Strange, right? I'm actually going to write about some things that I'm thankful for. This thunderstorm got me into a good mood and I'm feeling particularly charitable right now.
As much as I complain about my upbringing, I did have a good childhood - during the times I was allowed to be a child. I was an unashamed tomboy. When you are surrounded by brothers on either side of the birth order; mud, rocks, sticks, climbing trees and building dams become your favorite things ever. I am thankful that my parents allowed me to explore what the boys got to experience. I'm thankful that Dad finally gave up calling me his "delicate daughter" after I ripped too many shirts and tore open my knees for the hundredth time from being dragged behind one of my brothers' bikes on a skateboard. While there were strict gender roles presented as something that I would grow into, I was allowed to be as much of a boy as I wanted. I am infinitely grateful for that because I don't think I would have survived in my family if I was at all girly.
I'm thankful that my parents allowed us to develop the sense of humor that my siblings and I are now known for. The brother directly over me and I had a reputation at some ATI functions when we were about 8 and 11. It was an awesome reputation! We were the ones who were "really funny when they're together." We have a very... unique sense of humor. We appreciate incredibly dry humor. British humor is the very best example of our sense of humor. Aardman - the makers of Chicken Run, and Wallace and Grommit - make all of us unreasonably happy.
So, thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you for allowing us lots of unsupervised time to develop personalities independent of the umbrella that you created.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The One Where I Jump On the #Kony2012 Bandwagon
The whole Kony2012 thing that has been blowing up the interwebs over the last few days has gotten me thinking. I have known about Joseph Kony, the LRA, and Invisible Children (IC) since I was about 14. I have known about the the issues in central Africa (dictators, corruption, etc.) for essentially my entire life because my godparents decided to be missionaries to Zimbabwe shortly after I was born. I grew up hearing about and praying for the Petersens in Africa - for their safety when they had to leave Zimbabwe and move their entire ministry to Zambia because it became too dangerous with Mugabe in office, when Mr. Petersen was shot by a burglar, and when their malaria would flare up and one or both of them would be bedridden for weeks. Then, in 2004, when I was 14, my older brother did a summer mission trip with Teen Missions to Zambia and he met some of the children who had to leave their homes to avoid Kony's kidnappings.
People assume that Kony is only in Uganda, that he is bound by the arbitrary borders that define the Africa that European colonization royally screwed over in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. They assume that he is only targeting children; that he's not kidnapping men and women as well. These assumptions are simply not true. He has left Uganda and is now terrorizing the people and children of the Central African Republic, the Congo, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He kidnaps men and women, but they are often killed shortly after they are taken, unlike the children who are brainwashed, drugged and forced to be sex slaves and/or soldiers.
These assumptions are made by the minority who actually know about Kony and his LRA. Africa is plagued by warlords like Kony. He is simply one of the most notorious. But most Americans do not care or know about Africa. It is the dark continent because of more than just the color of the skin of the people who live there. My oldest brother, who is usually very informed about these kinds of things asked me why this was all over Facebook. "Who's this Kony guy?" he asked. When I started to explain, he remembered hearing something about troops being deployed to help the Ugandan army and decided to watch the video.
I watched the 30 min. video yesterday because I had seen it going up all over Facebook and Twitter and figured I would give it a shot. I was skeptical at first because I had heard rumors of IC not being very open about their finances, etc. whitwheaton.tumblr.com has something to say about that. (I haven't checked his facts, and I do not agree with some of his criticisms, but he does raise a few good points.) I am still skeptical about how vandalism will really accomplish anything other than piss off building owners and the police. I will not give IC money because I am not willing to give my hard-earned, barely available money to an organization that allegedly only sends 31% of its income to actually carry out its stated goals. If I am going to donate money, I want to have proof that it is going to help the people it is supposed to. That being said, I completely agree with the need to "make Kony famous."
