# KONY 2012 - Please watch



## Radcuber (Mar 6, 2012)

The video speaks for itself. Please share!


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## Sahid Velji (Mar 6, 2012)

Thanks for sharing this.


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## King Koopa (Mar 7, 2012)

I actually watched this this morning. I can't believe I didn't know about this prior to today. Thanks for the post


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## hyunchoi98 (Mar 7, 2012)

lol, i thought this was about a new competition.

EDIT: Just watched it, amazing film, it already has over 20 thousand views overnight!
I think this will have a big impact if people really make a big deal of it. Which they should.


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## Andrew Ricci (Mar 7, 2012)

Probably the coolest movement I've ever heard of. What an awesome video, I sure that this will have 20 million views by tomorrow night.


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## That70sShowDude (Mar 7, 2012)

Thanks for the vid, I shared it around.


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## Owen (Mar 7, 2012)

At first, I didn't think the campaign would work, but I've seen in in several different places today already, so maybe...


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## PandaCuber (Mar 7, 2012)

Make Kony Famous.


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## Sahid Velji (Mar 7, 2012)

I actually watched the whole video and when I shared it a few hours ago, many more of my friends on facebook have shared the video. I can't believe that this person is the worst criminal and barely anybody, including myself, knew about him.


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## MiPiCubed (Mar 7, 2012)

I am very glad to see this catching on. What amazing job that guy did to spread the word.


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## Cubing Nerd (Mar 7, 2012)

It's always disconcerted me how people can be swayed to feel strongly about something because of a well edited video. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that people are spreading awareness. But what will people do after either Kony is stopped, or he manages to evade capture long after 2012? My guess is after people start calming down, they won't think twice about the other criminals on that list that camera quickly panned over.

If people really want to help out underprivileged people over sees, they should research what organizations use the money they receive most responsibly. I'm not saying that Silent Children won't be irresponsible, just that they may not be the best. & on April 20th, if people really deck out the streets with city unapproved posters, all I think about is the funds the city will have to use to clean it all up.

I know I may be focusing on the negatives in this case, but I feel they should be addressed.


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## Slowpoke22 (Mar 7, 2012)

Brilliant video and message. Coincidence that 4/20 is a significant date in this campaign? I think not.


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## TiLiMayor (Mar 7, 2012)

People think theyre activists by spreading some video that became viral within so little. The only thing that i can think of is the fact that there isnt anything else to take care about in the US, just a video made over some research.
Dont know for sure, but I guess there is happenng something a lot closer to most of you, something you could really take part of.
I got lucky for having grown in a country with a fair amount of issues..


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## Ranzha (Mar 7, 2012)

@Cubing Nerd: **** the cities cleaning up the posters. That's irrelevant.
People are swayed strongly not only because of the well-edited video, but additionally (and more primarily) that the circumstances under which these 30,000+ children have underwent is intolerable and inherently wrong. But this sort of wrongness isn't like stealing a cookie from a cookie jar, this is insane. There's a reason why he's at the top of that criminal list, and the world should by all means remove from it the inherently wrong.
About the after 2012 point you made, that's what bothering me. It shouldn't just be one year. But it's a goal to move toward, and seeing this sort of explosion of mass culture draws me to believe that things will soon pick up.
Mr. Russell was right in his film--the world is run by a different set of rules. Technology enables these new rules and sets the stage for present and future.


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## aronpm (Mar 7, 2012)

I am sick of seeing "KONY" comments spamming up the Internet.


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## insane569 (Mar 7, 2012)

aronpm said:


> I am sick of seeing "KONY" comments spamming up the Internet.


 
Agreed. Seeing the vid get spammed all over FB is really annoying. Kinda like when some kid post the 3BLD WR to my wall when I've seen it already.


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## Noahaha (Mar 7, 2012)

insane569 said:


> Kinda like when some kid post the 3BLD WR to my wall when I've seen it already.


 
Same thing happened to me.

I think that the Kony thing is good, but people are going way too bananas about it on the internet.


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## JasonK (Mar 7, 2012)

I think the message is great, but I can't help but be slightly amused at the way everyone is reacting to it...



