I'd like to openly admit that I was wrong.......

Keeping it short.

People say that on ATS when somebody's wrong, they just never bring up the discussion again. I'm bringing it up and admitting that myself, and everybody else who were defending the Kony2012 movement were wrong.....


The day the video came out I was on deck with plenty of other people.

I remember the second day the video was out there were some threads that made me raise my eyebrows, so I started playing both sides. lol I was saying stuff like "uhhh, well either way you don't have to donate if you don't trust them, at least they're raising awareness..."

Then when the Kony movement guy was running around butt naked high as hell, I was still KINDA defensive of the concept....

But you know what, ATS won't be ATS much longer if people stop being REAL. So to everybody who I spent time arguing with over the Kony thing, I was wrong, you were right. And thumbs up to you guys for seeing that "movement" for what it was from the get go! All that donation money, and those wrist bands and posters that folks paid for - that money will never be seen again. Those "invisible children" from the video got their little $5 payout for posing and went back to being invisible. And Kony, if he's still alive, got to reminisce on his life up until 2006, even though it was branded as current.

Peace

Mucho Kudos on you!

I think that if you're willing to take a stand on any position you must also be willing to admit if you are wrong.
I wish there was more of this on ATS!

Good job!

That's the spirit. All of us are wrong, the difference is not all of us are willing to admit we are human, and we are imperfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Good on you!

*selfish push* I made a Kony thread basically calling this out. If you have an interest, here you go.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


It takes a strong person to admit they're wrong. So kudos to you for recognizing the error of your thinking and having the courage to share it with ATS.

Kudos to you for admitting it, not many people would!

That being said, my wife bought the whole kit that they were selling, and she still won't admit she was wrong. In your and her defense, it did seem like a worthwhile cause.

Originally posted by Daemonicon
That's the spirit. All of us are wrong, the difference is not all of us are willing to admit we are human, and we are imperfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Good on you!

*selfish push* I made a Kony thread basically calling this out. If you have an interest, here you go.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I remember your thread because I was one of the salty faced supporters who couldn't respond. LOL

Originally posted by superman2012
Kudos to you for admitting it, not many people would!

That being said, my wife bought the whole kit that they were selling, and she still won't admit she was wrong. In your and her defense, it did seem like a worthwhile cause.

The video did the job quite well.... I think if I had been in a better financial situation I would have bought it too. smh

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


SnF OP, I read some of the threads, but was still lurking at the time. Never forget OP, there is no shame in being wrong, only shame in not learning from your mistkes!

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


It takes some integrity to admit when you're wrong so although I don't remember the discussion I gave you a star and flag just for stepping up. Makes me try to remember if I've been proved wrong recently and if I have any apologizing to do...Can't think of anything off the cuff although I am sure there are a few things out there. Hope I have the cojones to admit it.

A wise man once said, "Create and be the change you want to see"


Hats off to you, you didn't have to make this thread but you did

And op, the kony video was emotional so don't be wound up that it deceived you, its human instinct to feel that way. Itgot me choked up and I even shared it with friends. But I clicked on after a day or two, I actually even forgot about it until this thread.

Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


Thank you for posting about this. I was one of those people who bought a wristband from them. They came to our school (Paul Mitchell the School, San Antonio) and put on a huge presentation. We were all shocked and appalled at the video they showed us, and it brought many of my classmates and learning leaders to tears. They even had an African woman get up on stage and tell her story. I hugged this woman and offered her words of encouragement, as did most of us there.

They set up tables in the front lobby with T-shirts, bags and bracelets. I think the shirts were $30. The tote bags were $65 and we were told that they were handmade by African women in a village. The wristbands were $5 and almost every student bought one. We wore them for weeks until the strings became frayed. To give you an idea of how many people did this; we have approximately 500 students attending the cosmetology and esthetics program. And all of us bought into it (literally) hook, line and sinker.

I don't watch TV or read the newspaper or any news websites because I'm too busy and it's depressing. So I was unaware that this was a scam, and so was everyone else at school. We all feel so violated. Most of us couldn't really afford to spend money that day but in the spirit of charity we dug into our pockets and wallets so that we could help these people. We thought we were doing the right thing.

I am absolutely blown away by the lengths people will go to in order to make a buck. I would have rather given my five dollars to one of the many homeless and hungry people struggling right here in our city. At least I would have known that my money was going to actually help someone instead of lining the pockets of some disgusting, vile scam artist. It is no wonder that people don't want to help others...the risk of being deceived is too great.

