*Note: This is largely identical to a post I made on facebook earlier today after discovering first the "Kony 2012" (http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony_5.html) video and then this --> http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/ response by a political science student on tumblr which has had over a million hits in under 24 hours. I am hoping that it fairly reflects both sides of a debate that has become so wildly popular and controversial in such a short span of time (short enough to put Rebecca Black's rise to stardom to shame) that it has inspired a number of passionate, spur of the moment internet rants. Here goes:
It's clear from Grant Oyston's tumblr post opposing "Kony 2012" that the author did not intend this as a rallying point or an ultimate information source about the movement. His rhetoric is questionable, since at times he doesn't provide very thorough sources (or omits/twists information to suit his purposes, for instance claiming charity navigator gives IC 2/4 stars for accountability but failing to mention that the *overall* rating is 3/4) and suggests that no action is better than some action. This is arguable. However he does want to bring attention to the blatant problems that exist within the Invisible Children organization. The financial aspect is difficult to decipher for someone without a background in this area of study, so I'm more concerned with IC's ties to the Ugandan army, which is a clusterfuck if ever there was one.
The UPDF is often cited right alongside the LRA as a hotbed of criminal activity. In a report by Human Rights Watch on the conditions for civilians in Uganda, it is stated that "In every camp visited, Human Rights Watch found cases of abuse by the LRA and also by UPDF soldiers. UPDF-administered beatings of civilians were extremely commonplace, but the killing of civilians, sometimes inside the camps, was also documented." (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,COUNTRYREP,,UGA,43ba85384,0.html) Admittedly this report is dated 2005 but that doesn't make it any less reliable and that kind of corruption doesn't evaporate overnight or even over years of time.
If Jason Russell and others involved with his campaign are unaware of the atrocities perpetrated by the UPDF, they must be walking around blindfolded. They may feel that allying themselves with an unsavory group is a better course of action than walking in unarmed. I'm not inclined to give my money to anyone who associates with the UPDF. However in the "visible children" tumblr post it is suggested that giving aid to victims is a worthier task than actively trying to stop Kony. I take issue with that philosophy because *only* helping victims won't stop new victims from being taken. So it's a complex situation and there may not be a perfect solution. The Texas A&M branch of IC claims that the only feasible way to bring the LRA to justice is by coordinating with local forces (such as the UPDF). My alternative would be to direct some of the funds Kony 2012 is putting into shiny bracelets into contacting peacekeeping forces with more clout and getting them involved (the US gov't sure doesn't seem to have a problem barreling into other countries to right the "wrongs" they see there).
SO what all that rambling comes down to is that from where I stand neither Jason Russell nor Grant Oyston have it quite figured out, but they're doing something crucial anyway: getting the word out. As an aside, it doesn't really matter how or when somebody found out about this movement; hipster ideals don't mesh well with activism. As long as people are finding out, that's a GOOD thing, and complaining that they're "jumping on the bandwagon" is completely counter-productive. If somebody has a better plan than Russell or Oyston, they should get out there and do *something* themselves (myself included of course)--other than changing their profile picture for 24 hours. This is something I'll be thinking a lot about, personally.