Spoiler


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## Dacuba (Mar 7, 2012)

WTF2L? said:


> I think the message is great, but I can't help but be slightly amused at the way everyone is reacting to it...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler


 
The term hypocrite does not apply here imo.
Awareness does.


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## Godmil (Mar 7, 2012)

Cubing Nerd said:


> It's always disconcerted me how people can be swayed to feel strongly about something because of a well edited video.



They are very good points. While watching the video I stopped several times to think "am I being emotionally manipulated by this video?". After watching the video and doing some research I asked myself if I was the guy who made the film, how would I have done it, and what are the key aims of the movement. In the end I feel, while the video may be slightly exploitative, the motivations and intent are entirely honorable, so I support this movement.


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## RubikMouse (Mar 7, 2012)

I found this which was sended by a friend of mine.

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com.nyud.net/

FB seems to have censored it, because Mark Zuckerberg wanted a note of himself in the KONY vid. Mark is one of the sponsors.


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## Godmil (Mar 7, 2012)

It certainly is a tricky issue, I've just read a ton of backlash and backlash to the backlash.
Some people in Uganda are saying they don't like the idea of 'military intervention' others are saying the programs funded by them over there are positive to the region.
There has been arguing about if the level of lobbying is allowable by charity with tax exempt status, and if they are over estimating the size of the problem.
Having read a bit more into it, I don't think it's a scam, and I think their intentions are in the right place.
I haven't donated money, but I may help spread awareness.
I keep coming down on the issue that the ICC does see Kony as a major problem, and that his arrest could only a be positive influence on the region.

EDIT: gawd, I even looked through that boring financial report... I can't see anything dodgy about it.


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## rubikmaster (Mar 7, 2012)

I watched it this morning because I saw Kony 2012 in comments all over YouTube.I think this could work because this video has gotten over 7 million views in less than 2 days and it will probably have over 50 million soon because it is blowing up like crazy and everybody is sharing it on Faceook,Twitter,etc.This way millions of new people will join this project and make him more famous than anybody in the world.But actually the main goal here is to arrest/kill kim and that is why we need the world's forces to send their soldiers there.I think he already is enough popular so the only goal is to get other's armies there.


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## That70sShowDude (Mar 7, 2012)

Why does it matter if you're sick of seeing it posted?


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## insane569 (Mar 7, 2012)

That70sShowDude said:


> Why does it matter if you're sick of seeing it posted?


 
Because spreading awarness to me seems pretty stupid. Remember when Bin laden was hiding? What awarness was spread? None. We didn't care much. If it's not in our backyards it's not important. Yea after 9/11 everyone was going crazy about Osama but what happened? People forgot. It's like clothing trends. When a celeb wears a snap back everyone else does it. But as soon as they change their style then everyone else will go with it and forget about the old trend. I do support the movement but I would prefer if it wasn't everywhere I look. 
That is just my view. Props to the people in africa actually making a difference and to the people who give large amounts to help fund the people rebuilding and helping the local people.


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## Godmil (Mar 7, 2012)

You have half a good argument. But there was no need to spread awareness of Bin Laden, cause everyone knew who he was. Also there was strong political motivation to catch him even 10 years later. While this guy I'd never heard of until today (after the point that you thought it was too prevalent).


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## ZamHalen (Mar 7, 2012)

http://seet.weebly.com/1/post/2012/03/concerning-kony-2012.html

http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3424447/Kony+Scam+read+on/

Yeah.....


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## Godmil (Mar 7, 2012)

I would be more skeptical of the movement if the critics weren't using so many logical fallacies (Strawmen, ad hominums, unstated major premises, etc etc) and unsupported claims (have you tried going through the references on the second one).
I can so easily see there being a problem with kony2012, but the opposition just doesn't make sense.


