WOAH WOAH WOAH.
here to play devils advocate it the ducky.
i seriously hope that you properly look into invisible children before you donate.
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comme ... ph/c3yi7d1http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/201 ... ted_things(imma sum it for you now, but really, that 2nd link blog has more than enough links throughout to give you a detailed over view)
lets look at some facts.
->>>KONY COULD ALREADY BE DEAD.<<<
-the LRA have been pushed out of uganda for 6 YEARS now. (outcry should have been 6 years ago, same with darfur sudan, it has to get horrible before people even care)
-the LRA number in HUNDREDS not 30 000. they are no longer as active (hence, speculation kony has died)
-the LRA is not nearly as active as some other groups in the region. yes, they cause death and destruction, no, they shouldnt be the scape goat for you to buy a box (it costs you $30 for a few stickers) and not even research into the situation at hand (can you even point out uganda on the map? no? thought so.)
-he has moved into central african republic, democratic republic of congo (i remember joking with friends years back that countries with the word democratic in their name never are) and south sudan.
-with the LRA pushed out of uganda. WHY DO INVISIBLE CHILDREN FUND THE RAPE MACHINE THAT IS THE UGANDAN ARMY?
-with the LRA out of uganda, what can the ugandan military do with the funds since pursuing kony outside of uganda is beyond their juristiction. i swear im gonna punch a wall if the funds encourage the ugandan army to raid military outposts in nearby countries sparking war.
-why pursue direct military intervention? we are talking about a major viral video here with millions of people blindly accepting and donating and working for this cause. they will feel frustrated because LO AND BEHOLD the ugandan military cant do anything beyond its borders (they do, but its all illegal).
-will they campaign for direct military intervention?
-out of iraq and into uganda?
-out of the frying pan and into the fire?
unfortunately, im cynical and the second i started watching that 30 min vid (yesterday) i knew something was off, it was far too professional. it was professional to the point it cost $850 000 to make it. this is $850 000 straight from charitable donations. i never trust production costs that high to be a good charity.
from there, i noted further along in the video that money is getting channeled to the ugandan military. known for human rights abuses such as murder, torture, rape, etc. corruption is rampant so any money going to uganda will trickle through their corrupt officials hands (their 'prime minister' gave himself a 4th term. thats 25 years running uganda, all through this kony struggle with many officials bribed and paid for)
furthermore, the ugandan army has taken these donations as signals to raid nearby resource rich congo, an army with known human rights violations should never be funded by good meaning but otherwise ignorant westerners watching a video hyped on emotion.
most worryingly is that indepedant organisations (such as the BBB) are not allowed to view invisible children's financial books. this is really unacceptable for a charity. they have no reason for hiding it other than the fact they are squandering a vast amount of money they are raising (a figure ive seen is only 32% make it overseas and of that, a certain percentile go to funding the ugandan army which has been known to rape all the women in entire towns). their administration and production costs are far too high for a charity and this latest media stunt just isnt deserving of the amount of money that will flow into their coffers when i personally think organisations such as the red cross, amnesty international or doctors without borders are far more valid in terms of financial transparency and overall commitment to helping rather than merely viral marketting.
@mxmxm123 -> please dont spam this kind of thing, feel free to spread it. i spread it by increasing discussion on its legitimacy. but spam is never acceptable simply because its annoying and if this cause is 100% legitimate, you are demeaning it by making people hate the link
in short. yes, it is still charity, but no, you must be careful before putting all your chips into a pile and going all in. question. think. analyze.
-ducky out (usually i wouldnt have come back until next week, but i knew this Kony thread would be here and had to weigh in)
edit* kudos to the mods/admins for uncensoring rape. i remember a time when that word was censored.