Everyone jumping on the Kony bandwagon, listen up.
Your efforts are great and all, but there's a reason this is happening. That reason is big governments have their own vested interests and reasons for leaving this guy in power...or not giving a damn about Uganda, where he started, or the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan where he's active now.
He get's his weapons from somewhere, and the top 3 arms producers in the world are amongst the only 5 permanent members of the United Nations security council.
In 2005 he was declared a war criminal...but spent the next two years meeting various countries presidents, and even members of the United Nations asking for aid dollars.
...and call me a pessimist, but donating half your paycheck to this cause really isn't going to do much. Save half a paycheck for a year then go volunteer in the medical care centers that care for the kids after they've been spat out by Kony's system. Or hell, volunteering at your LOCAL family shelter.
Also, the Ugandan millitary is using this entire Kony campaign as a weak excuse to cross borders and steal resources from other countries. Like diamonds,and timber. Fun fact is the Ugandan army also has a history of leaving high HIV rates in communities behind them wherever they go, you do the math.
America only commited special forces to the hunt when Kony started getting close to US-Owned diamond mines. They sent 100 "combat equipped" troops (note, not special forces), as of last October. Oh yeah, but those soldiers are not to get into fights themselves, but only provide "advice and training".
Kony's got his head on the chopping block...but he's only one example of entire countries full of corrupt commanders in that region. With Kony as the lead "get him now" figure, thousands of dollars of aid are flooding into various communities to the point where local leaders there are LETTING KONY'S FIGHTERS GO when captured, because they don't want the aid dollars to stop.
And y'all playing right into their little money making schemes. Even if "Invisible Children" is legit...guarantee you a very, very small fraction of your donations will even make it into any of those countries.
So, how can you help. Raise hell, online, contact politicians, volunteer for various organisations that lobby for change. But sending more dollars to the conflict or donating your paycheck for a few weeks while "everyones talking about it" is pretty damn cheap.
And if you talk about running a club night to "raise awareness" for something like this, I might actually punch you in the face. The last thing we need to honour dying child soldiers in Africa is a Jagerbomb while the latest Skrillex remix is dropping. That's cheap.
I'd say if you are really serious about "The children zomg", go volunteer at your local cities family shelter. Or anywhere, really. There's enough people that need your help right here, where you can make a real, tangible difference. Immediately. Or ask Invisible Children what you can do on a local scale to help, like put up posters. But I'm not sure just donating half your paycheque...while still having enough time to buy the latest skinny jeans, or plaster yourself in maybelline on the weekend...is #legit.
You want to pretend this is the end of the world and deserves your full support? Start acting like it. Facebook doesn't cut it, and $$$ won't help.
But I am freaking loving the Mac already!
