I'm here today to talk to you about a very serious issue. And that is the cultural and worldwide phenomenon of Kony 2012. It was posted on Youtube a week ago and has since racked up over 77 million views. And, in my honest opinion, I didn't think it was a bad idea... Until the evening, when, after advice from my mother, I decided to look into this further. Joseph Kony is a child abductor and is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. He started out in the late 80s and carried on for the next 2 decades. He forced the children to become his soldiers and sex slaves. He is on the top of the International Criminal Courts list of wanted political targets. It is also thought that Kony's army comitted atrocities such as torture and rape.
This is what sucks people in to this. I'll agree that Kony is a dispicable man and should be stopped but then there are the things I have found out about this organisation Invisible Children Inc. and about the American involvement in the search for Kony which has made me stoically think that this is not right. You are all of course entitled to your own opinions and your own beliefs, which is a basic part of human rights. But here are the things that have made me think of why Kony 2012 won't work and why to question it before signing the pledge. I have stupidly signed the pledge but I wouldn't have if I hadn't found out this information beforehand.
The Culturemakers and the Policymakers. Who are most of these people anyway? In Culturemakers, there are well known names like Jay-Z and Bill Gates. But then I wonder who the hell some of these people actually are! Who is Ellen Degeneres? Who is Rick Warren? Stephen Colbert? Warren Buffet? Ryan Seacrest? Tim Tebow? Who are those people? Also, I wouldn't support Rush Limbaugh to make sure this works. He is a Republican radio personality. I can't support Republicans, mainly because of people like him and Sarah Palin. (If you are a Republican, don't get offended.) And in the Policymakers, why oh why did you put George Bush on there? I think the very name of the former president of the USA is enough to make someone understand my point but if not I will explain. George Bush's two terms in office can be pretty much summed up by one word: STUPID!!! This is a man who once said: "I believe human beings and fish can live together in peace." I think that can pretty much sum up my thoughts on that. Another thing is that I think this list was aimed at American citizens rather than international ones. As I mentioned earlier, I don't know who some of the celebrities are and all the politicians are American. I mean, if InvisibleChildrenInc. had thought of some well known global politicians, it wouldn't have mattered, but this list looks like it was marketed for Americans. This is supposed to be an international movement but you didn't think to try and convince politicians from abroad except for Ban Ki-Moon? That's real thinking for an international movement, isn't it?
Where is Kony? If people really want to stop Kony, then where is he? And, for that matter, when was the last time he was active? The answer is as far back as 2006. Since then, the LRA haven't been considered a great threat in Uganda. Hell, people aren't even sure if Kony is even alive. A video on YouTube called Why Kony 2012 Is Misleading has a pure Ugandan girl living in America telling us that her parents think he is dead. I mean, wow, these are two pure Ugandans telling the public that Kony is dead. I think that has a lot in it.
The funds of InvisibleChildrenInc. Apparently, last year InvisibleChildrenInc. made 8.9 million dollars. However, only 31% went towards Uganda. That is actually quite despicable when a charity can only afford to send to the people they are helping a tiny amount compared to what they made. The director of InvisibleChildrenInc. pays himself 90,000 dollars a year. Out of the charity's money. The film Kony 2012 cost 300,000 dollars to make. Plus the fees for equipment and such made the total Uganda received 31%. That is just atrocious.
Support for the Ugandan government. The Ugandan government and its army are notorious for committing war crimes against their own country like Kony has. Yet InvisibleChildrenInc. is supporting them. I think that since the LRA haven't been active, the Ugandan army is the new evil of Central Africa. We shouldn't be going after Kony, we should be going after the Ugandan government. Get the priorities right! The evil of the present is more important to deal with than the evil of the past. Also, the fact that you don't defend these criminals doesn't really matter, your still working with them, nothing has changed.
American involvement in Uganda. Listen to this: America has sent military advisers to Uganda. It is slowly increasing the number sent. Does that sound familiar? If you guessed the beginning of the Vietnam War, you can give yourself a cookie, because you are absolutely correct. Yes, the fact that America may get involved in yet another war is surprising, isn't it? I like Barack Obama, but, honestly, maybe he should think about another third-world country with a deadly fighting force that his country is at war with. And for that matter, why hasn't Obama started withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan? He's had 3 years to do it and he hasn't blinked an eye, just let more men die. But I'm going off-topic. Bottom line: before you get involved in another country's affairs, sort out the war you're currently waging.
Oil in Uganda. Is it really a coincidence that America started sending advisers around the time that Oil was discovered in Uganda? I'll let you figure this one out for yourselves, but you can probably guess what I'm thinking. We've seen something similar in the past 10 years as well haven't we?
The cost of the Action Kit. It costs 30 dollars for the whole kit and 10 for a bracelet. Good Lord, that is costly. I mean, would you really donate 10 dollars for a bracelet?! That's nuts! The action kit I understand a little because it includes things like posters and t-shirts but that still doesn't excuse it. I mean, one rule of charity is that people can give as much as they want to give. The better plan would be to let people donate as much as they want and receive the action kit. I think the charity would make a lot more money that way. It's also a lack of thought of the current economic climate. Most people want to save money, not give as much as they can.
America and other country's current situation. The current economic climate, like I mentioned before, is that of recession. This includes cuts, unemployement and redundancies. Why not, instead of sorting out other country's problems, sort out your own? There are parts of the USA that are third-world. There are parts of my own country of origin, the UK, that are third-world. (I live in France.) SORT OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY BEFORE YOU DO THE SAME WITH OTHER COUNTRY'S!!!
Defacing property on April 20th. On April 20th this year, according to the video, members of the movement who have the action kit are meant to go out at night and put up posters and other signs to make Kony famous. However, it is also quite likely that people will put posters on places where they shouldn't- without knowing what they are doing. There could even be graffiti! This campaign could encourage defacing property, which is against the law.
The video itself. The video is a very clever piece of marketing, drawing the average person in with the emotions portrayed in it and using the scenes of children crying to great effect. But don't get too drawn in. If you're anything like me, you immediately posted the video on Facebook and signed the pledge. I didn't really know what I was doing. My emotions took the better of me before I questioned the legitimacy of the video. But for more on that, search the video of KONY 2012 HOAX by NWVentertainement. It sheds a lot of light on it and includes a very motivational speech.
Why hasn't this been attempted before? This is an even bigger argument than American involvement. Why didn't InvisibleChildrenInc. try this in 2007? YouTube was around back then, as was twitter and Facebook. Its clearly shown that they had the resources to make films back then, so why haven't they tried this before? Explain that, Jason Russell. After all, you were the director, one of the writers, the narrator and one of the cinematographers for the film. EXPLAIN!!!
Well, I'm all worn out. If I find anything else, I'll add it on. But in conclusion, I just want you to think about all the evils in the world. And I want you to decide who is more important to capture. Joseph Kony or one of the other criminals on the ICC's list of most wanted? And leaving you to think, maybe you'll question this. Maybe you'll write something really vulgar on my wall in response. Personally, I don't care if you hate me. But if you do stop and think and begin to have the same mindset as me, then you may begin to understand. I'll leave you now to ponder on what I have said.
