Subject: KONY 2012

Propaganda is the most powerful weapon.

Smart use of todays media. I think this will be a start for more of these projects. I still think stopping this war criminal out ways the dodgy way it operates.

propaganda movie ... Al Gore ... Michael Moore

All documentaries are made from someones point of view and most of the times by people who care if the subject is about being treated bad, wrong, unfair etc. And instead of calling it propaganda and turn it off, you could try to understand the message that is given in these documentaries and 'skip' the parts that are made to provoke an emotional response instead of a rational response. Although I think provoking an emotional response is absolutely good because emotions are human and without it we can't judge the situation. Provoking an emotional response doesn't make it propaganda, it makes it understandable.

So you won't be surprised I think that part with Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine was really great. Let them feel what they support, and not some unknown hillbilly that can't make a difference in this world and no one cares about what he thinks, but a celebrity that can make a difference and has something to loose by being called a pro-murderer: his reputation.

Besides, this KONY 2012 video isn't really a documentary but a call for action and without provoking an emotional response people won't act. He makes something happen and that's more as almost anyone else in the world will ever do.


EDIT: For manager photo in Sokker :)



Insert this link: http://doelpaal.com/ch/JosephKony.png
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He makes something happen and that's more as almost anyone else in the world will ever do.

Visconte's post with Grant Oyston's commentary was the best so far on this topic. Among other things he says about KONY 2012 is:
"Do I have a better answer? No, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that you should support KONY 2012 just
because it’s something. Something isn’t always better than nothing. Sometimes it’s worse."

People that tackle important topics in ways that are not based on well balanced analysis are not part of the solution but they only make complex problems even more complex.



What Michael Moore, Al Gore and this KONY guy do are just cheap tricks (actually, what Michael Moore does is also extremely rude). They're not the only people in the world doing their jobs and I have limited time and money available for them. If people fail the "honest approach test" as these guys much too easily do for me, then they soon lose my attention and make me look for people who are on the right track on simmilar issues. There are enough of professionally made BBC documentaries and enough of transparent charities that deserve my attention, time and money. I will look for them.
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They're not the only people in the world doing their jobs and I have limited time and money available for them. If people fail the "honest approach test" as these guys much too easily do for me, then they soon lose my attention and make me look for people who are on the right track on simmilar issues.

That means because they are more succesful at reaching their cause you don't support them? Most people in the world are ignorant about most things that don't happen in their backyard. This is the way to reach those people and getting their support.

I don't see the connection between your conclusion and what I wrote.

If you think that getting as much youtube views, facebook clicks and raising as much money is what defines a successful charity, then ok, KONY 2012 is the charity for you.

Imo, there's not much more to add about them to what Grant Oyston wrote on the previous page.

Visconte's post with Grant Oyston's commentary was the best so far on this topic

I don't agree. About Grant Oyston's commentary Only 32% went to direct services (page 6), with much of the rest going to staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production. is very black/white and almost propaganda itself.

I have looked at the numbers and putting staff salaries, travel and transport, and film production all on one big pile and calling it far from ideal is just unfair. First of all the salaries are a small part of the total expenses, travel and transport of a crew from the US to Africa and back and speaker's from Africa to the US and back, and travel costs within the US itself is expensive so therefore it's only logical this a larger part of the total expenses. And film productions and informing the world (such as the 11 movies and a project as Schools 4 Schools) is the core business of Invisible Children so nothing strange most money is spend on this work. I recently started to work for a non-profit organization producing movies and I know this is just really expensive. This non-profit organization is now trying to get at least €200.000 to produce 1 single movie.

And some of the other comments in that post are also really black/white and misplaced, such as the misbehavior of the Ugandan army. Not a single war is fair and clean, both sides commit terrible things, always. (We all know the examples of the misbehavior of the allied army in Iraq, and still only those examples that make it to the news.) That can't be justified in any way ofcourse and should also be dealt with in time, like arresting those who committed these thing and also bring them to justice. Just as all the war-criminals that are arrested from all sides after the Balkan wars ended.

And that quote of Chris Blattman is also misplaced about the White Man’s Burden. Invisible Children is mobilizing the world and the world isn't white. Besides, if he was a black American with African roots all was fine? He cares and has the possibility to do something about it and that is all that matters, no matter what his color of his skin is. Sounds almost as racism.

And then there is that part of the child soldiers that will be killed when trying to arrest and/or kill Joseph Kony because it are his bodyguards. Ofcourse people will die and that is really sad, but they also do die now. It's a choice between bad and worse, very difficult. Go after Joseph Kony and children will die, or do nothing and more and more people will be murdered, raped, tortured, mutilated, kidnapped and made child soldiers etc etc. And in a war people die, specially those who are part of that war. A child with a gun is just as deadly as a grownup with a gun, and unfortunately they are not just children but mostly soldiers at that moment. The less of them die, the better it is, but it can't be prevented it will happen. What do you think the allied army did when they encountered the Hitlerjugend in WW2?

And yes, to judge everything only by watching this protest movie (not a documentary in my opinion) is not to smart, but I have seen a lot more about this subject to support this action. Youtube is full of shocking examples of child soldiers and stopping Joseph Kony is a good start and hopefully not the last one who will be stopped.

And as I already wrote, humans are emotions, not only rational beings (and I'm glade we aren't), and if you want to make something happen the people have to feel and see the terror a little bit to understand why some evil persons have to be stopped.
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Well, I must admit that it makes sense what you write. Most of Olson's arguments are really black and white or even not fair. It's always easy to criticise the use of charity organisation budgets until you have to run them, the "white man's burden" is actually even a racist comment and it isreally not fair to discredit the whole army on the basis of few criminal individuals (btw, I really hope that some Ugandan field general will not sit in Hague for freeing his homeland eventually because of crimes comitted in his war area by unknown individuals like it happened to Croatian generals).

The strongest arguments against KONY are really the lack of external audit committee which is a must for any charity and their exaggerations in presenting Joseph Kony's current influence in the area. We should definately congratulate them for their honest and good intentions and successful approach in reaching wide audiences but that stil doesn't mean that there isn't another side to that story as well.
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That actually gave me a good laugh.

I see you really underestimate the power of the people and the political pressure .....

I am sorry but that joke is just hilarious. It is joking exactly the part of KONY 2012 which is irritating and that's what makes it so funny.