Follow-up to Kony 2012

[MindBomber]

Africa charities have little interest in helping lift communities out of poverty, their primary mission is converting the savages to Christianity. It's an intelligent model for growth; the rate of people who consider themselves religious is in steep decline in developed nations, so preach to the people who can't read and have never heard of Darwin.

Clean water, a less obviously shanty, shanty town, and a church with a big stack of bibles, won't radically improve the state of a community.

The facts back me up -
Africa is still pretty bloody impoverished despite centuries of missionary work, decades of massive financial aid from Christian groups, and homosexuality is outlawed in 38 nations on the continent.

An eco-tourism industry would radically improve the state of a community, and requires approximately the same amount of effort and funding to establish as religion. Not to mention it protects the environment and fosters the retention of traditional culture.

Edit:
Just to add demonstrate how fantastic missionary work has been for the people of Africa, and Uganda specifically, since it is the country specifically discussed in relation to Kony 2012.

The rebel group lead by Joseph Kony was initially named the Uganda People's Democratic Christian Army, then the United Holy Salvation Army, and finally the Lord's Resistance Movement/Army.

It's not just crazy radical rebels in Uganda fueled by fundamental Christian teachings, imported by American missionaries..

The private member's bill was submitted by Member of Parliament David Bahati on 14 October 2009. Same-sex relationships are currently illegal in Uganda—as they are in many sub-Saharan African countries—punishable by incarceration in prison for up to 14 years. The proposed legislation in Uganda has been noted by several news agencies to be inspired by American evangelical Christians. A special motion to introduce the legislation was passed a month after a two-day conference was held in which three American Christians asserted that homosexuality is a direct threat to the cohesion of African families. Several sources have noted endemic homophobia in Uganda has been exacerbated by the bill and the associated discussions about it. American evangelicals have also been accused of taking advantage of social and economic circumstances in Uganda to export the American culture war to Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_...sexuality_Bill

IC has close ties to anti-gay groups too! Coincidence? yeah, right.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1364069.html

[LiquidTurbo]

Originally Posted by MindBomber

Africa charities have little interest in helping lift communities out of poverty, their primary mission is converting the savages to Christianity. It's an intelligent model for growth, the rate of people who consider themselves religious is in steep decline in developed nations, so preach to the people who can't read and have never heard of Darwin.

Clean water, a less obviously shanty, shanty town, and a church with a big stack of bibles, won't radically improve the state of a community.

An eco-tourism industry will radically improve the state of a community, and requires approximately the same amount of effort and funding to establish as religion. Not to mention, it protects the environment and fosters the retention of traditional culture.

The facts back me up -
Africa is still pretty bloody impoverished despite centuries of missionary work, decades of massive financial aid from Christian groups, and homosexuality is outlawed in 38 nations on the continent.

Exactly. Organizations need to keep africa poor in order to be able to profit from it.

[mikemhg]

Africa is a complicated issue that can't be painted with one brush.

KONY was a stupid idea in the first place, because let's be real here, when you have extreme poverty, you will always have a place for a KONY to be born. You kill one KONY, you will have another to replace him.

Most Charities have HUGE Admin costs which the majority of your money goes to - paying consultants, clerks, staff, etc.

Developed nations have used Africa as their shit pot for the majority of our existence, and this hasn't changed to this day.

I think for Africa to improve as a whole, it will take a lot of work from within. Look at how polarization you are seeing in the United States between "Conservatives" and "Liberals", and this is a First World Country.

In Africa it's tribalism, until Tribalism dies, African will always have the problems it faces.

My uncle in Nigeria was recently telling me about the Christian/Muslim riots that are occuring in Northern Nigeria. He watched Hausa men (Muslims) dragging Ebo (Christians) into the streets dousing them in gasoline and lighting them on fire. This stuff happens on both sides, to folks who are neighbours and friends with one another.