important! Pass it on!"



This is the article we read:
http://thedailywh.at/2012/03/07/on-ko...

Bri wrote: "Okay, I just wanted to make a point before I leave:

1) Kony IS an evil man, but what will getting rid of him do? Nothing. His other leaders will split off and make or join other groups just like ..."

Excellent post. It's exactly what I've been wanting to say, but I've been too busy.