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## samchoochiu (Mar 7, 2012)

Its kinda getting annoying that I'm seeing this everywhere. Not that I don't care but I hate how people think they are making a difference just by advertising this. Yeah lots of people now know this problem but how many are actually doing something (that number probably hasn't changed much). Besides there are bigger problems in the world. There's a reason why this problem has been so unknown till this week. All because of one video political, economic, and social problems are being ignored, for what?? again I haven't seen any positive correlation between the hype KONY has been getting and how the situation is being fixed.


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## Godmil (Mar 7, 2012)

Can you think of any activism movement that you can't say there are bigger problems elsewhere? And should that mean nobody should ever try?


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## tx789 (Mar 8, 2012)

Heard someone meantioned it in Socail Studies just what he did not about him himself and we are studing the Hollacasut in Socail Studies at the moment.


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## samchoochiu (Mar 8, 2012)

Godmil said:


> Can you think of any activism movement that you can't say there are bigger problems elsewhere? And should that mean nobody should ever try?


 To answer your question.
The fact that there is more awareness about this is good. However people are doing stupid things like tagging and vandalizing their own cities from all this hype and what is that going to do to help us? Crime has actually been going down in Africa according to a video I watched, things have been getting better there. But why now? Why after a 30 min video are people going crazy? It's all because of the way it is being presented. I'm not trying to say idc but I will lose it if I see another "KONY 2012" on any social media, I think we all know what that person will do after they tweeted or posted. If people really want to help they should donate instead of bandwagoning.
I have not seen the 30 min video. Not a second of it. I do not want to be one of those irrational people I'm seeing everywhere. I know enough I don't need a 30min video made by a biased organization to tell me what I should know.


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## David Zemdegs (Mar 8, 2012)

If something goes viral and its not a cat doing interesting things then you really need to stop and think.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts...is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things


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## rock1313 (Mar 8, 2012)

3 days and it's already been 21 MILLION VIEWS!


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## Godmil (Mar 8, 2012)

fazdad said:


> http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts...is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things


 
Again that's another criticism that centers on strawmen arguments. "The video doesn't say that Kony is no longer in Uganda..... except in the bit where they mention it, and then show a graphical illustration of him leaving" There's two of three of those kind of fallacious arguments in that piece. I started looking around different charaties, and the administrative costs aren't unusual, also I saw many that hadn't been independantly audited. And for a group that one of it's main goals is to raise public awareness, to be criticised for spending a chunk of it's money on advertising... that's an embarrassing argument. Leaving aside the trite 'White Mans Burden' claim that is just thrown out there. 

I'm sure there are problems with the Kony2012 campain, I just wish the backlash would try to get to the meat of it, rather than repeating lots of fallacious drivel.
I'm finding myself defending Kony2012 more than I'd like to, just because the cricitism of it is soo bad.

(Oh, and Fazdad that cat line is funny and wise in equal doses  )

EDIT: actually I needn't have bothered, the first comment below the article effectively shoots down every criticism.


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## ZamHalen (Mar 8, 2012)

The awareness part is good, don't get me wrong but the organization itself acts like if you donate to them they'll actually do something about it. But in the end what is donating money going to do?Are they going to make another video? Are they going to pay Kony to stop? Are they going to throw money and videos at him physically in attempt to kill him? I mean really what can they do?


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## Kirjava (Mar 8, 2012)

The sheer apathy is killing me.


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## Godmil (Mar 8, 2012)

tx789 said:


> Heard someone meantioned it in Socail Studies just what he did not about him himself and we are studing the Hollacasut in Socail Studies at the moment.



I'm afraid I'm still not getting what you're trying to say in the sentence.


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## Muesli (Mar 8, 2012)

samchoochiu said:


> The fact that there is more awareness about this is good.


Ok...


samchoochiu said:


> However people are doing stupid things like tagging and vandalizing their own cities from all this hype and what is that going to do to help us?


I refer you to the sentence you wrote just before this one. It's advertising, just like anything else. It gets the word out. The video at the moment only has 40,000,000 views. That's not enough.


samchoochiu said:


> Crime has actually been going down in Africa according to a video I watched, things have been getting better there.


Yeah, due to activism and people helping. 


samchoochiu said:


> But why now?


