I scream "KONY"!

The man himself

By now you're probably either utterly enraged by, or pissed off because of, this face. He needs no introduction; his face has been spamming your EVERYTHING since the infamous video calling for him to "become famous" came out. The video is pretty long (29min), so watching it on my Spartan (note, Dear Reader - and Hellenic Society- that this means "austere, frugal" and not "huge and muscular and Scottish-accented") student internet quota was quite an investment on my part.

There is no doubt about it: he's an evil man.

But already we reach our first problem. I come from Zimbabwe, and many of my Zimbabwean friends shared this. Why? Have you SEEN your (our? I feel more and more disconnected from that place every day that passes) own country? Similar, if not worse, atrocities happen there. Just because there isn't a sparkly, sad video showing the horrific beatings and political oppression, it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Where was our "MUGABE 2008" campaign, during a period known simply as "The Fear". In a similar way, South Africans post it. Even closer to home, did you Grahamstonians SEE the water last night? Where were your statuses,huh? (I'm trying to fix this; I have a large water filtration project for Rhodes that is slowing gaining momentum, if only those bastards at AquaVie would respond to my emails). Meanwhile, our society is so marred with problems that it makes Joseph look like the Virgin Mary. This is, in a way, Imperialism. It's making us care about American problems, and turning attention from our own. The thing is, Americans have time to care about things abroad, simple because (relatively speaking) their country isn't a corrupt, dangerous shithole. In this way, the KONY campaign makes us ALL invisible children. By casting a bright light on Uganda, it sends shadows arching over the rest of the world's problems.

The other "Invisible children"

There have also been allegations of only 31% of donations actually going to a cause, and of Kony-haters supporting Ugandan forces (Uganda basically hates homosexuals). The Ugandan military doesn't exactly have a sparkling record: apparently, they have been known to use rape as a weapon of war. By proxy, if you 'like' KONY 2012, you 'like' the exact same things that you're trying to stop. Also, there are some parts of the documentary that are misleading or just plain wrong.

The campaign also showed me the sheer ignorant apathy of people (or, conversely, the apathetic ignorance of people). Many posted "stop this kak u'll only change nothing" (note the horrific grammar, Dear Reader), which is absurd. Caring is good. When we get lost in the Mr Kurtz-esque "Africa the unsaveable" mindset, then we're really screwed. I also dislike the fact that some smear the campaign. And just because America (if we're to call all dogs chihuahuas, to use one of my strange proverbs) probably only cares about things that enrich it (ie oil in Iraq), it doesnt mean that every time someone cares about something they are after blood diamonds or crude oil or whatever natural resource occurs in the country in question. Whatever its intrinsic problems are, its heart is in the right place. Saying that a facebook repost is pointless is wrong. Facebook and Twitter are just the modern, electronic equivalents of placards.

That said, the whole campaign does inspire hope in me. It's amazing that social media can spread one single issue across the whole globe like wildfire in a matter of hours. Libya, Egypt, Uganda... It leaves a tingling feeling of excitement in my stomach, as I try to think what social networks will be used for next.

Hopefully something a lot closer to home.