You've most likely caught wind of this KONY2012 craze. Since this 30-minute video from the non-profit group Invisible Children was posted on YouTube two weeks ago, it has been viewed over 80 million times. In modern vernacular, this thing's gone viral.
The buzz about this video has been unbelievable, and truly unprecedented. The internet age has ushered in the most significant changes in all of human history. Never has so much been shared by so many, so quickly. Sites like YouTube have democratized the process of information sharing in the most glorious, and terrifying, of ways. But the site is primarily an arena for cheap thrills and wasting time, for videos of singing animals and dancing babies and intoxicated teenagers and dangerous stunts and music videos. And the modern human race, ever insatiable for distraction, eats this stuff up.
Enter Invisible Children. The company was founded a decade ago by Jason Russell, a young filmmaker who met some child soldiers in Uganda and decided to devote his life to setting them and their friends free. If you want to know more about them, look them up. But it's important to know that IC is primarily an awareness project, centered around Jason's vision. Make people aware of Joseph Kony (the rebel leader kidnapping the children) and Kony will be arrested. They've been traveling, lobbying, and posting videos for years to try and get the word out, and have drawn in millions of young people for the cause.
This year, IC went all out for a KONY2012 awareness campaign, centered around the video of the same name. Their goal was for 500,000 teenagers and young adults to see it. But, as I said, they got nearly a hundred million instead.
But this is the tragic part. The video is intensely personal. It tells Jason's story, shows him at home with his family, traveling Uganda, sharing his vision, his life passion, his dream for a better world. And the response to KONY2012, to Jason's dream, has been overwhelmingly critical. Every major news outlet, from the Guardian to the New York Times to CNN, has weighed in with their scrutiny. Activists from around the world have jumped on board too, offering some support, but mostly criticism. You see, the video paints a very simple picture of a very complex problem, and offers a very simple solution. It, in effect, tells young people that if they are sad about kids being soldiers, they can put up KONY2012 posters and tell their friends. Then, the U.S. army will sweep in and pummel Kony and his rebel friends. Justice will be served and Central Africa will be saved. Many argue that the campaign reeks of neocolonialism, a serving of Humanitarianism Light for entitled young people who want to change the world but don't care much for their lonely next door neighbor. And I don't totally disagree with that. There are major flaws.
But I do disagree, with my whole heart and soul, with the vitriol. Remember my comment of the glorious democratization of the internet age? Well along with it we have seen the ugliest aspects of humanity, the most unbelievable cruelty and utterly shameful conduct. It's awful. People have tweeted, blogged, facebooked, emailed, commented, and video replied the most hateful things. For every measured criticism from a respectable source, there are a thousand anonymous internet users bashing Jason and his video.
And now news has been released that Jason Russell, 32, was arrested two days ago for running naked through the streets of San Diego, pounding the walls and sidewalk, screaming incoherently in all directions, engaging in some horrifying lewd behavior. Celebrity gossip sites have jumped on board, posting videos of his antics, and a new round of horrible mockery has begun.
I feel terrible for him. Officials say that he was suffering from extreme exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. IC released a statement saying he had taken all of the criticism very personally and had not slept in days. One day he was launching the most exciting movement of his life, the one that would finally set child soldiers free, the next day, he was the object of intense scorn, from the full power of the global media and anyone with an internet connection.
How could this happen? Jon Stewart has suggested that the criticism has come from the jealous media, who watched as Jason did in a week what they had been trying to do for a decade. True or not, there are some real ill-feelings involved.
Jason has created one of the most successful non-profit awareness machines in the world. He is a visionary, a strong leader, an inspiring speaker, a devoted husband and father. His episode was not the act of a deluded criminal. It was the act of a man utterly broken, utterly betrayed, utterly devastated, driven to his absolute wit's end by the harshness of unfiltered, instantaneous, global criticism.
Generally, I am an optimistic guy. But in moments like this, I start to feel kind of hopeless for humanity. Though I don't fully support IC's work, I truly cannot understand how people can be so cruel. Before we jump on board lambasting and ridiculing the poor guy any further, let's consider a few things.
First of all, the KONY2012 video is not a United Nations peacekeeping proposal. It was intended to excite high schoolers, not be scrutinized by The Guardian. It was supposed to be simple. It did not purport to be a comprehensive analysis of Central Africa conflict. So don't treat it like it did. IC openly acknowledges the video is supposed to be a simple introduction. If you're interested, by all means, look further and learn more.
Second, the video offers a simple solution, because the emphasis of Jason's company is immediacy. Awareness now. And if you don't like Jason's mission, then don't join it. If it is as ill-conceived as people say, then it will never get off the ground. The movement did not invite your opinion, unless you have something constructive to offer. Join if you like it, don't join if you don't. Simple.
Third, Jason Russell is not a self-absorbed celebrity, so the way he's been treated is appalling. I am horrified that this video of him running naked is attracting such attention. I will never watch it, and I hope you don't either. How dare we gloat in another person's pain? He is mentally and spiritually broken, and we caused it. How dare we delight in the misery of a good man and his family? For that matter, how can we delight in anyone's misery, be they a hero, a villain, or a Kardashian? But I digress...
Fourth, can't we respect his life, even if we don't respect the mission? Even if you hate his vision and think his video is stupid, he has done what most of us never will. He encountered real pain and real evil, and he poured his heart, soul, and mind into bringing hope and restoration. He is driven by a dream of seeing a better world, and he works towards it every day. So how dare we sit behind our computers, spewing spite through our anonymous fingertips at a man who is driven by the noblest of dreams?
Fifth, and last, let's just offer the guy and his family some respect. You don't have to give a penny to his organization, you can silently mock the video all you want, you can propose other ways to solve the problem, but let's just remember that we all deserve to be treated with basic dignity. If you don't have something constructive to say, don't say it, and definitely don't say it in a public forum where millions of people can see it too.
The art of silence is a practice quickly fading, or so it seems. Just because we can, doesn't always mean we should. Let's not let world-changing innovation bring more pain than healing.
- jmb
A mental health perspective on Jason's breakdown from The Atlantic
No comments:
Post a Comment