**Not Charlton Related** I'm sure most users here must be on Facebook and Twitter - Social Media has been going mad today over Joseph Kony. Basically a 'charity' group thing called The Invisible Children have released a half hour documentary about Joseph Kony - a military leader in Uganda who believes God has tasked him with creating a theocratic state ie. the ten commandments are the laws. In doing so he has forced thousands of children to fight for him. Obviously the idea of making this well known worldwide is brilliant; but the response to it has really irked me. So many people have backed it; where are they normally? Why have they had to be provoked in to having a social conscience? Will this be a one off for them? Here's my full reaction: http://sendawaythetigers.co/2012/03/07/the-kony-con/ I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts?
Facebook and Twitter. People want to project an image of themselves as involved with this sort of thing, hence they post it as a status/tweet. Spreads like wildfire.
I won the 'Royal Eltham Cub Scout Football Cup' as an 8 year old and I don't think I was the youngest?
I'm backing this movement. No, I'm not going to pretend I'm a charitable caring figure, and I'm not doing it to make myself feel good. (Which most people fall under). Most people are going to back this one thing, forget about such issues until the next red nose day comes along, which they'll chuck a few quid into for more self praise. I'm simply interested to see the potential power of the internet.
Its funny, but when Kony and his presdecessors ( the Lords Resistance Army)were in full fight in Northern Uganda from the late 1980's there was very little reporting of their abduction of children, forcing the girls to sleep with the older male soldiers of his "army" and indoctrination of the boys. Uganda was, following Amin, the basket case of the world and its leader, Museveni, was trying to recover an economy damaged by the eviction of the Ugandan asians. That he has done so despite having to deal with the Kony's of this world and has rebuilt an economy is something that is largely overlooked. The problem with Twitter and Facebook is the fact that in the limited space allowed to tweet or comment you get repeated banal generalisations for the unthinking which results in Sun style stories with half baked facts being circulated as reality. Historians of our generation whilst they will have a mine of information to deal with will have a very hard job sifting out the facts from the voluminous dross in which it is buried.
By the way does anybody think that the discovery of Oil in Uganda has anything to do with the US sudden interest in arresting Kony and stabilising the region?
That's an interesting point; Social Media across the globe has unified Social Unrest worldwide in the last year - it seems to give a more coherent voice.
I read about this earlier and wasn't remotley surprised. It's terrible that we all think so cynically and sceptically.