S&F for you OP. You weren't wrong. You were mislead, like so many of us.

I don't want to be rude...but...

Do you think that ANY of us here on ATS remember YOU, let alone a thread from 4 months ago?

While making an apology and admitting you were wrong is valiant, I doubt that you really changed the lives of anyone who remembered the conversation to begin with.

Sorry man. Enjoy your S&F's.

Originally posted by n00bUK
A wise man once said, "Create and be the change you want to see"


Hats off to you, you didn't have to make this thread but you did

And op, the kony video was emotional so don't be wound up that it deceived you, its human instinct to feel that way. Itgot me choked up and I even shared it with friends. But I clicked on after a day or two, I actually even forgot about it until this thread.

Thanks for sharing.

I think most people might have forgotten about it. I remembered it because I was doing some readong on Afrika and Uganda came up and I was like "where did I recently hear about Uganda....?" lol

Originally posted by phantomjack
I don't want to be rude...but...

Do you think that ANY of us here on ATS remember YOU, let alone a thread from 4 months ago?

While making an apology and admitting you were wrong is valiant, I doubt that you really changed the lives of anyone who remembered the conversation to begin with.

Sorry man. Enjoy your S&F's.

Gee... Thanks...

Originally posted by tigertatzen
reply to post by My.mind.is.mine

 

Thank you for posting about this. I was one of those people who bought a wristband from them. They came to our school (Paul Mitchell the School, San Antonio) and put on a huge presentation. We were all shocked and appalled at the video they showed us, and it brought many of my classmates and learning leaders to tears. They even had an African woman get up on stage and tell her story. I hugged this woman and offered her words of encouragement, as did most of us there.

They set up tables in the front lobby with T-shirts, bags and bracelets. I think the shirts were $30. The tote bags were $65 and we were told that they were handmade by African women in a village. The wristbands were $5 and almost every student bought one. We wore them for weeks until the strings became frayed. To give you an idea of how many people did this; we have approximately 500 students attending the cosmetology and esthetics program. And all of us bought into it (literally) hook, line and sinker.

I don't watch TV or read the newspaper or any news websites because I'm too busy and it's depressing. So I was unaware that this was a scam, and so was everyone else at school. We all feel so violated. Most of us couldn't really afford to spend money that day but in the spirit of charity we dug into our pockets and wallets so that we could help these people. We thought we were doing the right thing.

I am absolutely blown away by the lengths people will go to in order to make a buck. I would have rather given my five dollars to one of the many homeless and hungry people struggling right here in our city. At least I would have known that my money was going to actually help someone instead of lining the pockets of some disgusting, vile scam artist. It is no wonder that people don't want to help others...the risk of being deceived is too great.

S&F for you OP. You weren't wrong. You were mislead, like so many of us.

Definitely blows my mind that a true story would be pimped into a multi million dollar scheme like that.....

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


Nothing personal

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


23 stars and 12 flags for the appology......

I am sure we will get all kinds of star and flag enthusiasts jumping on your "I was wrong" bandwagon soon...

Congrats on the admission, too bad it doesn't go in the introduction forum.......

I know, I know, stars and flags mean nothing......but a lot of users on here are addicted to them.......

Hey you sure are getting a lot??? /sarcasm

Sorry, nothing personal....

Originally posted by Chrisfishenstein
reply to post by My.mind.is.mine

 

23 stars and 12 flags for the appology......

I am sure we will get all kinds of star and flag enthusiasts jumping on your "I was wrong" bandwagon soon...

Congrats on the admission, too bad it doesn't go in the introduction forum.......

I know, I know, stars and flags mean nothing......but a lot of users on here are addicted to them.......

Hey you sure are getting a lot???

/sarcasm

Sorry, nothing personal....

edit on 9/24/2012 by Chrisfishenstein because: (no reason given)

What's all this about introduction forums and stars......????

I didn't know admitting being wrong was ever gonna be a "bandwagon".....

There have been some thinly veiled criticisms aimed at the OP, mainly along the lines of "it's a ploy for flags and stars."

Well, I think the post IS flag and star worthy. Why? Because the vocal majority of folks on ATS will call someone names (troll, disinformation agent) before ever admitting they were wrong.

OP...ignore it. What you've done takes courage. I only wish more members would act this way.

reply to post by My.mind.is.mine


Pay no attention to the haters. Hats off to you sir by the way.