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blogging 2012-2013

Chicken and Kony and Flares! Oh my!

3/8/2012

9 Comments

 
Hello from an interesting week, both at Harlaxton and in the world in general. Over the past week, I have been to Lincoln and Nottingham, given two presentations, eaten delicious Portuguese food, and hit my head on a tree. There's also been the launch of the Kony 2012 movement ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc), which has certainly gotten people talking; and there's always the fact that the sun is exploding.

Where to begin? Well, the presentations weren't that interesting; I'm just glad they're over. And the trip to Nottingham turned out to be a college tour, like we were high schoolers...so that was mediocre. But at least now I can say I've been to Nottingham. And it was entertaining to watch the UE students marvel over  such a large university. Granted, it was even bigger than WKU, too, but UE is the smallest thing imaginable, so they were thrilled.
Lincoln and the Portuguese food go hand in hand, seeing as Elizabeth, Heather, Jordan, and I took a day trip to Lincoln to visit our British friends and eat at Nando's. I had a chicken fillet burger with lettuce, medium-spicy sauce, cheese, and PINEAPPLE! It was ridiculously delicious! And I have BRITISH FRIENDS!
Now, have I covered everything going on in my life? See, I don't remember, because I hit my head on a tree. Just kidding. I do remember, but I really did hit my head on a tree while climbing out of it. It was such a nice tree, until it bopped me right on top of the head. Which, you know, it's funny, because afterward it only hurt on the right side of my head. And it wasn't like it hurt, just felt kind of pressure-y. And it still does a little, but not as much as before. But of course, I've been convinced I'm going to keel over and die. And thinking about it makes it worse, of course. Aside from the slight weird feeling in my head, I exhibited no symptoms of a concussion, and every time I've gone to sleep so far I've woken up. So I'm pretty sure I'm fine, but you know how I am... hypochondriac and all. It was funny because I sustained said head injury the day before my group presentation in environmental science and I told my group, "Good luck on the project, in case I don't wake up tomorrow." Fortunately for us all, I was there to give the presentation. AND it was about water testing! Whee! Oh, and some swans nearly attacked us when we went to collect the sample water to test.

Now, on to the broader scope of things. I'm not very in-the-know about current events. I never watch the news over here. I don't read the paper. And I don't even know where to begin with news on the internet. But I do know about this: http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/
Basically, in Africa children and young adults are being abducted, abused, and forced to become soldiers. Forced to kill without reason. They don't want to do it, and they shouldn't have to. At the forefront of these atrocities is a man named Joseph Kony. The organization Invisible Children is out to make sure he is stopped. Since the 30-minute video started circulating around the internet this week, there have been many conflicting opinions about the Kony 2012 movement. Some say the campaign to make Kony well-known so the atrocities do not continue is a great idea. Some say Invisible Children is going about it all wrong. There are disputes about facts and figures, about Kony's exact location, and about what the American government can/will do. But come on, you bunch of cynics! Don't throw up your hands and say "why bother?" At least someone is trying to do something about it. And that's all I have to say about that. What do you guys think? Leave your opinion in the comments below!
Also, the sun is exploding. It just is. The end.

Just kidding! But in honor of freaking people out, 2012 comes complete with solar flares!
P.S. The Mayans didn't account for leap years, so the world has already ended according to their calendar. Think about that!
9 Comments
Anna Beth
3/7/2012 11:59:27 pm

P.P.S. Brownie points (and maybe a prize) to whoever can guess
a. Where I'm going for a day trip tomorrow
and
b. What I'm going to do when I get there

Reply
Joan (aka Mommy, Grandma, PaMa, etc...
3/8/2012 12:20:53 am

I'm guessing you're going to London to visit the queen. I should win this contest because I birthed you! Just sayin'

Reply
SHELBS
3/8/2012 01:59:55 am

STOP KONY! STOP KONY!
But really, it's a huge thing at the Bury, not that I'm paying very much attention... I have more important things to bother with!

Reply
Anna Beth
3/8/2012 02:15:33 am

Like Haiti!!! =D
But, you know, African children are as important as Haitian ones. But I know what you mean. :)

Reply
Sanaa
3/8/2012 05:12:17 am

http://i.imgur.com/z3EeF.jpg

Reply
Anna Beth
3/8/2012 05:25:22 am

LIKE!

Reply
Sanaa
3/8/2012 06:51:12 am

Also, to make more of a valid comment compared to my previous one--

I think the most valuable critique lies in the fact that the Invisible Children campaign is one that appeals to emotion & shock value of a demographic made up mainly of young college folk. Yes, there's awareness. But awareness is not necessarily the most pressing of issues. It is the state of current communities that have already been hit by the LRA. Schools are a good investment, but IC is focusing also mainly on military intervention. One must help build stable communities that are not ridden with unemployment and a lack of public health campaigns

The US has had troops in the region for years (before the 100 adviser command was sent) in the form of Africom. This unit also attempted and unfortunately failed to take Kony down.This is one of the reasons that Kony 2012 is controversial: it focuses on spreading awareness that's not necessarily complete & asks people to spread more of that awareness as well as send money to IC for various pieces of paraphernalia....that yet again spread even more awareness. But to what end? To aid the Ugandan government in killing child soldiers to get to Kony? To once again put forth this overplayed "Save the World" mentality that the West is so famous for? To make people of this region dependent on the West for their livelihoods? Neocolonialism at its finest, my friends.

What IC is doing is noble in some respects, but it is misguided. Let Africom & the Ugandan gov. take care of finding Kony. Focus on more rehab centers, more public health work, and education that will pass on knowledge that people can keep rather than doing the work for them. Money that goes toward these $1 million+ campaigns is not the right way to go.

Sources:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120229/nodding-disease-uganda-battles-mysterious-ailment
http://thisisafrica.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/acholi-street-stop-kony2012-invisible-childrens-campaign-of-infamy/
http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

Reply
Anna Beth
3/8/2012 07:01:38 am

You've made some very valid points, and I love that you've cited your sources and everything! I'm glad I have friends like you who can discuss rationally and intellectually without getting irate and sarcastic, like a lot of people on Facebook are doing. Props to you, Sanaa.

Reply
Sanaa
3/8/2012 07:07:15 am

Thank ya, gurrrrrrl!

You know, it was actually your post that got me to watch the Kony 2012 video. I'm glad I did, so now I can speak about it with enough knowledge after also having read a lot of background info on the topic.




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