KONY 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
I doubt it needs an introduction, but this is the video that, yesterday and today, went viral on the internet. There is a thick blanket titled 'KONY 2012' laid over facebook and 'Cover the Night- KONY 2012' events sprouting absolutely everywhere- (really everywhere- even Garstang...). The charity Invisible Children has launched this video as part of a huge campaign to get Ugandan guerilla warlord Joseph Kony arrested by the end of the year. Kony has been the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army since around 1988, with the bulk of the army's footsoldiers being children. As the LRA attack villages, they give the young boys guns and make the young girls sex slaves- sometimes stealing them from schools. As the army do this, they often kill the family of the children- or make the children do it themselves. Invisible Children have pushed the campaign under fresh fears that US military assistance (which embarked in Oct 2011 to arrest Kony) will be withdrawn by the end of 2012 if public support for Kony's arrest continues to wane.
I watched the video on facebook this morning and was really touched by it; signed the petition, shared the video, joined group, joined the 'Cover the Night' event in Manchester and was all about ready to get campaigning and pasting the walls with posters. The video is THAT well done. I'm going to use the word propaganda- and I'm not using it in a derogatory sense, but the video is fantastic propaganda. As the day has progressed, however, there have been echoes of criticism of the movement, about Invisible Children and about the methods of campaign which made me hesitate to throw all my support at the campaign.

Joseph Kony, wanted by the International Criminal Court for commiting crimes against humanity

As far as a lot of the criticism is concerned, it's really not justified. It seems a lot of people are more irritated that it is cluttering up their facebook newsfeeds than actually contributing any legitimate criticism. It's not right to be irritated at lots of people on facebook, some of whom wouldn't usually bother promoting a good cause, for sharing the video and promoting the cause. Regardless of whether you see it as irritating, if it results in the end of Kony's crimes then surely it was worth it.
It's not right to disbelieve that spreading the word can change things. It certainly can, facebook and other social media platforms connect people from all over the word- and promoting a cause has never been easier. The more people that back the cause, the more it is in a government's interest to meet the people's demands.
It is not right to compare Joseph Kony to other warlords and say that another cause is more worthy of support. As before, anything is better than nothing- and Kony 2012 hasn't replaced any other major campaign, it has just raised awareness where there was none.

One of KONY 2012's campaign posters- made since both the Republican and Democrat parties condemned Kony's actions

However, the video is so powerful and evocative that it is very difficult to watch is objectively and see through the fog. Yes, KONY 2012 is a brilliant cause, yes we shouldn't become to wrapped up in politics and ignore what we feel emotionally drawn to do- but we don't seem to realise that we are consenting and actively encouraging America to reinforce Uganda's military when we really don't know much about it. There are plenty of reasons to argue that giving the Ugandan military improved technology and arms is not necessarily a good thing. Some of the people who have promoted this cause will say that the USA and UK were wrong to get involved in the affairs of Iraq (trying not to go too deeply into that), yet actively support US and UK involvement in Uganda because of this one video. Will there not be future criticism if US and UK soldiers start dying in Uganda?
I'm not making a judgement on whether the cause is right or wrong. However, we shouldn't forget to scrutinise what we are watching, hearing and consequently promoting. One huge criticism of this is, 'what is the alternative'? Unfortunately, the answer is that there is no alternative as huge as this movement. Amnesty has been campaigning Kony's arrest for years, alongside Invisible Children and other organizations, offering alternatives to KONY 2012. However, none of these movements have come even close to raising the same level of awareness and support as KONY 2012, so maybe it is the way forward. Undecided.