Why 'Kony 2012' is Bullshit and How Your Logic is Flawed

Why 'Kony 2012' is Bullshit and How Your Logic is Flawed - by Collin Quinlivan

 

Here’s my open letter on Kony campaign. Before you post something ignorant, read the whole thing. While IC has started this with good intentions, it’s true meaning and influence are questionable.

 

LET’S GET THE FACTS ABOUT THE SITUATION STRAIGHT: This is old news, VERY old news. As you can tell by the video, much of this footage was shot almost a decade ago. In 2002 the LRA was eradicated from Uganda, and by 2004 no violence was experienced from rebel forces. The UPDF (Uganda People’s Defense force) was allowed to raid the LRA across the borders. Kony himself was driven into the depths of the Congo...over 8 years ago. Supply lines were cut, rebels were starving. I can’t say with certainty, but there is a high probability that KONY IS ALREADY DEAD.

 

What I’m saying is, you are late to the party. The gears of peace have been turning in Uganda by their own accord, without aid from the US. The LRA has not been labeled active for years. (NATO forces were involved, only recently “joined” by the petty force provided by the US recently, as you saw in the video.) The UPDF did it without aid, once again, KONY IS NOT IN UGANDA ANYMORE. So you’re sending money to the Ugandan forces...for what purpose? To train soldiers to chase ghosts.

 

LET’S GET THE FACTS ABOUT THE CHARITY STRAIGHT: Invisible Children. Who are they? The thing is, you won’t know until I tell you.

 

(The following is FACTUALLY sourced from CharityNavigator, 2011)

IC is a FOR PROFIT charity. Savvy?

 

Ben Keesey (The guy in the video) gets a salary of $88,241. Co-founders Jason Russell and Laren Poole make in the $80,000 range as well.

TOTAL CHARITY REVENUE: $13,765,180

TOTAL CHARITY EXPENSES: $8,894,632

EXCESS DEFICIT FOR YEAR: $4,870,548

 

TOTAL NET ASSETS: $6,584,811. Let me repeat that, $6,584,811 in unused and retained assets. Those are ludicrous numbers.

 

They also refuse to cooperate with the Better Business Bureau and have an extremely low transparency rating. Where is the money going? To help kids? No, into pockets.

 

I’m going to sound pretentious and say that you never would have known that if I wasn’t telling you here and now. You’re too lazy to actually research anything.

 

“WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM BRO?” HERE’S MY PROBLEM: What this whole campaign proves. You saw the video because one of your friends shared it on Facebook or Twitter, am I correct? Did you know about it before? If so, congratulations. If not, can you even point out Uganda on a map? What are you going to actually do to help? Throw money? Grab an AK-47 and go find him yourself? Nope. All you are doing is potentially funding the Ugandan military, which is an awful, awful idea

What I’m getting at here is that it’s really sad that it takes a flashy video and “tear-jerking” footage to get your attention. “Wow, that sounds bad! I’m going to do my part and share this video.” Did you even have any will to donate to the “charity” you are “supporting”? I’m going to make a wild assumption and say no. Have you ever donated money to any charity yourself? The little cupcake table outside the cafeteria doesn’t count. Why does it take a social media fad for you to suddenly recognized that there’s a world full of people out there? You are part of this awful, MTV-driven generation focused on luxury and gratification.

 

I mean hell, you aren’t even politically active enough to form your own conclusions about your own political beliefs. You take what your parents and the mainstream media give you blindly. Why? Because it maintains the status quo and allows you to not sacrifice a thing. You’re so into “family” and community, right? Do you care that your OWN civil liberties and those of your peers around you are fading because of your OWN government? You do for the five seconds it takes you to read that tweet.

That’s the joke. You really don’t care about it at all...#YOLO, am I correct? “Ew, politics are gross!” Then educate yourself with factual knowledge and learn politics. This Kony business is a great example of what we like to call “slacktivism”. If you truly want to help people, drop what you are doing, forget about that glittery life you so want, and join the Peace Corps.

 

You are operating on the notions of your parents to uphold the “brave” American machine. Remember MISSION ACCOMPLISHED? That’s what this Kony business is really about.  You want to put a face to evil and and gun-ho go out and get him, and by you I mean someone else. You can’t eradicate exploitation. You can’t eradicate terrorism. Sure, kill this man, but realize how the operation works. It’s a Hydra, you cut off a head and it grows right back. You want to see that false promise of the end of the race, when in reality the race is never won. We got Osama. We got Hussein. Now you can go to sleep at night and feel safe. The EVIL is all across the globe. It has no face. It’s made of ideology, religion, and money. For every bad guy you hear about on Facebook, there are dozens more out there who have committed grosser atrocities.

 

To wrap it up, you have a shady issue, a shady charity, a pretty video, and a bunch of middle class kids who don’t understand what they’re talking about. There are plenty of other worthy charities that need your money, ones that will actually aid. (Check CharityNavigator before EVER donating a dime.)

 

  It’s my personal hope that maybe someday the youth will be able to make their own decisions and look at an issue outside their sphere of influence. Don’t be so quick to jump on things without investigating the facts first. Things are NEVER what they appear to be. The ears and eyes lie. Maybe this campaign will spur you into finally taking off your blindfold so you can perceive the world around you, great. But for many of you, it sadly and truthfully won’t.

 

The un-educated bandwagon bullshit has to stop. Question everything.