We think Jason Russell deserves grace and love and prayer. I (Megan) am sorry for how I first reacted to the news, thinking it was a drunken escapade when it turned out to be a psychotic break. The hate directed at him from the online world is sickening.
We think we need to listen to the Ugandan people as we decide how to respond to the Kony2012 campaign. Joseph Kony has affected Sudan, DRC, and CAR, but the Ugandan people have suffered the most and if they believe they are being exploited we need to listen. Please watch this film. It completely changed my (Megan) view on the campaign. I no longer support it at all. And I had to admit Kelsey was right all along J
We believe about 70% of the criticism towards Invisible Children floating around is not justified. But the 30% that is is cause for real concern. Do you research and check your sources.
We believe Joseph Kony needs to be brought to justice and that the killing and kidnapping needs to stop. We don’t believe a t-shirt or a 30 minute video or a bracelet or a poster will accomplish that.
We believe the people at Invisible Children are honest people who believe they are doing good work. When criticizing them we need to be respectful and kind.
We believe a God bigger than ourselves and Joseph Kony holds the world in the palm of His hand. We believe He is a God of justice and we pray for justice for Joseph Kony and healing for all those he has hurt.
I agree with almost everything you wrote- almost. I think a t-shirt, 30 minute video, bracelet or poster can achieve a lot. Social media and other types of media probably have the most impact on social activism today. So if a 30 minute video goes around and everyone gets upset about it, it makes politicians pay attention and possibly react much faster than they would have otherwise- all because the world is watching what happens all of a sudden. (And I'm talking about the governments in all the countries involved.) I think the main problem with Invisible Children is that they aren't collaborating enough with the people of Northern Uganda. The film should have been made with the people and featured mostly, if not only, their voices.
ReplyDeleteKrista I think that is a good point. I think what I was trying to communicate is that this conflict is SO much more complicated that IC paints it and a t-shirt/video/bracelet/poster is not going to solve it. Not that it doesn't necessarily help, just that it's going to take so much more than sharing a video or updating a status to bring this conflict to an end.
ReplyDelete