KONY 2012

[Tempus]

The issues of the LRA and the countries involved are a bit more complicated than Invisible Children are portraying too.

This. It seems everybody is signing petitions and buying bracelets but I'm not sure what these are supposed to do. What exactly are you funding by buying these things? Where do the profits go and is it a realistic/effective use of money and resources? I looked at one petition and I could basically some it up as 'bring Joseph Kony to justice protect people from the LRA'. A laudable goal, but HOW? How is this going to be accomplished? Are western military forces going to be making a trip to Uganda? Are western countries going to work with Uganda? A country whose government apparently has plenty of its own atrocities to its name. You don't just send a military force into a region you know nothing about to 'fix' things - Vietnam comes to mind. Are people aware that it's possible Kony could dissolve into Ugandan/other country's jungles similar to the Viet Cong during Vietnam? A military endeavour could take years with no results. And if not military assistance/campaigns then what? Financial assistance? To whom? The Ugandan government? Does anyone have any idea what they're actually demanding with Kony 2012?

Now, don't get me wrong - I agree with the general sentiment of 'someone has got to stop this guy', but there needs to be a sober assessment of what this involves and questions asked like 'what other problems could this create?'. There's a lot of people suffering on this planet. It'd make more sense to go for the low hanging fruit and save those who it's easier to save first.

The reason I don't like this viral jumping on the band wagon is that we have a bunch of people who see only this video and decide 'we need to stop Kony' who have no idea what they're talking about. The fact I find it personally irksome is irrelevant; what really worries me is that a large group of ill informed, but passionate people is a potentially dangerous force.