I've watched and read about the Invisible Children's "Kony 2012" campaign over the past couple of days and I've finally reached a conclusion that i'm comfortable with.
Now, when I first saw the infamous
KONY 2012 video, I was taken aback. It did strike an emotional chord (as they expected it would) and I did share it on my social media sites (as they expected I would). But, I stopped there for good reason. I didn't blog about the issue, as I did with the Falling Whistles Foundation, or purchase a kit. The skeptic in me had to know more and the cynic in me made me say "well, what's different about the situation in Uganda than any other conflict zone?".
The way I see it, what is (or "was" depending on who you ask) happening in Uganda, is happening over various parts of Africa and the world. Atrocities are being committed on the daily, there are plenty of efforts to help that go unnoticed and there is never only really just ONE leader. To give this issue a
face and blame it all on one man is not really a fair assessment of the problem in Uganda, or even an effective step towards the dissolution of a greater problem.
When I found out about the Falling Whistles foundation, I researched it,
I blogged about it, and ended up buying the whistle. Why? Because at the end of the day, the efforts were not only to stop the problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but to help the children affected by it. The profits and proceeds went directly to a rehabilitation center in
Democratic Republic of Congo for the kids to transition back into the real world. This seemed like a more doable goal. With the KONY 2012 campaign, i'm not comfortable with the money being used to buy weapons to find him in the jungles... Seriously?
The Invisible Children foundation created this heart warming video of the situation and doesn't seem to have up-to-date information on the current political issues in Uganda. If there was such turmoil, I would think that there would be more than just one child's perspective on the traumatic experiences occurring. If Kony is many of their realities, shouldn't there have been more than one person's viewpoint in the video?
Let's also discuss the fact the foundation has been riddled with multiple claims of foul play in regards to how they
use their money, how they decide to
support certain governments (known for being corrupt themselves), and how they use their facts to manipulate support.
While it is undisputed that Kony is a delusional and psychotically dangerous person, with rumors the Joseph Kony may be dead or has fled Uganda years ago, the cause may need to be revamped. I still stand by my decision to share it on social media sites because I hope that this situation will encourage others to look into more world issues, but I am not buying a kit. Unless I hear more credible information about where the money will go, where Kony really is, and the steps that will be taken to ensure that the Ugandan government is stable afterwards... I'll keep my dollars.
Sallie Mae will be calling me in 20 days for their money anyway, and that's a whole different army that I would not like to fight!
That's all I've got to say about that! What are your thoughts?
~Confessor
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