SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - USD hosted a panel discussion Tuesday on the Invisible Children organization and the Kony 2012 campaign and video. Both have attracted worldwide attention from critics and defenders alike.
After last week's public meltdown by the founder of the group, some people are questioning the group's stability and motives.
Invisible Children filmmaker Jason Russell's recent Pacific Beach naked meltdown was one of the hot topics at the USD panel and roundtable discussion on the 33-year-old's "Kony 2012" viral video at the Joan Kroc School of Peace Studies.
"Anybody that was put under that extreme amount of stress and pressure in such a short amount of time isn't necessarily able to anticipate what's going to happen to them personally. As far as how that relates to Invisible Children's message, I think that'll be for the organization to see how they want to handle that and move forward," Jennifer Freeman said.
Russell was detained by San Diego police last Thursday afternoon after neighbors reported him running naked in the streets, screaming incoherently and pounding his fists on the sidewalk.
His family says criticism of the Invisible Children video about African warlord Joseph Kony may have contributed to his bizarre behavior, which landed him in Kaiser Permanent hospital in Grantville for treatment of exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition.
Critics have said the 30-minute documentary misstates the facts about the current level of violence in Uganda, Kony's current whereabouts and the strength of his militia forces.
"When we're doing things that have never been done before, like attempting to bring down someone like Kony, we encounter a road that we have never been down before and when that happens it's a process of discovery. And like all discoverers and explorers, mistakes are made along the way," Aidchild Uganda founder and USD doctoral student Nathaniel Dunigan said.
Those keeping close watch on Jason Russell and the message of his group is sending to the world say it may be time for him to step out of the limelight.
"I think that people who are distracted by the fact that he had a meltdown will definitely look at that in regards to the integrity of him as a leader," Freeman said.
