Who Is Joseph Kony?

If you have a Facebook account you have most likely seen a post or twelve about Kony 2012. No, it's not another presidential campaign that finally figured out how to reach young people. It's a campaign to end a reign of terror in Africa.

This is Joseph Kony:



Joseph Kony is the leader of a Ugandan guerilla group called the Lord's Resistance Army. Since the late 80s Kony and the LRA have run the gambit of atrocities: murder, rape, kidnapping, torture, and even reports of cannibalism. What may be the worst part of all of this is the LRA's tactic for recruiting new "soldiers". They basically kidnap children, murder their families, and force them to fight for the group. An estimated 100,000 or more kids have been "enlisted" since this practice started in 1986.

There is a lot more reasons to hate Joseph Kony but why are we just now hearing about it? He was indicted for 33 charges by the International Criminal Court back in 2005 and has had arrest warrants pending ever since. The US has had an eye on him ever since 9/11 and even sent troops in to assist the Ugandans (not to engage Kony).

The reason it's the big buzz right now is due to a 30 minute documentary titled Kony 2012 that hit YouTube earlier this week documenting the atrocities carried out by Kony and LRA.

I agree this is a cause that needs to be addressed and a problem that needs fixing, but I also think it shows just how flighty Americans are today. Within 24 hours, thousands of people went from having no clue what Uganda was (Is it a new dubstep DJ?) to fighting for their freedom from oppression.

Fight for what you believe in, not what your Facebook friends tell you is important.

That being said, here's the video. I hope everyone reading this actually takes the time to get informed and, if they so choose, help the cause and not just jump on the bandwagon because it's the thing to do.