What Is #STOPKONY?
STOPKONY is a campaign by the human rights organization Invisible Children. It aims to put pressure on Western governments to depose Joseph Kony, a war criminal whose followers have killed and tortured countless communities in Uganda, and forced thousands of teenagers to either join his violent gangs or suffer the same fate as their victims.
But can American youth really help save their Ugandan peers? Invisible Children thinks so. Their hash tag, STOPKONY, went viral last night, with millions reposting a video about Invisible Children’s efforts. The Washington Post has a thorough and very interesting story on Kony’s rule, Invisible Children’s goal, the possible pitfalls of “point and click” activism, and links to more information.
They also discuss the argument of another human rights organization, Visible Children, and VC’s own fight to bring peace to Uganda, and their concerns about the possible limitations and unintentional harm of Invisible Children’s foundation. The Huffington Post also has a thorough essay by Michael Deibert, discussing his own experiences in Africa.
We strongly suggest reading The Washington Post piece and deciding how to get involved here.
(Getting involved in your own community is also important – kids much closer than Uganda also need your help. Go to FeedingAmerica.org to volunteer at a food bank if you need a good start.)
March 7th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
this is worth a read… http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/
March 7th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
And here’s a response to that blog: http://www.facebook.com/notes/john-rudolph-beaton/visible-children-viewed-critically/10150614970287933
March 7th, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Thank you for taking a stance on the matter instead of some bull shit counter culture snobbery.
March 7th, 2012 at 5:53 pm
While I appreciate the criticism of invisible children because it raises important questions about the validity and limitations of the campaign, doing real research on invisible children should should show just how honest, smart and transparent they are.
It is not “white man’s guilt”, it is using the power of our privileged voices to bring awareness to an issue that was previously seen as unimportant to the American government. And in the past 6 years, we’ve already come so far. No one said tweeting was going to be the ultimate answer to all of the LRA related problems, but the more people who know and CARE about this issues, the more people in the think-tank. That cannot be a bad thing, no matter how you look at it.
So let’s #STOPKONY
March 7th, 2012 at 9:43 pm
This broke my heart.