It takes a complex issue and reduces it to a product that people can purchase. It's the same thing that we saw with Save Darfur, 1Million t-shirts etc. Africa's problems become the "white man's burden" and he's told that if he will just buy something then that proves that he cares.
Unfortunately it not always better to something than to do nothing. I really hope there will be some scrutiny of how Invisible Children spend this money. The US already has troops supporting the Ugandan military. Buying more guns for the Ugandan military won't solve the issue.
Another problem is that the constant portrayal of Africa as the dark continent helps keep Africa poor. Who wants to invest in Uganda when videos like this portray it as a violent basket case? How many tourists are going to want to come to Uganda?
Comments
It takes a complex issue and reduces it to a product that people can purchase. It's the same thing that we saw with Save Darfur, 1Million t-shirts etc. Africa's problems become the "white man's burden" and he's told that if he will just buy something then that proves that he cares.
Unfortunately it not always better to something than to do nothing. I really hope there will be some scrutiny of how Invisible Children spend this money. The US already has troops supporting the Ugandan military. Buying more guns for the Ugandan military won't solve the issue.
Another problem is that the constant portrayal of Africa as the dark continent helps keep Africa poor. Who wants to invest in Uganda when videos like this portray it as a violent basket case? How many tourists are going to want to come to Uganda?
Here's some interesting thoughts from Ugandan's themselves: http://allafrica.com/stories/201203090364.html