What’s really good people?
Irite folks; I was all GEEKED up this week to talk some smack about how I was going to win my office NCAA Basketball March Madness tournament pool. Then I thought maybe I share with viewers a couple of exciting projects I have been working on. But out of nowhere late in the week I got caught up on the STOP KONY 2012 hype. I mean it has been EVERYWHERE; radio, television and social media. So I figured let me add my two cents into the discussion and stir up the pot some MO!
Ok people; let me get focused…
What is the CRAZE about? Well according to the Invisible Children KONY 2012 website www.kony2012.com the project is a film and campaign that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. Sounds like my type of AHHHHHHHHHHHH...
Who is Joseph Kony? Commonly described as the Ugandan messianic warlord leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group that has forced more than 60,000 children to fight in a murderous armed conflict lasting more than two decades.
Why is he famous? Well I guess anytime you have Oprah, Rhianna, Diddy and countless of other celebrities tweeting and trending on social media then I guess anyone of us could become RELEVENT.
Digital Activism The makers of the short-film Invisible Children unlike other non-profits clearly state that there mission is to raise awareness not necessarily use the money raised from their project to directly provide aid to the kids of Uganda. Please let me remind you of other dog and pony trick initiatives that sputtered. Be it Diddy’s Vote or Die concept, where celebrities pitched and sold to young Americans the importance of voting but it was later discovered that many had not even registered. Wyclef’s Yele Haiti foundation project in which millions were donated for earthquake relief but it was later discovered that the funds were misappropriated. And the more recent Occupy Wall Street and Nigeria campaigns that flamed out after the novelty and euphoria of rebellion disappeared.
Invisible Children Concept Generate a following on popular social media outlets via Facebook, Twitter and Youtube Channels and target young adults mostly college students to pitch your cause. Orchestrate a call to action mantra and help create frenzy and buzz worldwide that centers on the capturing of a very evil warlord terrorizing his own people. BRILIANT!
The Harsh Reality The new tech savvy strategy to capture the warlord Kony has drawn attention to him but critics say “it’s stretching the truth”. This 30 minute documentary directed by Jason Russell ignores the fact that Ugandan military have participated in similar acts but simplistic, naive and somewhat condescending in his thought is the idea that the western white world can just parachute in and save the day. Kony is not a threat to any government nor is he involved in any current criminal activity which makes this onslaught on him strange although if Kony is taken out the LRA would definitely disappear. Even the Ugandan government is critical of the Invisible Children backed production saying they might just be using this media sensationalism to raise their profile and money since the LRA actually has not been active in Uganda for over 7 years.
This is Africa Like many other African Nations and my homeland of Nigeria included, Uganda has many issues bigger than Joseph Kony. For starters; the country’s president has been in power for 26 years, a high rate of corruption and millions in stolen funds remain addressed, resources continue to be mismanaged and a growing unemployment rate amongst its youngest populations leaves little to desire. Other experts who know much more and have studied these complex issues will also cite the fact that despite advocating for justice being the right course of action, the last thing many activists in Africa typically find advantageous is a bigger United States military presence. Some have noted that by sending troops, the U.S. is in a sense providing support for the current Ugandan government that faces its own accusations of human rights violations.
Personal Note I believe what most is disheartening about the entire STOP KONY phenomenon is the fact that it took an outsider, who looks nothing like me to take the time to put together something meaningful and purposeful to raise awareness globally. I continue to be deeply troubled and perplexed by examples time and time again of how big the divide is in the African and the African American community as a whole. If we dare continue to call or see ourselves as Distant Relatives, why is it that many of the efforts and initiatives that have been instituted in the continent of Africa to fight tyranny, generate economic stimulation and raise awareness and education on HIV and hunger often start with the philanthropically efforts and vision of those that many of us consider outsiders?
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