As I've outlines before, there are various responses to the whole Kony 2012 movement. From an unknown student blogger becoming the head of the anti-Kony 2012 movement, to the founder of Invisible Children being arrested for disorderly conduct and public indecency, the Kony 2012 video is the perfect example of "no good deed goes unpunished".
While what the Kony movement by Invisible Children was approached with good will, there are a lot of fundamental issues with it. As previously discussed, it is a trendy thing to be apart of the cause for Africa. Wearing something to show off how involved and selfless you are is a cool thing to do-how selfless is it? A large majority of the negative feedback for Kony is that it was an Americanized, simplified version of the real issue and a lot of the problems associated with Kony have been solved. Not only do people not know where Joseph Kony is right now, but they don't want to wake a sleeping giant.
The video, made by Ugandans that feature Ugandans, is a short, documentary that has little frills and, unlike the original Kony video, is from the Ugandan point of view. What is more commendable is that it shows students, journalists, their twitter feeds and how involved, educated and aware they are. We Americans have this skewed view that Ugandans are helpless when they are in fact aware of what is going on and the current events of the county. This video was strategically debuted on April 20th, the night supporters of the Make Kony Famous movement were called to "cover the night" and put up photos and posters of Joseph Kony to make him infamous. This case and the ongoing opposition and second views is a prime example of how mob-mentality, especially when cause based, can be misleading. Mass communication and viral videos have a huge impact, we just have to be sure to check our facts before we jump to conclusions.
Check out this Huffington Post article for the video and more information on Uganda Speaks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/uganda-speaks-kony-2012_n_1441889.html?ref=impact
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