Did you jump on the bandwagon? I jumped on the bandwagon. Why not? A beautifully-made, popular video about the leader of a military group committing acts that are widely-accepted as crimes against humanity, especially children, in a relatively poor part of the world? Who wouldn’t see that and be appalled? The goals seem simple: make this bastard known to the world so the politicians and policy makers who can act, do act.
A lot of the outrage seen on Tumblr, Twitter, and probably plenty of other social media sites against Invisible Children and the Kony 2012 campaign focuses on the apparently questionable finances of IC, the supposed pointlessness of the campaign (making Kony “famous” won’t actually “do” anything; people should take action, not just mindlessly support a viral video cause), and fears about western (military) intervention in an African conflict that is already old, possibly in decline, and has moved out of the country of focus — namely Uganda — anyway.
To take a slight detour, this all reminds me of a statement I once heard: ”Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Google tells me that Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said this in 2010. Apparently he forgot about the IRA* and FLQ*.
It’s painfully easy to generalize. About anything, really. Viral videos are pointless, useless, a waste of time. Just talking about something doesn’t do anything. Someone said that group doesn’t spend their money on other people, so they’re lying scumbags who aren’t worth supporting. See? Easy.
I’ll admit, I tweeted and e-mailed and reblogged before I researched. However, the joys of social media are that it’s really easy to find out what other people have researched and read and are complaining about, so I could find most of the big stuff pretty quickly. Invisible Children isn’t perfect. They’ve been criticized because of last year’s financial record. A lot of people find the idea of a campaign against a foreign military leader that is focusing on “fame” to be bizarre, if not downright ridiculous and moronic. But many others have pointed out that just talking about it puts it in the public eye. Making a one-year campaign so emotionally relevant to so many people makes it more likely to be maintained and popularized. Making politicians aware that their constituents are concerned about this issue means governments have the popular support and impetus required to act.
I’m not completely objective, I know. I haven’t done as much reading or research on the Ugandan political and historical situation, or on the history and actions of the LRA, Joseph Kony, Invisible Children, and any number of other parties involved, however tangentially, in Kony 2012. What I have read, however, suggests to me that some action is better than none. Some people are blogging criticism about IC and Kony 2012. IC is aware of the criticism against it, and has responded. Some people know the history better, and have written about it so others can learn more.
I encourage anyone interested in the issue to read whatever they can about it. Think about what you want to support before you do so. Are you concerned about supporting the use of military force to capture Joseph Kony? Do you think more effort needs to be put into supporting the current and former child soldiers in Uganda and neighbouring countries? Are you worried about unintentional validation of possibly corrupt governments in Africa through international aid in Kony’s capture? Do you believe the LRA will outlast Kony, even if he is arrested and tried by the International Criminal Court? These are valid concerns. Voice them. Tell your MPs, MLAs, Senators, Governors, Congressmen and women, Premiers, Prime Ministers, Presidents, any and all political officers you want. Tell Invisible Children. Tell Charity Navigator. Talk about them; without interest or outrage, there is no incentive for change.
I’m a pacifist, both by nature and nurture. I come from a cultural and religious ideology that believes war and violence are fundamentally flawed actions and reactions to conflict, and that only by using peaceful means can long-lasting peaceful results be achieved and maintained. I’m concerned that supporting a military group (with a questionable history) in the capture of a man using children as soldiers, and maybe even as bodyguards, will result in more death and violence that could be avoided through other methods. However, I don’t know what those methods are. I don’t currently have the information or the influence to do something differently. Invisible Children has the power right now to make a change in the world, almost certainly for the better. I’m choosing to support them. Make your own choice, but please make an informed one.
“Isn’t it wrong not to do all the good you can?” - from Solomon Cleaver’s Jean Val Jean, an adapted novel based on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables
The sites mentioned/linked above are:
Visible Children - http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/
Invisible Children - Critiques - http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html
Michael Diebert - The Problem With Invisible Children’s “Kony 2012” - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=1327417
*Irish Republican Army, who may not have been terrorists in the strictest sense, but used guerrilla warfare in an attempt to force the British government to give Ireland self-government.
*Front de libération du Québec, who used terrorist and guerrilla tactics in an attempt to overthrow Canadian and Quebecois governing systems and form a separate, socialist Quebec state.
310
