Yasiin Dey forced fed like Guantanamo Bay

Yesterday, Yasiin Bey, aka Mos Def, shock the internet by deciding to volunteer himself in undergo an irregular procedure that most prisoners under hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay go through on a daily basis. The video is disturbing, but I did watch it in its completion and I wanted to share my thoughts about what I say.

First off, I commend Yasiin for his bravery to go about this procedure; even just going through a fraction of the process seemed challenging enough. It seems like he took part in this experiment to spread a message of awareness about how these detainees are treated, especially for those prisoners who are going through Ramadan, when members of Islam fast for the day.

When it comes to "Gitmo," most people know it's the place where the most dangerous terrorists are held. Despite the talks of the prison being shut down and prisoners relocated, this practices are still carried out and a lot of people have mixed reactions to what they've seen. I've seen a lot of anti-Islamic comments saying these prisoners deserved being tortured and their practices shouldn't be respected. On the other hand, most people defiled the inhumane act, saying that no one deserves to be treated like that, prisoner or not.

I agree with the later. Treating these people as "lesser beings" doesn't make us (USA) any better in our standing as those who enforce the laws and morals in this country (if there are any). If these prisoners can be treated in this fashion, imagine those who are innocent, but have been made out to be a public enemy by the government (Ex: Eric Snowden). At least someone decided to bring this procedure to light and sparked a dialogue about it. It takes a strong man to hold up a mirror to the behavior of those in power and show the rest of us what really goes on behind closed doors. Thanks you Yasiin for shining that light.

What are your reactions/opinions on this video?

-Video Vix[o]n

Stop (and Think) Kony 2012: Revisited

Last week, in a rush of emotionally charged passion, I posted my emotions all over my social platforms about my sentiments towards the now infamous Invisible Children documentary, "Kony 2012." From what I saw, I had to tell people that we had to band together to stop the evil monster who was Joseph Kony. I went from not knowing who this man was to 30 minutes later, cursing his name and recruiting my imaginary troops to do something about putting him down. During my state of fiery passion, I used my creative juices and thought to compile a mash-up of something popular in pop culture with this issue to spread more awareness. This was my result; Avengers x Kony 2012:



But, throughout my rally cries for the global community and myself to assemble and put a stop to Mr. L.R.A., I didn't stop and think about what this documentary was telling me and how it was affecting my emotions.

As I stated in my last post, this documentary was well shot and did a good job at conveying its message; too good of a job. Throughout the video, it uses different audio and visual messages that pulled at one's heart strings; showing African children in pain, the innocence of a young boy trying to understand what evil is and the ultimate message of standing up and finally doing something about it. What I failed to realize is that the ending was the drive home for the organization's mission; to donate. They advertised their merchandise that, through a donation, you can receive an "Action Kit," that would contain fliers, T-shirt, bracelets, etc.; all aimed at spreading awareness about Kony. I did get pulled in by "action kit" and immediately pulled out my credit card to donate. But, if my logical senses kicked in instead of the emotional, I would have realized buying a T-shirt and posters was not going to stop a world-class criminal. Each view on this documentary wasn't going to get us one step closer in the African jungles to catching him. I'm sure there are people who have jumped on the "Stop Kony" train that have come to this revelation by now too.

Was it wrong for me to feel strong about putting a stop to a bad man? No. Was I wrong for wanting to spread more awareness about the issue? No. Was I wrong for not taking the time to do more research about the issue before leading to any conclusions? Yes. Joseph Kony actually helped me to learn the importance of educating oneself about any issue before taking action, no matter how dire the situation may seem. After doing more research about Kony and Invisible Children, I discovered that everything is not what it may seem; outside of the anti-Kony 2012 rhetoric I was hearing all over the web. It's safe to do research about a topic to get all the facts straight; deeply analyze any pressing issue that I watch/read on the Internet and come to a well-balanced opinion. That not only makes me a smarter consumer of information, but a more cautious one. I'll remember to research first, react later.

Invisible Children, I see what you did there.

-Video Vix[o]n