By now, most of you have seen the Kony 2012 video. 50 million people have viewed this video, which is a lot, but is still only about 0.7% of the Earth's population, 16% of America's population, and approximately the same number of people who died in World War II.
Most of my concerns with the Kony 2012 video have been effectively raised by the Visible Children blog, which does some pretty solid analysis of why you should raise your eyebrow, and perhaps type "Joseph Kony" and "Invisible Children" into google.
The problem I wish to raise here is one of a lack of foresight. I'm not about to accuse Invisible Children of poor planning, in fact planning has got them very far indeed, but amongst the pang of facebook's poorly researched and poorly informed statuses, and the unbelievably self righteous tone of the video, a simple thought struck me: what about after Kony?
Yes Kony needs to be removed, and when he does, you will celebrate, unaware that at the time of writing, his armed forces are estimated to be 250. He will either fade away on the run, or he will be cornered and his existence made forfeit, provided that some other African nation doesn't start funding him purely out of spite (way to go Sudan). So perhaps my first point is that when Kony does go, maybe the members of Invisible Children can indulge in a little bit of smugness, but you certainly can't.
However Kony is responsible for some horrendous crimes. Crimes of his magnitude leave emotional scars etched across the face of the populace. The arrest of Joseph Kony may decapitate the LRA, and leave them harmless (or perhaps not), but even if Joseph Kony goes, bringing the number of terminated LRA leaders down to three (out of five), what is going to be done about the children that are now murderers, and victims of war? Which organisation will fund the efforts of support, help build the infrastructure to help reduce the consequences of a generation of traumatised children? I know that after Kony is gone, indeed, after the 20th of April, your keen, self righteous, college campus activism will evaporate. Indeed, life will become hell with all those fucking exams you have coming, and man is life tough when you're not sure if that girl (or boy) likes you or not. Sure, focusing on your own life is unavoidable for anyone; you have the life your attached to, and the cause you support, and you can't be an activist all the time, but you probably won't even notice the drift.
And when Kony falls, you will cheer, triumphantly, so glad of what you did to help (yeah thanks for covering all the music event flyers in an excessive amount of Kony posters, assholes), you will rarely ever talk about Uganda again, except when applying for that job with that NGO, and talking about the key role you played in "making the world a better place".
And meanwhile, across the ocean, in a world still far removed, another storm is brewing, built on the back of cause and effect. Thousands of scarified children, trying to find their place in a cruel world, with the tools of murder and suffering etched onto their brains. Kony planted his roots deep, and the damage he has caused has spread far and wide. You want to help? You want to donate? Then simply, go forth, and find a charity that offers to build the support system needed for the disaffect youth of Kony, the victims of the LRA, and the Ugandan Military. The day Kony falls, remind people, what's next?
You want to make a change? Be the first generation with the foresight to see what is need to truly end Joseph Kony, to not just remove a man of evil, but to nurse his taint from the ground, and the stop what once happened from happening again. A historical moment, where a generation finally understands history. Do that, and you'll reach far beyond the expectations of Kony 2012 and the Ugandan people.
Most of my concerns with the Kony 2012 video have been effectively raised by the Visible Children blog, which does some pretty solid analysis of why you should raise your eyebrow, and perhaps type "Joseph Kony" and "Invisible Children" into google.
The problem I wish to raise here is one of a lack of foresight. I'm not about to accuse Invisible Children of poor planning, in fact planning has got them very far indeed, but amongst the pang of facebook's poorly researched and poorly informed statuses, and the unbelievably self righteous tone of the video, a simple thought struck me: what about after Kony?
Yes Kony needs to be removed, and when he does, you will celebrate, unaware that at the time of writing, his armed forces are estimated to be 250. He will either fade away on the run, or he will be cornered and his existence made forfeit, provided that some other African nation doesn't start funding him purely out of spite (way to go Sudan). So perhaps my first point is that when Kony does go, maybe the members of Invisible Children can indulge in a little bit of smugness, but you certainly can't.
However Kony is responsible for some horrendous crimes. Crimes of his magnitude leave emotional scars etched across the face of the populace. The arrest of Joseph Kony may decapitate the LRA, and leave them harmless (or perhaps not), but even if Joseph Kony goes, bringing the number of terminated LRA leaders down to three (out of five), what is going to be done about the children that are now murderers, and victims of war? Which organisation will fund the efforts of support, help build the infrastructure to help reduce the consequences of a generation of traumatised children? I know that after Kony is gone, indeed, after the 20th of April, your keen, self righteous, college campus activism will evaporate. Indeed, life will become hell with all those fucking exams you have coming, and man is life tough when you're not sure if that girl (or boy) likes you or not. Sure, focusing on your own life is unavoidable for anyone; you have the life your attached to, and the cause you support, and you can't be an activist all the time, but you probably won't even notice the drift.
And when Kony falls, you will cheer, triumphantly, so glad of what you did to help (yeah thanks for covering all the music event flyers in an excessive amount of Kony posters, assholes), you will rarely ever talk about Uganda again, except when applying for that job with that NGO, and talking about the key role you played in "making the world a better place".
And meanwhile, across the ocean, in a world still far removed, another storm is brewing, built on the back of cause and effect. Thousands of scarified children, trying to find their place in a cruel world, with the tools of murder and suffering etched onto their brains. Kony planted his roots deep, and the damage he has caused has spread far and wide. You want to help? You want to donate? Then simply, go forth, and find a charity that offers to build the support system needed for the disaffect youth of Kony, the victims of the LRA, and the Ugandan Military. The day Kony falls, remind people, what's next?
You want to make a change? Be the first generation with the foresight to see what is need to truly end Joseph Kony, to not just remove a man of evil, but to nurse his taint from the ground, and the stop what once happened from happening again. A historical moment, where a generation finally understands history. Do that, and you'll reach far beyond the expectations of Kony 2012 and the Ugandan people.
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