So a few days ago, I opened my laptop and logged onto Facebook, a habit that many of us have now developed. After logging in I was browsing through my news feed, it was a normal visit to Facebook. I had left the page on and went back to it in an hour, and I saw about 6-8 of my friends share one same video (posted below). It was as if within less than an hour, my Facebook world was exposed to this issue. I don't know about you, but I found this very interesting. So like a normal user, I went on to see the video that everyone was posting. It took me a good while, to figure out what exactly the video was trying to communicate to me. I knew that there were children that needed help, but throughout the whole video, a side of me was skeptical about something. Like most people who watch this video, I became sad and concerned about theses children in Uganda. Having lived in the country for three years, I felt like I had to do something to help. In that moment, I was ready to join the KONY2012 movement. And as everyone's first step, I shared it on Facebook, liked their page and so on. Then I went on to do a little search on this movement and how I could help. By the next day, KONY 2012 was popular in our conversations too!
When I shared the video, I had a friend of mine give me a link to a debate happening on reddit. Then I realized, that I had only looked at the one picture and had gotten ready to support it. Reading more on this topic, I began to understand both sides. Before I go on to say what I got from them, I would like to say that this will all tie in as a topic of computers and society in the end.
So firstly, lets look at the side of Invisible Children's KONY 2012 movement. As the documentary clearly states, it began with the motive of stopping the abuse and torture that these children go through. To stop Joseph Kony, who is the leader of a child army. A very important problem that needs attention. Not many knew what these children were going through, and Invisible Children wanted to make these issues visible. Of course the fact that Kony was on the top of the list for the worlds most wanted criminals, and yet had not yet been captured adds to the issue. So they start a movement, letting the North American population (and later on the world) know of this issue. Since it is an excellent cause, the movement gained millions of supporters. Just like I became a supporter just by watching their video, millions of people did too. However as sad as it sounds, there is always another side, no matter how good the cause maybe, there is probably something amiss.
Which brings me to the other side. A deeper analysis into the KONY2012 movement tells me one thing, what exactly are they trying to do? And I would welcome an argument on this because I really want to know. Their motive is to make Kony popular, so everyone knows who he is. Then what? Then since the public is so interested in this matter, the US government will send more troops over to Uganda, or keep the ones they have sent there. So what are a 100 troops going to do? Educated the Ugandan army about technology, new weapons and so on. Why? Of course, so that they can fight Kony's army. find Kony, and then capture him. Sounds like a plan! But think about the past. You cannot simply forget that the current Ugandan president rose to power the same way Kony has. You cant be so naive as to deny the corruption of the Ugandan government. If the Ugandan government was so intent on capturing Kony, why haven't they done so? Yes there may be many reasons, one of the main ones being: maybe they don't want to.
Kony and the Ugandan government are both aware of the Kony 2012 movement, and this can be very beneficial to them. After all, they are getting free trainers, and information about the US Military. Its a free passageway to strengthen your army. Not to mention the booming of economy brought on by war in Uganda.
"How intoxicating for virtual friends everywhere. One click and Kony's gone. The world remade. And they don't even have to leave the house."[1]
The point is that arresting Kony wont solve the issue. Kony is not the only one that has a part in this, many others support him too, this may or may not include the Ugandan president. Also, making Kony popular will raise awareness, but again, the US government cant really go into Uganda and take over Mission Capture Kony, they have other problems to solve within North America.
There are many other aspects to consider in this issue too, such as the question "Where does the money raised by Invisible children really go?" The answer to this, I will leave up to you to find out.
now I want to discuss a question, " What can we get out of this?" One thing that amazed me was how this movement became popularized. It is notably impressive at what technology can do for you. All you need is one idea, one thought, and access to the internet. This will allow you to spread the word to the world (literally). The Kony 2012 video was watched by about 60 million people in one week! That is just plain awesome. In the video, it was mentioned that, "the technology that has brought our planet together is allowing us to respond to the call of our friends..." that is partly true. But is sharing a video on Youtube the answer? Yes we have the power of technology, but "with great power, comes great responsibility." Millions of people support Kony2012 blindly, this power cannot be loosely taken. Make your decisions wisely and consider both sides, jut because all your friends shared it on Facebook and support it, doesn't mean its right!
When I shared the video, I had a friend of mine give me a link to a debate happening on reddit. Then I realized, that I had only looked at the one picture and had gotten ready to support it. Reading more on this topic, I began to understand both sides. Before I go on to say what I got from them, I would like to say that this will all tie in as a topic of computers and society in the end.
So firstly, lets look at the side of Invisible Children's KONY 2012 movement. As the documentary clearly states, it began with the motive of stopping the abuse and torture that these children go through. To stop Joseph Kony, who is the leader of a child army. A very important problem that needs attention. Not many knew what these children were going through, and Invisible Children wanted to make these issues visible. Of course the fact that Kony was on the top of the list for the worlds most wanted criminals, and yet had not yet been captured adds to the issue. So they start a movement, letting the North American population (and later on the world) know of this issue. Since it is an excellent cause, the movement gained millions of supporters. Just like I became a supporter just by watching their video, millions of people did too. However as sad as it sounds, there is always another side, no matter how good the cause maybe, there is probably something amiss.
