So I tweeted Kony, which makes me a phony.

 

A few weeks ago, a lot of people all around the world learned the name of the International Criminal Court's most wanted man, Joseph Kony. I was one of them, having had my curiousity piqued on Reddit after the film had gone viral.

Some people, including me, were pretty incensed by the footage. Created by Jason Russell of the "Not for Profit" organisation Invisible Children, the film was 29 minutes of explanation of Kony's crimes, a bit of explanation of what had been done to stop him and why that hadn't worked, and a call to action for the world to take down this man for his heinous crimes against humanity.

The explosion that followed this video was pretty amazing. Enough people tweeted and shared the video that it garnered worldwide attention on a mainstream scale.

I found it fascinating, and was ready for the world to be amazed by the shockwave of awareness spreading to all corners of the globe. But besides the fact that everybody was talking and arguing about it (mostly arguing) on my various news feeds, it didn't seem like anyone cared that this guy Jason Russell had made a film that seemed to be penetrating our social consciousness on a scale never before seen. Most people were either arguing vehemently about bringing Kony to justice, or were taking the Condescending Wonka approach (see above) to attempt to take these online 'activists' down a peg or two.

The argument that people didn't care until they saw a pre-packaged video with excellent production values has merit, I suppose. I just didn't see the need for it at the time. I still don't. I don't understand the mentality of bringing someone down who is trying to accomplish a good outcome, regardless of their personal motive for doing so.

Like, I would understand if there was this blasé bohemian hipster who sits around drinking lattes and playing Draw Something with their friends tweeting it in order to look socially conscious, how that would annoy people. Issues like this are not something that should be used to manipulate one's own identity or social standing, that kind of goes without saying. And yeah, if you did post this video with the hope that people would find you a more caring and insightful individual, you're doing it wrong. Also, you're probably a douche.

But on the opposite end of that scale, I'd also like to say a big "fuck you" to the people that DIDN'T watch the film because they legitimately didn't care, and then tried to call out other people for tweeting or sharing the video for the same reason. Yeah, Wonka, I'm talking to you, buddy. So I may not be signing up to any Ugandan aid programs that require me to go dig wells or build infrastructure. But that doesn't make the issue less important, and it doesn't stop the fact that before people all around the world showed a single display of solidarity by sharing this man's name and his crimes with their respective social networks, hardly anyone knew about this guy or what he had done.

The fact is, this wasn't even about Kony. Not really. Well, not for me anyway. This was about showing the world, that our new technology is allowing us to coalesce, as humans. Never before, and I mean never, has the world done something like this. The KONY 2012 campaign, regardless of what you think about those who are vocal about it, is the beginning of something bigger for humanity. Something that resembles a true democracy, in that the issues people care about on a grand scale can be dealt with accordingly.

It remains to be seen if anything else emerges from the Kony campaign, besides a few delightful "weird but true" newspaper articles regarding Jason Russell's very public meltdown.

I didn't mention that meltdown until now because I felt it detracted from, like I say, the social consciousness evolving around us. It shows that this guy may not be the saviour of the Ugandan people like he may have thought he was, but it also shows he was a person who has stresses just like all of us. I have experienced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for myself over the last few months, and while I haven't exactly masturbated in public, I understand what its like to be at the lowest of the low points within your own mind.

 Mainly, however, I find this (seemingly final, hopefully not) chapter in the Kony 2012 story is not even relevant to the issue. It reflects poorly on Russell himself and his organisation, sure. But it doesn't detract from the scale and atrocity of Kony's crimes. And it sure as shit doesn't stop me from being amazed at the level of compassion and concern for human life I saw from my fellow humans on the days following KONY 2012's release.

Oh and to answer, Wonka, yeah, I kind of am an activist, and I have been for years. If I had my way, videos like this would be the ones that would go viral on the 'Kony' scale:



This is Paradise or Oblivion, a film from The Venus Project, an organisation I whole-heartedly support. It is a very interesting and informative 48 minutes, and I feel makes a great argument for a better world. It's what I'm passionate about, and conveniently it is brand new and looking to go viral. I'm going to do my bit by sharing it with you, dear reader, right now. I hope you watch it and let it permeate your way of thinking, because I feel the more people that can do this, the easier we transition as a species when our current monetary structure starts to decay at a rapid rate.

When we elevate our thinking out of the condescension of others, we see that being negative and high-and-mighty towards others accomplishes nothing, except a temporary gratification of our own ego. It's easy to do and it's easy to see why so many people around us are negative douches, but it's not the way forward. If you don't want to care, that's fine. But don't bring down other people for caring about something, even if they just found out about it recently. There is no shame in learning or growing as a person. It's important to be skeptical, as people who looked deeper into Jason Russell and Invisible Children's finances found out.

Now let's get ready to all be entranced by the next internet meme that gets us all talking. I hope it is as positive as Kony or Paradise or Oblivion. But most likely it will be a ski instructor on Reddit or a rage comic on 9GAG -- which is ok too! Another thing I want Wonka to know is it's definitely possible, and most definitely OK, to be an activist who doesn't always think about serious issues. We all need to laugh, be distracted and have fun from time to time - just not all the time. Just like you don't want to be thinking about heavy, sad issues all the time. Otherwise you might turn out like this... trust me.



Peace

Willskis