KONY 2012.

My sophomore year they came, showed a video, made 75% of the auditorium cry, and sparked something inside of me; last year they did it again, and this year their Kony 2012 campaign video has gone viral with 38 million views and counting in the past three days. It seems as though every social media sight has been inundated with thousands of people jumping on the Invisible Children and Kony 2012 bandwagon in what some are calling "blind" support. The sad part is that the people saying that are probably true. I have to admit, right after I watched the video I reposted it on Facebook and followed @KONY2012 on Twitter. I was overcome with sheer adrenaline and emotion that I didn't care how valid their points were I just wanted to support their change.

Today I got the chance to do a little bit of research and discuss the whole campaign with some of my peers and here's what I came up with: Invisible Children's BIGGEST goal with the creation of this video and "cover the night" is to raise awareness about Joseph Kony and his crimes. You've got to admit, they've done a pretty good job of it because people are talking about this all over the place. Whether it's arguement or support, the word is being spread about what Kony is doing in central Africa, and that was the point.

I love what Invisible Children stands for and the fact that they care so much about this issue that they won't stop at anything to acheive it. But IC spends a lot of their time and money making things that will aide in the raising of awareness for the child soldiers in Uganda. That's not the only place child soldiers are though, Kony has spread all over central Africa and the well being of children all over that region is at stake.

There are ways to get involved with solving this crisis that do more good than buying things to support IC. I encourage you to watch the video, and get convicted for this cause. I also encourage you to do some research before jumping on IC's wagon whole hog. Look into it, and if after reviewing all sides you still agree with it, go ahead and support all you want! In the process you may also find an  organization that does just as much, if not more, good than IC that you want to become a part of. Either way, educate yourself some before you jump in with both feet.

That's just my spin on this whole situation. You may not agree with me and that's totally alright, I respect whatever opinion happens to be. There is the potential to do a lot of good in this situation and it's my hope that we will be able to see through all the critique and controversy and grab on to the little bit of good we are able to do because it could make a huge difference.

If you want to read more into all sides of this story here are some great things to look at:

IC's response to the critiques they've recieved - http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html

The Official KONY 2012 webpage - http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

A critical perspective by Luna Magazine - http://lunamagazine.com.au/slider/13511

IC and the Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/invisible-childrens-stop-kony-campaign/2012/03/07/gIQA7B31wR_blog.html

Also, here's the video if you haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. It's half an hour long so settle down and get comfy!

Hope this helped you learn a little more about what is going on with this viral social media phenomena.

xoxo,

Abby just Abby