Which brings me to the other side. A deeper analysis into the KONY2012 movement tells me one thing, what exactly are they trying to do? And I would welcome an argument on this because I really want to know. Their motive is to make Kony popular, so everyone knows who he is. Then what? Then since the public is so interested in this matter, the US government will send more troops over to Uganda, or keep the ones they have sent there. So what are a 100 troops going to do? Educated the Ugandan army about technology, new weapons and so on. Why? Of course, so that they can fight Kony's army. find Kony, and then capture him. Sounds like a plan! But think about the past. You cannot simply forget that the current Ugandan president rose to power the same way Kony has. You cant be so naive as to deny the corruption of the Ugandan government. If the Ugandan government was so intent on capturing Kony, why haven't they done so? Yes there may be many reasons, one of the main ones being: maybe they don't want to.
Kony and the Ugandan government are both aware of the Kony 2012 movement, and this can be very beneficial to them. After all, they are getting free trainers, and information about the US Military. Its a free passageway to strengthen your army. Not to mention the booming of economy brought on by war in Uganda.
"How intoxicating for virtual friends everywhere. One click and Kony's gone. The world remade. And they don't even have to leave the house."[1]
The point is that arresting Kony wont solve the issue. Kony is not the only one that has a part in this, many others support him too, this may or may not include the Ugandan president. Also, making Kony popular will raise awareness, but again, the US government cant really go into Uganda and take over Mission Capture Kony, they have other problems to solve within North America.
There are many other aspects to consider in this issue too, such as the question "Where does the money raised by Invisible children really go?" The answer to this, I will leave up to you to find out.
now I want to discuss a question, " What can we get out of this?" One thing that amazed me was how this movement became popularized. It is notably impressive at what technology can do for you. All you need is one idea, one thought, and access to the internet. This will allow you to spread the word to the world (literally). The Kony 2012 video was watched by about 60 million people in one week! That is just plain awesome. In the video, it was mentioned that, "the technology that has brought our planet together is allowing us to respond to the call of our friends..." that is partly true. But is sharing a video on Youtube the answer? Yes we have the power of technology, but "with great power, comes great responsibility." Millions of people support Kony2012 blindly, this power cannot be loosely taken. Make your decisions wisely and consider both sides, jut because all your friends shared it on Facebook and support it, doesn't mean its right!
These are normally topic I stay away from because it always ends with the ugly truth. In most cases people are just trying fix the symptoms and not the problem. I dont know much about the Uganda history but Ive seen where this garrison tactics or leadership have made many the government of countries. This was the first video I saw of this Kony thing, http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhEk16p80re9j8X31h . While I dont' believe much from either side It is evident if they wanted Kony terminated he would be terminated. A journalist found him right? Unless you have seen first hand what it is like to live out side the protection of civil rights protection and have had experience the harsh life that some of these people have face and the hatred they have develop for such then clicking like or giving your spare change may be fuelling a different kind evil that might be uglier than the current. Technology has made the sharing of information and ideas too easy that some people don't even take the time to think about what is it they are supporting by passing the information along.
ReplyDeleteCertainly it is a very sensitive topic. There was recently a video posted by the COO of Invisible children addressing some of these questions raised against them. This video mainly cleared up the issue of where the raised money goes. But again that doesnt really solve the fact that getting rid of Kony, if it is possible through Kony 2012 will have any positive effect on the children. Someone will simply replace him. And you are correct in saying that there may be a chance that by increasing his popularity may be fueling a greater evil.
DeleteExcellent article! More people really ought to be more critical about things like this before they simply hit "like" or "reshare". As you mentioned, the problem really is that its just so incredibly easy to share something like this now, and at the same time it was so successful because people really thought they were making a difference. I'm all up for raising awareness about Kony, but people shouldn't blindly support some random organization before doing research about it, and I think that was one of the main problems. Every share of the video was essentially supporting Invisible Children.. And I'm not going to argue whether this is a good organization or not, but people should at least do some research before mindlessly hitting a button.
ReplyDeleteAlso, here you can find an interesting comparison of the Kony 2012 video versus other viral videos. 100 million views in 6 DAYS! It's the fastest growing viral video of all time..
http://gizmodo.com/5892541/kony-2012-is-the-most-viral-video-of-all-time
Thank you for reading! Yes it is an incredible achievement done by this video. And absolutely it doesn't hurt to Google search an organization before you support it. No matter how good we like to think we are, clicking like isn't going to do anything. And others are ready to take full advantage of your emotions.
DeleteI am all for social justice, and don't get me wrong this video has been an excellent way to reach millions of people and educate them (exepmlifyng the power social media), but its quite awful that many people on faceBook who 'support' this video and its cause, only seemed to have cared after the release of the video. Is it that we (North Americans or well developed countries) are not educated enough about the social injustices happening elsewhere in the world? Or is it that it takes a social trend to motivate us?
ReplyDeleteNo matter how much I would like to think that most people in developed countries care about the third-world countries, the sad part is that we are too busy with our self-centered lives to even take initiative without a social trend. And even with a social trend, we support movements that may not even make sense.We may be aware of what is happening in other countries, but we simply ignore it and say, "oh well, it happens." Its human nature to ignore or avoid situations that you don't have a solution to and is currently not in your face.
ReplyDelete