WOW, this Kony initiative with the Invisible Children people has gone crazy. When I look on Facebook and Twitter it is flooding my feed. I was super excited about it at first because I love what the Invisible Children are doing and I love that it has gone crazy in the sense that it is everywhere. Then, I started to see criticism on it, people talking about their money spending and the fact that they are mostly bringing awareness and not doing much to bring Kony to Justice. I was confused as I was seeing both sides from people who I respect and am very close to.
As the day has gone on I am going to go with my gut and my head on how I see the Kony initiative. My thoughts, I am psyched that it is happening. Seriously, they may only be spending 30% or so on initiatives on the ground in Uganda, but they are at least doing that. I see organizations like Charity Water and One Days Wages and even our organization Steps of Justice who give 100% (minus credit card fees for the later 2) to causes. This is not the normal way to do things, but I see that many people now want the same from organizations that they give to. The Invisible Children staff get paid. It costs money to do the video, promo, and all the other things they put out. It costs money to fly to Africa and across the world to talk and share about what they are doing, I will give to that. In addition, they are giving their lives to this, I would happily give them money to support themselves and their families and apprehend Kony.
The critics are right, awareness doesn’t do justice in any way. That is where we come in, we have to do more. What sacrifices or hard decisions will we make to see this apprehension of Kony happen? Or even more, what will we do with our passion and excitement of this whole Justice thing that is more than just clicking Like or Share on Facebook? We can vote with our fingers on a computer/phone in our bedrooms, but what would it look like to get out of our rooms, go outside and do something, instead of just clicking the Like button? Let this inspire you to do something. Yes give to Kony 2012, and also figure out what you are passionate about and start your own initiative to see change happen out of an unjust sitiation.
Cheers
