Kony 2012: Can Facebook Spark A War?

I get it I really do, we need to help others around us with the privileges that we have. The advantages through being born in rich areas that live in peace and have sleepy suburbs, and because of this we should give all our pennies and concern to the rest of the world:

“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven”

(Matthew 19:16-30)

This is a philosophy that has holds us in our society. We give and we will be rewarded in heaven. Admittedly with the advancement of atheism, the acknowledgement turns to the short term happiness and a feeling of self-worth. However, just as a voter feels hard done by by a party that they use their valuable vote for, and that party does not follow through, I feel this same disappointment. I see no difference in Africa, I see no difference in India, all I see is that on Comic relief they show how much good our money could do one year only for the next for it to be in the same situation. One school is built, few families are saved, but more importantly more money is needed along but it can only be achieved with a lot more emotional investment and it does not take much for a person with a little bit of intelligence and a good sense of making a film to know how to manipulate the world into putty in their hands. The video that is freshest, and is actually the inspiration for this blog piece is of course Kony 2012…

The reactions have been right to the information that people have been given, and i want to make it clear that I do not condone in any way the suffering that happens as mentioned in this video or otherwise. The aim of this post is to try to get people to think for themselves, be skeptical. When I sat down to educate myself of the newest viral that had sparked outrage around the social media world I could not help but feel manipulated. His cute blonde son helps tell the story of how “bad men” hurt others, and it is clear that I am not the only one who feels this way:

http://jezebel.com/5891269/think-twice-before-donating-to-kony-2012-the-meme-du-jour

Yes we see it on a personal level, but if we saw the facts in front of us I am sure it would not sparka  viral wildfire like it has done.

To show exactly how we, as the public can be manipulated, I will use this example:

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

This is the experiment where, upon given the right information, the public would want to ban water (or dihydrogen monoxide) as we are only given the negatives of what it can do.

As for the Kony video it does not take much research into the youtube comments to find people calling for war. I am sure if you look at what people were saying before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find similar comments in the press of how we must go to war as a retaliation. We must get Saddam out as he is a monster, it is our duty as the West. Now it seems as though Iraq was an oil field and the war was a process of the West asserting its influence over the East.

We all are clever, we can all deduce what we wish and what we want out of a situation, but before we just hear what a cute blonde child has to say, it would be nice if we could question why we are being told this by a child and not an adult. Whether we are watching something telling us dihydrogen monoxide is dangerous, or whether we are reading between the lines and seeing that we are really reading about water.

More Sport and Banter for your tastebuds

Thats right the third episode of ‘The Sweat Room’ straight from essex uni and SX:TV, is online for your enjoyment.

The Most Hated Woman in the World

We all know we are heavily influenced by the media around us. Only the hermits of old can escape the discussions that go on in the news and in social media websites, although I am sure they wouldn’t stop being discussed. What I witnessed tonight on youtube was one of the poorest displays of humanity that I feel I have ever witnessed; people publicly humiliating and confessing to their loved ones crimes that they have done against them in front of the jeering public. This is all in the name of television.

The show is called ‘The Moment of Truth.’ Contestants win money from owning up to what they have done from difficult questions put to them by difficult people after being hooked up to a lie detector. This particular woman has her ex-boyfriend ask her questions to admit that she thought they should have been together on their wedding day AND that she had had an affair all in front of her husband:

The poor guy’s life fell apart for the sake of money, something material that doesn’t last chosen over marriage which is supposed to represent purity and chaste love, and maybe for him even it does. Her actions show horrifically that some human beings are so shallow that they cannot see further than their wallets. She is prepared to destroy her life for the prospect of some home comforts and getting the bills paid. She is not however, the only one to blame.

The television companies that air these programmes aim to be controversial, aim to harm, but most of all they aim to make money no matter what. The exact same aim that the girl has, except she is the monkey in jumping through hoops at the front of the audience, and they are the owners counting the money. But you see a lot of this unashamedly broadcast for shameful fame. The olden days of virtue are lost as racism slap-handedly splashed across programmes and whilst they raise awareness they aim to incite anger. Admittedly racism was more prominent in days gone by, but the excuse for any prejudice has gone, as people are educated enough, and compassionate enough to see that we are all the same you and I.

Morals and virtue are no longer as prominent as a result both on television and in real life. Yes people commit crimes for personal greed and necessity, but thanks to television of this nature we see the monstrosities that would not normally happen. Such horrible deeds go noticed and I know ignoring them does not delete them, but it does not promote them either. The one silver lining I would take from the video is that you can realise of how little importance money has in the face of your own family and partners for I can personally say I would not trade £25,000 or more for the life I lead and the people I love and love me, and I am sure I am not the only one. She says ‘I feel really good getting these things off my chest.’ Well it shouldn’t be that easy, and I am sure as hell her husband does not deserve the burden. And that is why I am writing this at 2:55am instead of sleeping, because I know humanity is better than ratings and money and even though they have succeeded in getting more views and inciting controversy and anger, they have highlighted their prostitution of morals for money.

the second episode of my tv show is finally out now!!!

Whether you saw the first episode of my tv show or have just stumbled across this post in amongst the mumbled mess of information that the internet is, give my second one a watch which recently came out. Enjoy!

Stephen Hawking is Wrong

There are many arguments for and against the existence of God, but the most pressing one, at this time, is the concept of something being created out of nothing. How can this be possible? Theists argue God made the world and even caused the Big Bang, but a new theory from Stephen Hawking suggests otherwise. He believes that the Big Bang occurred due to spontaneous creation and God is not even needed in this equation.

He states how there are other solar systems and other worlds with the belief of outside life independent of this planet. He speaks of how Science and Religion cannot go hand in hand as they are two opposites and you can only believe in one and not both. The way he puts this it seems as though he is picking sides and segregating, trying to make us choose how we are going to answer the ultimate question of our existence.

Religion and science started out together, religion answering that which science could not. As we learnt more, we needed religion less, but we still believed. As we get apparently closer to the answer, scientists urge us to abandon our faith which I do not believe is right. How can we have a world without God? How can we not believe that there is a higher power helping us throughout life? Science may explain how the world came about, it may explain how the Big Bang happened, but it will never prove that God doesn’t exist, it will never take one of mankind’s most important attributes; its faith.