I did not comment on the KONY2012 video at the time it came out.  My opinion of the video was very negative, but after the backlash I did not see much point in piling on.  Perhaps the leaders of Invisible Children (the producers) meant well and were shocked at the negative reaction to the video; maybe the experience would provide them with a useful lesson for the future.

Today, however, I see that my town has been plastered with KONY2012 posters that are designed to look like campaign signs.  It is time to comment.

The video is about rebel warlord Joseph Kony, who inflicted terrible suffering on the people of northern Uganda for two decades and has since fled Uganda.  The harshest and most credible critics of the video have been Ugandans who have suffered at the hands of Kony (I spend quite a bit of time in Uganda and with Ugandan friends, and am embarrassed by the video).  Many Ugandans have strong views on the subject — note that when the film was shown in Lira (in northern Uganda), the audience was outraged and some began throwing rocks at the screen.  The objections, as best I am able to relay them, are as follows:

1) It is wrong to make Kony famous.  He is an evil man who has caused enormous suffering and should not have the satisfaction of being internationally famous.

2) The video makes it look like the charismatic leaders of Invisible Children were responsible for solving the problem while the Ugandans were helpless and dependent on heros from the west.  In fact the reverse was true.  It was Ugandans who fought Kony and drove him out, not Invisible Children.  When Kony is captured or killed, it will most likely be Ugandans who will be responsible for getting the job done, maybe with some help from American special forces who are assisting in the chase.  Western mission agencies should not promote their cause by making Africans look helpless and dependent on the west; they are neither.

3) Many Ugandans are aware that Invisible Children has been raising large sums of money by marketing the suffering of Ugandans and believe that a relatively small portion of this money gets to Uganda.  Invisible Children is not alone in this, of course — but they are a very visible example of a practice that offends Ugandans and should offend those of us in the U.S.

The leaders of Invisible Children undoubtedly mean well, but their next video should open with an apology.