“The next 27 minutes is an experiment. In order for it to work you have to pay attention.”
Whether you disagree or agree with Kony 2012, everyone has an opinion on it.
Last night after coming back from the gym I checked Facebook and saw two people had shared a video with heart-warming messages to go with them. I thought I’d check it out. As the video began I was a little put off by it’s length but kept up with it but was hooked as soon as I saw a mother giving birth (taping into human nature and inquisitiveness).
Anyway as I was laying in bed one line from the film was stuck in my mind - “The next 27 minutes is an experiment”. I thought to myself, I watched that video, liked the video, Facebook page, shared it etc. and even considered buying the bracelet or making a donation. I was naive. I imagine most of the people, like me, know barely anything about foreign politics or problems that have not been heavily covered by the media. I watched one video and was in full support of the capture of Kony and the LRA. For all I know the video could have been falsified and the experiment was to see how people would react with the power of social media in their hands.
Before I go on I have to say I have done a small amount of research and now know that this man does actually exist. I am still behind the capture of Kony and the LRA.
But then this leads on to my next problem. Once Kony is captured then what? At any given time there is always going to be evil. That is the consequence of diversity. There are terrible unjustified acts going on around the world that most of the world don’t have knowledge of. We speak of the world as a very small place thanks to the advancements of technology (Skype, flight, international calls etc.) but at the same time we in the UK, for example, may never know of the horror that may be happening in Rarotonga right know. (Just an example off the top of my head. I don’t actually know of anything going on in Rarotonga which is kind of my point….). However I still believe we should keep on fighting against any injustice we know of. If we hadn’t fought against Hitler the world would be a very different place after all.
I support the cause but as the day goes on Kony 2012 is getting ugly. Blog posts
(http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02/the-visible-problem-with-invisible-children/)
(http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble)
have started popping up which state the somewhat truth and problems of a organisations like Invisible Children. They have truly made me think twice about ANYTHING that is presented to me be it unexpected gifts or a video shared on Facebook. It has even made me doubt the articles themselves. I have seen posts already about how the founders of IC gain profit even though they are a charity and many more like it. I don’t know if this is true but soon people are going to argue and disagree and forget the real problem/cause.
Which brings me to my final worry. Social media is one of our world’s most powerful tools. I watch a video, I read an article and even if it’s just for a second it influences my thoughts or views on it’s subject matter. Usually I will read comments and usually there is a clue to the truth of the media.
How can we tell what’s real, not real, under-exagerated or over-exagerated?
** Please note: This blog post is entirely based on my thoughts and no factual research. I may be wrong and welcome answer’s or corrections THAT ARE BASED ON FACT. I have had so many trailing thoughts on this matter and problems that have stemmed from it. I have forgotten most of them as the enter my thought process and straight away, something else appears.
Also if you have taken the time to read this post, thank you for reading my incoherent ramblings!
