A recently-launched Indiegogo campaign is raising funds for justice. The capture of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, specifically.
Robert Young Pelton, the man behind the campaign, is hoping to raise $500,000 for “Expedition Kony,” the first mission in a new media venture called “Dangerous,” described as “a multimedia real world participatory platform for engaged people who are tired of witnessing atrocities.” Basically, Pelton needs money so that his team can go find Kony and turn him in.
“There are no bracelets, no posters, no videos of cute children, just a group of committed individuals with professional support that want to locate Kony and turn him in.”
The plan is more than a little vague, and kind of dangerous. How Pelton and his team expect to capture Kony with $500,000 when other charities and U.S. taxpayer dollars totaling $200 million since 2008 haven’t managed to do so is hard to say.
To wit, Ugandan military spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda told the AP that Pelton’s quest has him “perplexed,” but tellingly said “We wish him good luck. That’s all I can say.”
Robert Young Pelton’s “Expedition Kony” Indiegogo campaign has raised a little over $7,500 as of this writing. You can donate here.
I’ve been highly critical of armchair/documentary activism in the past, and while I wish Pelton the best of luck, the idea that Joseph Kony is some Scooby-Doo villain one slip-up away from capture is, to me, ridiculous.
Don’t get me wrong, Kony is a monster and needs to be brought to justice (do I even need to say it out loud?) but I have deep doubts that anyone contributing to this campaign will walk away with anything but a documentary film credit (and a DP bag, t-shirt, digital journal, etc.).
I mean, it’s a great pipe dream, and I’ll eat my shorts if Pelton’s investigation yields real results. But I’m guessing that a year from now, the documentary’s finale won’t be Joseph Kony in cuffs, crowing “I would have gotten away with more murder, torture and human bondage if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”
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