As the “Boromer” meme points out, one cannot simply become a social activist by watching a 30-minute video.
However, some students believe the opposite. Ever since “KONY 2012,” a video by Invisible Children Inc. intended to spread awareness of the namesake Ugandan warlord, hit Facebook by storm, students were pledging their commitment to “cover the night” on April 20. Essentially, students will receive “action kits” from Russell’s website and then
“cover” their towns and neighborhoods with stickers and posters promoting awareness of Kony. It seemed to be all people were commenting, tweeting and arguing about on Facebook recently.
By no means do I have any issues with spreading awareness of Kony or his arrest. I have no gripes with Jason Russell or even Invisible Children Inc., despite all the criticism the group receives. My problem is that some students are advocating for a cause that they know little about. I argue that when the video went viral, people jumped on the bandwagon, enlisting themselves in “cover the night” campaigns across the area. However, few of these students truly understand the history of Kony’s reign of terror. They immersed themselves in a cause with only a 30-minute video for background knowledge.
The only true way to remedy this is for society, particularly the youth, to become more aware of world events. Kony has been terrorizing Africa for over 20 years and yet people have only recently become aware of his existence through Facebook.
Not only are students occupying themselves with something they know little about, but the issue is something that they have been predisposed to support. I do not mean to say that students are not legitimately concerned with Kony’s crimes, but it seemed that when the video was spreading, people seemed to show interest in participating largely because others were doing so. Unofficial competitions arose between people to see who could get the “Kony status” with the most likes. Posts on “cover the night” walls reflected rowdy teenagers ready to go wild rather than teenagers mindful of world issues. Do I want everyone to be an intellectual robot? No, but this type of behavior has turned KONY 2012 into a fad, and as we all know, fads die out. Have you noticed that talk of KONY 2012 on Facebook has completely ceased?
It should be noted that not all students are oblivious to the issue or invested in KONY 2012 for superficial reasons. Still, students’ behavior is turning KONY 2012 into exactly what Jason Russell and Invisible Children Inc. do not want it to turn into: a farce. KONY 2012 is a serious campaign and deserves serious supporters. If these students are so quick to jump on the bandwagon of KONY 2012, they will be just as quick to jump off.