Weekly Randoms

Kony related paper that I got a B on!

            The activist group Invisible Children has shown the world the power of social media, within the span of a month the YouTube video ‘Kony 2012’ climbed its way up to eight-seven million views and is sure to get more. “The video is a joy to watch and spread because it tells Americans that by simply watching a video, and at most maybe buying a $30 "action kit" of wristbands and stickers, they have done all that's necessary; they are absolved of responsibility” (Fisher). This belief, Fisher goes on to explain, could lead to less funding to Northern Uganda and other parts of Africa. TMS Ruge points out that battles should be picked and chosen based on what has been causing the most damage. He agrees like everyone else that Kony is an evil man and should be stopped, but isn’t the major problem. That more people die in Africa because they don’t have bed net than Kony could ever be responsible for, Ruge states that “2838 Ugandans died in road accidents last year than in have died in the past three years from LRA attacks in whole of central Africa,” a count of 2400. This is the problem with using social media to spread an issue because it is a form of entertainment, the ability to pick and chose battles have been limited. Invisible Children could have raise the awareness for the need to build new roads or for bed net to protect people from mosquitoes, but those aren’t as entertaining or exciting as having a helping hand in stopping a warlord that has been ravaging a country for years.  

Invisible Children is more about self promotion than stopping Kony or saving Africa. At every chance they could in the thirty-minute YouTube video “Kony 2012” they took the focus off the issue and back onto themselves. Through the spreading of the video, the activist group Invisible Children is being promoted. From supporters buying the “action kits” posting the posters, and wearing the bracelets with the Invisible Children logo that come with them, Invisible Children self promotion grows even further. “Comes now, to search your manhood, Through all the thankless years, Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom, The judgment of your peers!” (Kipling). The last stanza of Kinpling’s White Man’s Burden means that after the white man has helped these helpless and child-like people, in the end them helping may have had more to do with what the people around them thought and said, rather than the people they helped. Invisible Children can be seen in the same light,in the video they pride themselves that they were able to get the American government to become part their supporters. In the video one of the founders of Invisible Children, Jason says that they are shaping the world to be a better place and that he wants to leave it to be a place his children could be proud of. Invisible Children chose Joseph Kony not only because he is a horrible person that needs to be stopped, but also because if they were to be responsible for the result of his capture it would be a huge ego boost for the founders and the organization.

The critics again attack the video and the foundation for their reasoning for going after Kony instead of doing more effective and possible projects.  The purpose of Invisible Children wanting the capture and arrest of Kony is to stop the mindless killing, save the abducted children, and return them home to Northern Uganda. “The white savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening” (Teju Cole). They support the Ugandan army and Sudan People’s Liberation Army in order to get this done even though those two organizations  are rumored to have many accusations of rape and looting. Grant Oyston goes on to explain that having a questionable army is a problem, but using military intervention to capture Kony is an even bigger problem. “The issue with taking out a man who uses a child army is that his bodyguards are children. Any effort to capture or kill him will almost certainly result in many children’s deaths,” (Oyston).  Invisible Children’s band aid fix for Northern Uganda, very well may turn into a bigger problem than Kony was. Invisible Children is doing nothing more than trying to build up a name for themselves through all of this promotion.

Kony 2012, has done the job Invisible Children has wanted to do. Spread the awareness of Joseph Kony, all that he and the L.R.A have done, their thousands of victims, and the people trying to rebuild to work towards a better future for Northern Uganda and the rest of Africa.  Whether or not Invisible Children goal is to do what is best for the people or just promote themselves, they have gotten the people to talk about it.

Works Cited

"#Kony 2012 and its critics." The Stream. n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Cohen, Roger. “#StopKONY Now!!!.” New York Times. (2012):n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Dailey, Katie. ""Kony2012": The Rise of Online Campaigning." BBC News Magazine. (2012): n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

Kipling, Rudyard. White Man's Burden. 1899. Web.

Kony 2012. Invisible Children, 2012. Web. 2 Apr 2012. 

Lemma, Solome. "You Don't Have My Vote." Unmutted. Tumbler. Web. 1 Apr. 2012.   

Oyston, Grant. “We Got Trouble.” Visible Children. Tumbler. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.

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As I was writing this, the one thing I was thinking the entire time is...I just need 5 pages!