Why the hell not now? Got to do it sometime. Plus, this is explained in the video. 


samchoochiu said:


> Why after a 30 min video are people going crazy? It's all because of the way it is being presented.


How is this relevant? So what if the video was edited well and the whole thing had a high production value? If the video was done with a mobile phone and windows movie maker then nobody would look twice. It's called marketing. 


samchoochiu said:


> I'm not trying to say idc but I will lose it if I see another "KONY 2012" on any social media,


If you don't like it, ignore it. Not hard.


samchoochiu said:


> I think we all know what that person will do after they tweeted or posted.


That's viral advertising for you. If only 1/1000 of the people who watching the video actually did something, that's still 40,000 people doing something. However...


samchoochiu said:


> If people really want to help they should donate instead of bandwagoning.


...I do agree with this point. I think if you re-tweet it and actually feel like you've helped, you're lying to yourself.


samchoochiu said:


> I have not seen the 30 min video. Not a second of it. I do not want to be one of those irrational people I'm seeing everywhere.


Well maybe you should watch it before speaking out about the organisation.


samchoochiu said:


> I know enough


I'm sure you do.


samchoochiu said:


> I don't need a 30min video made by a biased organization to tell me what I should know.


Everyone is biased to their own point of view. If you disagree, that's fine, but using such a weasel word as biased is fallacious. And they're not telling you "What you should know", they're informing you of a tyrant that is in need of stopping and advertising their organisation to you, so you can possibly help.

You strike me as the kind of person who gets mad at Oxfam adverts.


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## JonnyWhoopes (Mar 10, 2012)

Spoiler



[youtubehd]kO_tSVSg0qc[/youtubehd]


Just thought I'd plop that one in here. Skip to :40 for the meat.


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## insane569 (Mar 10, 2012)

Muesli said:


> And they're not telling you "What you should know", they're informing you of a tyrant that is in need of stopping and advertising their organisation to you, so you can possibly help.


 
So I should know about a guy who's not even in uganda anymore and that has an army of 30,000 kids who he kidnapped over the past what? 5+ years? Yea I should know because its been happening for the past couple of years. Why should I care now? Just because of a well edited video?


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## Robocopter87 (Mar 10, 2012)

insane569 said:


> So I should know about a guy who's not even in uganda anymore and that has an army of 30,000 kids who he kidnapped over the past what? 5+ years? Yea I should know because its been happening for the past couple of years. Why should I care now? Just because of a well edited video?



Why should you care?

How old are you?

Screw it, age doesn't matter. I'm 15 and its clear as day.

Its the children. Cmon, I have an 8 year old bro and a 10 year old one. To me, the idea of them being abducted. Then forced to kill their own parents. Then used in a military endeavor would be rage inducing. I'm sure I would stop at nothing to get them back. Now I can't imagine 30,000 of kids being abducted. 

Its a crime against humanity. It needs to be stopped. Like right now.

Every person in the world has one of the greatest things ever given. Free-will. Every single person should be able to live their life. Regardless of how they live it, they are allowed to live it. As long as it doesn't prevent others from as well. In that video, they show a kid who says he would rather be DEAD than be ALIVE because of how hard his life is. 

To me, its not about Kony. Its not for Kony. Its for the kids.

This video was a very good idea. Put it in a place where people will see and it'll spread like wildfire.

EDIT: For the record, 30 minutes long was kinda repelling at first. I didn't watch till just now because I was bored. I had no idea what it was until I started watching it. The title made it sound like an event or something.

I'm also assuming its real.


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## Sa967St (Mar 10, 2012)

Robocopter87 said:


> To me, its not about Kony. Its not for Kony. Its for the kids.


The video makes it seem like Kony is only targeting children, which is not true. He also murders those who can be a threat to his power, including educated adults. 

There was a Ugandan lady who immigrated to my town with her six children, and attended the same church that my family did. She moved because to Canada because family was threatened by the LRA, and she didn't feel safe in Uganda. Her home was ambushed by the LRA one day, and her husband was murdered. Fortunately she and her children weren't home at the time, otherwise they would have all been killed too. They were after her because she was a doctor, and was well educated. She migrated out of fear, and ended up settling in Canada. She actually rented out our family guest room and lived with us for a few months, until she passed away one night. She used to tell my brother and I all about her life in Uganda, and how horrible the conditions were for everyone.

