Tag Archives: awareness

My problems with the KONY 2012 Campaign Sumarized


I think action is a lot more important than awareness.


I don’t really believe that a single sentance can some up all the complications of war and profit and intention and emotion that surround the KONY 2012 campaign. So I have written two more in depth articles.

This one focuses on gathering together many of the problems and concerns associated with the KONY 2012 Campaign and Invisible Children, in addition to encouraging people to research organizations before they donate.

This one questions the value of awareness, and the ‘something’ is better than ‘nothing philosophy that is being perpetuated.

Most of all, I encourage you all to do your own research, and help in whichever way you feel best after concluding that research.

Some of the articles I read and found useful:

A collection of articles, convininetly gathered in one place, including ‘visible children’ and several of the others that were widly circulated. Many significant articles are not in my list because they’re already in this list.

Philolzophy’s brief explination to keep people in the loop.

The Daily What’s Concern

The Washington Post: Invisible Children responds to criticism about ‘Stop Kony’ campaign

Neil Gaiman reblogs captainjhwatson’s list of links and statistics

Invisible Children’s response to critique of their KONY 2012 Campaign

Invisible Children Financials: I found their financial statments to be more informantive than the pretty report they released, in particular.

Foreign Affairs: Obama Takes on the LRA (About previous attempt of millitary intervention)

The Charity Navigator page for Invisible Children

Hank and John Green’s opinions on Kony

An article that brings attention to the pro war stance of Invisible Children (very well sourced)

Alternative Press article focusing on IC’s policies and monetary distribution

Of coures, there are many, many other opinions and sources out there. These are just some I found useful.

I fail to see…

How sharing the KONY 2012 video or putting up posters and wearing wrist bands will have any positive, lasting effect on the situation in Uganada.

First of all, I don’t think raising awareness in the west is as meaningful, or directly effects, improving the situation in Uganda. As I have said several times before, I don’t think awareness is very usefull unless it’s accompanied by positive action, and the actions the IC is encouraging don’t cut it to me.

Second of all, a large portion of the profits from the sales and donations received by IC go back towards makeing more videos and raising more awareness, although I admit, some goes directly into groundwork, not nearly as much as I would like.

Third of all, I think it is dangerous to perpetuate the idea that North Americans charity is the only way that the situation in Uganada will improve. Although I support non-profits and charities, I think they are only a part of the solution, and a video that portrays white men as coming in and promising to fix everything, seems damaging to me in some ways. In the same way, I think spreading a picture of how Uganada was 4 years ago, in some ways dissvalues the people and organizations, both foreign and Ugandan, which have been working hard to improve the situation there. I know that having a primarily negative video is more motivating for people, but I don’t like being emotionally manipulated, and I would like to see more Ugandan voices and Ugandan’s being empowered, isntead of being conveyed primarily as victims.

Just to be clear, since I’ve recieved this comment a lot, I DO support improving the situation in Uganada through various charities and non-profits. However I DO NOT suppport Invisible Children, because I don’t like the way they divide their funding, I DO NOT support sending more US troops in to Uganda, and I am concerned that their video perpetuates damaging stereotypes and gives a fairly one dimensional representation of the situation, that leads people to believe that the situation is much simpler then it actually is. However, for those of you who have researched and do agree with IC’s policies, and want to help fund them, I think that is great. I am more interested in encouraging people to research the charities they donate to and making their minds up for themselves then I am in changing their minds about the charities they have researched thoroughly already.

I DO support action. I just support, pausing and thinking critically and researching before diving in.

feministpizza:

this is awesome.

Seeing this sort of thing adds to my faith in humanity. We get so many reminders of the bad things that happen, it’s nice to see people working to change them. Especially in the case of men fighting for woman’s rights.