By now, we all know about Invisible Children and their Kony 2012 campaign. If you don’t, you are probably also not reading this blog right now…
As of this moment, word is now spreading – just as virally as the initial video, I’m sure – that IC co-founder and the man behind – or, rather, at the forefront – of the video that is currently teetering just under 80,000,000 views on YouTube was arrested in San Diego on charges of disorderly conduct. You can read more about those happenings here.
This has undoubtedly been a very difficult week for the folks at Invisible Children. A week ago, the organization, which has gone largely unnoticed by mainstream media and the general public for nearly a decade, suddenly – and some would argue ingeniously – thrust themselves onto every screen in the world.
The support for their cause was instantaneous and almost hysterical. The criticism followed immediately in step and was, in most cases, harsh. The stone-throwers came out in full force, aiming at their rationale, their financial history, their organizational structure, their motives, their plan, their past, and even their children. To be sure, some of the criticism that has come in the last week probably has merit; the plan for justice that IC has helped set in motion is most-certainly not perfect; there were likely some short and long-term effects of their campaign that they did not – or could not – prepare for.
Regardless of the concerns surrounding Kony 2012, both valid and irrational, I never once questioned the heart for justice and life that the people of Invisible Children have. And therein, I think, lies the thing that we need to remember most right now: Invisible Children is a bunch of people. They are men and women who have dedicated their entire young adult lives to the cause of freedom and justice for a people who, as the world goes, have no voice.