The video focused on the "save the children" idea, which works, but really it's for saving their whole country and everyone in it. The video was definitely a good idea to get the message through, it certainly got people's attention.


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## Robocopter87 (Mar 10, 2012)

Yeah the only information I have at the moment is what the video gave and it mentioned the kids specifically. What you said adds to what I said. They are people.

"A person's a person. No matter how small." -Dr. Seuss


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## RussianWhiteBoi (Mar 10, 2012)

I don't understand, this has been going on for five years, people have known about it, and awareness is only being raised now?


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## qqwref (Mar 10, 2012)

Robocopter87 said:


> Its a crime against humanity. It needs to be stopped. Like right now.


From what I can tell, it already has stopped - years ago. I watched one of this organization's earlier documentaries (from 2006, I think?) and some of the footage dates back to at least the older documentary. The scene of the boy saying he'd rather die, for instance. I think there's definitely an argument to be made that Kony has pretty much already been stopped - years ago.

Also: here is a video from someone who has had several extended visits to Uganda and regularly talks with people who still live there. Honestly, it looks Kony doesn't really have much of an effect on Uganda anymore. He almost certainly isn't even in the country, and has a much smaller and less powerful force than he used to. I think at this point Africa has things much bigger than Kony to worry about.



RussianWhiteBoi said:


> I don't understand, this has been going on for five years, people have known about it, and awareness is only being raised now?


Closer to 25 years...


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## RyanO (Mar 10, 2012)

I had seen several people link both the official video and articles criticizing the film before I decided to watch it. After initially watching the video I was skeptical because it seemed it was dumbing down the conflict. Then I read some of the criticism of the video. One of the things the video was criticized for was failing to touch on the atrocities committed by the Ugandan government. Realizing that this was a complex issue I started reading some responses to the criticism that largely answered most of the issues in an acceptable way.

Yes, the video over simplifies the conflict. This video clearly wasn't intended to give all the facts about the situation. It's obvious that the video's sole purpose is to raise awareness. Keeping the content simple and being a little emotionally manipulative insured that the message would spread like wildfire on social media. It also insured that criticism of the video would spread as well. I think both of these are good things. Part of why I watched the video was to make up my own mind about a situation that was generating a lot of different opinions. 

I think this campaign will do more than just heightening awareness of Kony. I believe it will help to raise awareness of human rights issues in general. Not everyone will look more deeply into the issues after watching the video, but some will. I'm sure it has started discussions like this thread in a wide varieties of places. 

I've been thinking a lot about the issues involved with dealing with humanitarian crises. When should we intervene? When is intervention harmful? Do organizations like the International Criminal Court hurt the peace process or serve as a needed source of judgement?

I had a chance to talk to my neighbor who immigrated to the US several years ago during the height of the genocide in Sudan. It was interesting talking to someone who has had first hand experience dealing with this sort of tragedy. Her father was even a child soldier at one point. I hope to have more opportunities to talk with her about it in the future.

To respond to Qq's assertion that Kony is no longer a problem, that's not true. He's no longer operating in Uganda, but his forces are still active in Sudan and the Central African Republic.


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## Robocopter87 (Mar 10, 2012)

qqwref said:


> From what I can tell, it already has stopped - years ago. I watched one of this organization's earlier documentaries (from 2006, I think?) and some of the footage dates back to at least the older documentary. The scene of the boy saying he'd rather die, for instance. I think there's definitely an argument to be made that Kony has pretty much already been stopped - years ago.
> 
> Also: here is a video from someone who has had several extended visits to Uganda and regularly talks with people who still live there. Honestly, it looks Kony doesn't really have much of an effect on Uganda anymore. He almost certainly isn't even in the country, and has a much smaller and less powerful force than he used to. I think at this point Africa has things much bigger than Kony to worry about.



