La Vista,
As representatives of Invisible Children we would like to express our offense with the facts displayed in [the last issue of La Vista]. We would like you to take into account that your opinions come off as facts in the “Analysis” Article. Our club and organization have been under much scrutiny over the past few weeks under false assumptions. Invisible Children has been honest about their financials and mission from the beginning. The La Vista reaches many students on campus and because you only represented negative opinions, people are taking those opinions as facts. Please consider the harm you’ve done in publishing these false facts.
Please be aware that the stories published in the La Vista are extremely convincing for students who do not research a topic on their own. You should make sure the facts you display are correct.
– Riley O’Connell and Mary Williams
[Mira Costa Invisible Children Club Co-Presidents]
Dear Ms. O’Connell and Ms. Williams,
We regret that members of the Invisible Children Club have taken offense to our recent News/Opinion center spread regarding the Kony 2012 campaign and the Invisible Children organization. Our aim with the page was to express our opinion regarding a topical issue members of the school were involved in.
The views shown on the page represent those of the La Vista editorial board and involved writers and are meant to be convincing. Our “Analysis” section was not intended to be an objective report on the issue, but rather La Vista’s commentary on the subject. We make an effort to consider all sides of an argument and examine the nuances of each issue.
La Vista respects the hard work that Mira Costa students put toward working for a cause they believe in. Our criticisms in the analysis were directed not toward your club specifically but rather the Invisible Children organization as a whole.
As always, La Vista welcomes the debate our editorials inspire and encourages members of the Costa community to express any concerns they have in a Letter to the Editor.
Sincerely,
La Vista Editorial Board
Some Ugandans seem less than impressed by Invisible Children’s efforts.
Last Friday the 13th, April 2012, during an official Invisible Children-organized screening of KONY 2012 part 2 in the Northern Ugandan city of Gulu, the audience became so enraged by the video that they started to pelt the screen, and IC organizers, with rocks.
Ugandan police, in turn shot tear gas at the crowd and fired their rifles into the air, causing panic. One death and several injuries were reported.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1387926/-/aw2cd3z/-/index.html
It was the second riot, or near-riot, that Invisible Children’s videos have provoked in Uganda.
From the linked Uganda Monitor story:
“Ms Margaret Aciro, whose picture appears in the Kony 2012 video showing her lips, nose and ears mutilated, has criticised the documentary, saying it is aimed at making money using victims of the northern insurgency.
Ms Aciro, 35, abducted by rebels of the LRA in 2003 from Paicho Sub-county in Gulu Municipality, was among thousands of people who flocked Pece War Memorial Stadium on Friday to watch the filming of Kony 2012 by Invisible Children.
“I watched the Kony 2012 video but I decided to return home before the second one (Kony 2012 Par II) because I was dissatisfied with its content. I became sad when I saw my photo in the video. I knew they were using it to profit.”
The Catholic Archbishop of Gulu and member of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, Rt. Rev John Baptist Odama, whose daughter committed suicide as a result of her treatment while kidnapped by Kony’s LRA, also had harsh words for the Invisible Children video screening:
“This is catastrophic, it’s causing chaos. It is igniting more, actually, a situation of starting afresh the war. But now it is against the population. This film could have been prepared with a consultation. For example, the stakeholders could be consulted – “We would like to project a film like this, what do you think?” People should have been asked before, instead of having the film shown now.”