kony

on march 5, 2012, the world was introduced to the kony 2012 film. in 25 days, the film received over 86 million views (and if you weren't one of them, embrace a part of internet history and go watch it. it's a 30 minute video and will affect you in one way or another).


my initial reaction to the video was: "wow. i'm so oblivious to the horrors of world; completely stuck inside my own head without a clue. i need to do a better job of tuning in. thank goodness there are good, active people in this world to take care of those who need it cause i'm awful at it"


...or something like that. i did not request to receive an action kit. i did not vow to participate in "cover the night". it didn't change the way i live my life. it just made me think in that moment. and i hadn't thought about that video again...


until today.


a facebook friend (and fellow grad student) posted the following status earlier this afternoon:

"I do not normally rant on my status, but I just ran into a sorority girl supporting the Kony 2012 movement. This is absolutely ridiculous. Were you there supporting the first Gulf War when Saddam attacked Kuwait. More recently were you there supporting our troops intervening when Saddam was killing his people (not limited to children) in Iraq. There are atrocities all over the world. The fact that you only become an activist because of a youtube video makes you a moron. You are an ignorant person. The world has vetted this organization yet you support it."

well. obviously this resulted in some good ole facebook debate. actually, no thats not true. every person who commented on the status was completely in favor and agreed with it...up until i decided to say a little something. i felt it ironic that a fellow ADVERTISING & PUBLIC RELATIONS student would say, "the fact that you only become an activist because of a youtube video makes you a moron"  and i said so. i mean, really?? we're gonna hate on people because of the WAY they found out about a movement? oh okay, cool. as a future pr professional, i give the filmmaker props. 86 million views in 25 days. shoot. that's awesome.

he responded to me by saying: 

"People need to be aware of the powers of propaganda and be willing to do research before jumping on band wagons. I understand peoples' desire to help and make the world a better place. My question is where was the stop Hussein campaign. Why don't kids care about the atrocities in Syria, North Korea, or America, because no one has made that cool yet." 

i guess my problem is this: does the basis of an individual's support for something good really matter? is there anyway the basis could out shine the genuine concern for another's well being? the 3.6 million people who pledged to campaign along with IC only want to help those who are hurting. whether their support is based on their own research of the situation or strictly on how they felt watching this video ... who cares? how can you criticize people wanting to do good? 

instead, rather, let's criticize what deserves to be criticized: the public masturbation displayed by the filmmaker, jason russell a few weeks after the film's release. and i'm sure his family's decision to claim it only as a symptom of his "brief reactive psychosis" was hoped to be another successful pr move... but not so the second time around. 

whatever. nothing like a little facebook debate to shake up a boring saturday night watching a horrible movie with your parents.