Kony 2012 : stop child abduction & forced child soldiers

[annar_chy]

US based movement to stop child abduction & forced child soldiers in Uganda & other parts of Africa

[Arduina]

Watched it and signed the pledge. Will get the action kit too. Down with the LRA!

[annar_chy]

That is great Arduenna Silva!!

My kids & their friends are circulating this video on FB & are contemplating participating in postering our town in April.  The realities revealed in this video are so, so sad, on so many levels. 

Amnesty reported on this sitation in Uganda a few years ago...with a concerted global effort we can make a change.

[NeilPaynter]

While this Kony is one evil S.O.B., this simplistic 'global police action' cure is worse than the disease. What about the other warlords in central Africa? What about the ongoing resource-rape (and concomitant propping of corrupt governments) by multinational corporations and their client governments (esp USG)? C'mon people, do some due diligence before hopping on the latest feel-good liberal crusade.

[annar_chy]

Hi Neil Paynter

For sure this isn't the magical cure to end all violence & erase global social inequities - but doesn't every little bit help?  Especially when it comes to helping create awareness among privileged individuals in the West?

I'm not sure I understand why we shouldn't support this movement as a part of a campaign against the horrors you list...I'm genuinely interested in hearing more about your perspective.  Can you please elaborate?

[annar_chy]

Hi all,

A friend posted this on FB...looks like some information Neil Paynter may have been alluding to.  Please read.

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Wow.  Staying informed can be really hard.  Choosing what to support can also be difficult.  Which would be why the freedom to share information is so important. 

[NeilPaynter]

Hi annar_chy,

There are a lot of evils in the world, and a lot of people & organisations attempting (or pretending) to mitigate them. Choosing what and whom to support is, as you say, difficult. In general, and philosophically, I am usually opposed to suggested remedies which appeal to global concentrations of power (aka UN, USG, etc) to fix the problem. Global concentrations of power - first mercantilist empire-building and lately coporatism, have done a real number on Africa. Restitution for and remediation of that lies in a completely different direction from further military intervention.

[NeilPaynter]

Here's a link to a decent article from "Foreign Policy" about some background on the situation:

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things#.T1izMDvTQdN.twitter

[annar_chy]

Thank-you for sharing this informative article Neil Paynter...I had to post it to FB  for my kids & their friends to read before they go midnight postering KONY 2012 all over town.  Which they may still do...you know teenagers

But for me the question remains, which is echoed in the article...what to do?  Once informed, then what?

[Arduina]

I think that the actions the U.S. government has taken in Africa to fight the LRA is due to American imperialism rather than true concern over the LRA's atrocities. I saw that the WikiLeaks cables reveal that, and frankly, it is not surprising and it makes sense...I am so thankful for the cables, which reveal so much information and evidences!

Here is an article I came across just now that sheds an interesting insight on the KONY 2012 campaign and other similar sentiments. I know that there are indeed "white" people that do things out of sincere concern *coughcoughAssangecough*, and I myself also have passions to end injustices out of true concern and not because of my skin color or any guilt or selfish reasons. But this article writer's take on the "White Saviour Industrial complex" makes a lot of sense. Like I said, not all people have that complex of course (and I believe that WikiLeaks are genuine and not operating under that complex), but it is interesting to see how some other entities do fit under that complex, such as the KONY 2012 campaign: that is my impression about KONY 2012...

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/

I especially love this tweet: "Teju Cole@tejucole: "Feverish worry over that awful African warlord. But close to 1.5 million Iraqis died from an American war of choice. Worry about that."

[Arduina]

Yep....Look at what Green just posted today:

http://www.wikileaks-forum.com/index.php/topic,10255.msg31768.html#msg31768

(And for the record, I did not get the action kit, as I had stated I would in my first post to this thread ).