Invisible Children's Sequel to Kony 2012

Kony.  That four-letter pronoun is an enormous sentence within itself.  When we hear it, most of us know what it is regarding: Joseph Kony, a war criminal stationed in Central Africa and subject of the viral video, “Kony 2012.”  This video was released by Invisible Children, a non-profit organization with hopes of causing enough awareness worldwide to end Kony’s rebel war.  Remarkably, it has gotten over 100 million views in less than a week, and admittedly, one of those views was mine.  I understood that it would be extremely easy to succumb to the pressure of supporting what appears-to-be a great cause, but it was equally important for me to take a step back and look into some underlying facts that may have not been included in this video.    

From the video, we can gather: Kony is a war criminal.  Kony kidnaps children in Central Africa.  Kony makes children murder their parents.  Kony turns young boys into soldiers.  Kony turns young girls into sex slaves.  He is the founding leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and is responsible for many deaths.  Realistically, it is very easy for us to develop a pre-determined hatred for this man.  What intrigues me most, however, is not this obvious evil spirit within Kony, but the matter of whether or not to instill trust in an organization that I have never heard of before. 

To no surprise, the Invisible Children website is very quick to toot their own horn, so to speak.  However, lots of “bad press” has surrounded this controversial organization after Kony 2012 was released a few weeks ago.  After all, what do we really know about this organization that most of us are willingly donating lots of our money to, and where is our money actually going?  In the 2011 fiscal year, “Invisible Children spent 80.46% on programs to further their awareness, advocacy, and on-the-ground development; 16.24% on administration and management costs; and 3.22% on direct fundraising.”  In other, more straightforward words, most of their money went to advertising.  Although their ultimate goal appears admirable and has received some worthy acknowledgements, it puts our country in a sticky situation.  Jason Russell, co-founder of the organization and creator of the 30-minute video, explains that ultimately, they hope to raise enough awareness to end the rebel war in Central Africa.  This, however, would require the assistance of U.S. troops.  And, it is my opinion that we have learned the hard way, time and time again, that meddling in other counties’ issues has its consequences. 

More recent events have some of us questioning our faith in Invisible Children, yet again.  Russell was “detained a few weeks ago in San Diego for masturbating in public and vandalizing cars.”  He was later hospitalized.  After that, the organization chose to stand by him by releasing a statement: “We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time."  A serious event like this, followed by the organization’s outward decision to support Russell, may cause lots of people to lose faith and trust in Invisible Children.  Ultimately, nobody can predict what the future holds for this organization, as it is clearly a delicate time.  However, for those who have anticipated a sequel to Kony 2012, the wait is over tomorrow, April 5, 2012, according to Invisible Children.  This is an opportunity for them to redeem themselves and their cause, and hopefully steer clear of any more potential downfalls.