Oh, well this changes stuff. Like I said, I'm running off of minimal information. But he asked why he should care about those kids. And regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the period of time. Regardless of the place, race, or religion, its a terrible thing to do to kids. Terrible doesn't even describe it. 

The hypocritical part of this post is I understand the problem yet just sit here and discuss about it on the internet without actually doing anything.


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## insane569 (Mar 10, 2012)

Robocopter87 said:


> Why should you care?





qqwref said:


> Closer to 25 years...


 
Yea I should care about it now. 25 years after this has started and I should care NOW? Awarness is spread after 2 decades? That makes total sense. People shouldn't have to wait this long to know about an issue that has been going on for that long.


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## Jaycee (Mar 10, 2012)

insane569 said:


> Yea I should care about it now. 25 years after this has started and I should care NOW? Awarness is spread after 2 decades? That makes total sense. People shouldn't have to wait this long to know about an issue that has been going on for that long.


 
If you don't care then stop cry-babying about it and gtfo.


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## Muesli (Mar 10, 2012)

insane569 said:


> Yea I should care about it now. 25 years after this has started and I should care NOW? Awarness is spread after 2 decades? That makes total sense. People shouldn't have to wait this long to know about an issue that has been going on for that long.


 
And now you know, yet you're refusing to help and even chastising those who do. Cool being an ass bro.


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## insane569 (Mar 10, 2012)

Jaycee said:


> If you don't care then stop cry-babying about it and gtfo.



I never said I don't care. Stop assuming.



Muesli said:


> And now you know, yet you're refusing to help and even chastising those who do. Cool being an ass bro.



I've known for awhile. Last year the invisible children thing came to my high school. Yea people cared and people donated. But you know what happened? Like every other trend it died down. Everyone forgot about it. But this video showed up and all the "caring" came back. Now everyone cares. But ever since it started no one really made a big deal about it. I'll offer my help. But not to uganda. More like every place that could use my help which is a vast majority of the world. Yea uganda does need help but theres alot of other places that also need help. And I'm not an ass. This is all my opninion. Tell me my opinion is wrong, bro.


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## applemobile (Mar 10, 2012)

I will offer my help dishing out free sterilisations and visectomies.


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## Muesli (Mar 10, 2012)

insane569 said:


> I've known for awhile. Last year the invisible children thing came to my high school. Yea people cared and people donated. But you know what happened? Like every other trend it died down. Everyone forgot about it. But this video showed up and all the "caring" came back. Now everyone cares. But ever since it started no one really made a big deal about it. I'll offer my help. But not to uganda. More like every place that could use my help which is a vast majority of the world. Yea uganda does need help but theres alot of other places that also need help. And I'm not an ass. This is all my opninion. Tell me my opinion is wrong, bro.


 
I had no idea this was happening in Uganda. If this makes me ignorant, so be it, but the KONY 2012 campaign exposed me to it and brought it to my attention. I'm sure that there are millions of others like me who were made aware and have done what they can.

You almost sound like a charity hipster; "I cared about this before anyone else!". Get over it, something you used to support is famous. You should be happy that people are trying to make a difference to a cause you apparently care about.

I've got no problem with you offering aid elsewhere instead of Uganda. Recently I donated to the Parkinsons Disease Association, Cancer Research UK and The Invisible Children. The first two because I always have cared, but the last because it was at the forefront of my mind. That's all. It's not because one deserves it more, and I'm not saying Uganda does, but it's popular at the moment. If you want something else to be popular, advertise. Good will does nothing if nobody knows about it.


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## insane569 (Mar 10, 2012)

Muesli said:


> Get over it, something you used to support is famous.


 
So I don't support it anymore?



Muesli said:


> You should be happy that people are trying to make a difference to a cause you apparently care about.



So I do care about it?
What exactly is going on? I apparently don't support the movement (or so you say) Yet I do care about it (you also said that).



Muesli said:


> but it's popular at the moment. If you want something else to be popular, advertise.



People shouldn't have to advertise to get help. And like most things this will also die down. It's a trend.


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## Muesli (Mar 10, 2012)

Fine, pick apart my grammar instead of addressing what I said.


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