People need to know about this man who has terrorized central Africa for years. I know that to take him out will not solve the problem, just like killing Osama did not take out the Taliban. He is one man who is running a group whose only purpose is to hold onto a power that is only in the minds of its members. I know that the problems in Africa are endemic and will not be solved by simply taking out Kony. I am not that naive. The people who jumped on this bandwagon, who had never heard of Kony or the LRA, and know almost nothing about African politics are not looking at the bigger issues. I will concede that many people shared the Kony2012 video not knowing anything more than what the video said, without looking any further into the issue, and just wanting to be a part of something bigger than themselves. While their intentions were good, these people are simply fueling the flames of people who are cynical about Facebook politics. I am cynical about Facebook politics. It annoys me when people post links about their favorite candidate, or whatever cause they are currently acting like they support. This is why I avoid posting or commenting on these types of things. My Facebook is usually very shallow. I post status' about the state of my sanity with school, about where I am for Spring Break, how much I enjoy living off-campus so I can cook my own food, or random things I find funny while wasting time on the internet. There is very little of substance on my profile because I do not think posting to Facebook accomplishes much if anything. I made an exception for the IC video because people need to know about what is going on in the world. They need to know about evil men. That is why I posted the video. Not because I think that IC's campaign will succeed in Kony's capture and trial by the ICC, but simply because I know my Facebook friends and know that many of them (no offense) fit the stereotype of the "ugly American" who doesn't know or care to know about what is going on in the world. The constant lament of my Global Issues/International Relations prof. is that Americans don't know what is going on outside of their own little bubble.
People assume that Kony is only in Uganda, that he is bound by the arbitrary borders that define the Africa that European colonization royally screwed over in the late 19th-early 20th centuries. They assume that he is only targeting children; that he's not kidnapping men and women as well. These assumptions are simply not true. He has left Uganda and is now terrorizing the people and children of the Central African Republic, the Congo, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He kidnaps men and women, but they are often killed shortly after they are taken, unlike the children who are brainwashed, drugged and forced to be sex slaves and/or soldiers.
These assumptions are made by the minority who actually know about Kony and his LRA. Africa is plagued by warlords like Kony. He is simply one of the most notorious. But most Americans do not care or know about Africa. It is the dark continent because of more than just the color of the skin of the people who live there. My oldest brother, who is usually very informed about these kinds of things asked me why this was all over Facebook. "Who's this Kony guy?" he asked. When I started to explain, he remembered hearing something about troops being deployed to help the Ugandan army and decided to watch the video.
I watched the 30 min. video yesterday because I had seen it going up all over Facebook and Twitter and figured I would give it a shot. I was skeptical at first because I had heard rumors of IC not being very open about their finances, etc. whitwheaton.tumblr.com has something to say about that. (I haven't checked his facts, and I do not agree with some of his criticisms, but he does raise a few good points.) I am still skeptical about how vandalism will really accomplish anything other than piss off building owners and the police. I will not give IC money because I am not willing to give my hard-earned, barely available money to an organization that allegedly only sends 31% of its income to actually carry out its stated goals. If I am going to donate money, I want to have proof that it is going to help the people it is supposed to. That being said, I completely agree with the need to "make Kony famous."
People need to know about this man who has terrorized central Africa for years. I know that to take him out will not solve the problem, just like killing Osama did not take out the Taliban. He is one man who is running a group whose only purpose is to hold onto a power that is only in the minds of its members. I know that the problems in Africa are endemic and will not be solved by simply taking out Kony. I am not that naive. The people who jumped on this bandwagon, who had never heard of Kony or the LRA, and know almost nothing about African politics are not looking at the bigger issues. I will concede that many people shared the Kony2012 video not knowing anything more than what the video said, without looking any further into the issue, and just wanting to be a part of something bigger than themselves. While their intentions were good, these people are simply fueling the flames of people who are cynical about Facebook politics. I am cynical about Facebook politics. It annoys me when people post links about their favorite candidate, or whatever cause they are currently acting like they support. This is why I avoid posting or commenting on these types of things. My Facebook is usually very shallow. I post status' about the state of my sanity with school, about where I am for Spring Break, how much I enjoy living off-campus so I can cook my own food, or random things I find funny while wasting time on the internet. There is very little of substance on my profile because I do not think posting to Facebook accomplishes much if anything. I made an exception for the IC video because people need to know about what is going on in the world. They need to know about evil men. That is why I posted the video. Not because I think that IC's campaign will succeed in Kony's capture and trial by the ICC, but simply because I know my Facebook friends and know that many of them (no offense) fit the stereotype of the "ugly American" who doesn't know or care to know about what is going on in the world. The constant lament of my Global Issues/International Relations prof. is that Americans don't know what is going on outside of their own little bubble.
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