Take a second look, before you endorse the KONY 2012 campaign
This may surprise you, but your enemy's enemy is not necessarily your friend. The terrible state of affairs in Uganda will offer you many permutations on that theme. But did you really think you were going to make a difference by watching a slick video and clicking on an internet link?
I'm not an expert, but here are a few angles you may want to examine before nailing your colors to the mast of the Invisible Children organization.
1. “Invisible Children is misusing funds, misrepresenting facts and possibly making the situation in Uganda worse”
2. Looks like the founder of the Kony 2012 campaign has an evangelical agenda: "...in a November 7, 2011 appearance at Liberty University, as part of Liberty's Fall Convocation speaker series, Invisible Children co-founder Jason Russell hinted that Invisible Children was also an evangelizing effort, and during his talk Russell coached Liberty University students on what could be characterized as extremely low-key, or stealth, evangelism."
3. Nationally, Ugandans are fighting to eject a U.S.-backed dictator, Gen. Yoweri K. Museveni, who has been in office for more than 26 years now and imposed his regime by brutal repression.
As you know, Gen. Museveni has stolen the last three elections, including last February's presidential election.
KONY 2012, Invisible Children's Pro-AFRICOM and Museveni Propaganda
4. “The violence in Uganda, Congo, and South Sudan has been the most devastating — anywhere in the world — since the mid-1990s. Even conservative estimates place the death toll in the millions. And the LRA is, in fact, a relatively small player in all of this — as much a symptom as a cause of the endemic violence. If Kony is removed, LRA fighters will join other groups or act independently. Civilians will remain exposed to atrocities committed by other armed groups, including their own national armies.”
5. More about the LRA in Sudan.
6. Ugandans criticise Kony campaign
7. Social Media Scam Alert: Top Ten Ways to Tell Kony is Phony
8. Kony 2012 Hides US Support for Repressive Ugandan Regime
Jason Russell, star and co-creator of viral phenomenon Kony 2012, was arrested in San Diego for public masturbation and vandalizing cars. NBC San Diego is reporting Russell was detained last night, with police describing his behavior as “very strange.”
