Kony 2012 video guy Jason Russell arrested for drunkenly masturbating in public (VIDEO FOOTAGE)

Mar, 16, 2012 | AUTHOR: Starcasm Staff; | Related : Jason Russell, Meltdown

There’s been a lot of controversy over Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 video, with many scrutinizing the financials of the non-profit organization, and pointing out that Joseph Kony’s army and power have already been drastically diminished (i.e. there are probably bigger international war criminal fish to fry) but a definitely positive thing has happened from the viral video phenomenon: millions of people have a greater awareness, and emotional connection to atrocities that go on in the wider world. Being more aware of the world outside your community, and your country, and being open to understanding the complexities of being citizens of the world is always a good thing. Another lesson we can learn from this debacle, we should investigate any charity before we support them on social media, and definitely before we donate any money to them. On the same note, we should investigate before we jump on the bandwagon when people start shouting that a charity is a scam. There are always flaws in the catch phrases of both sides of a story.

Anyway, regardless of how you feel, or what you think about Invisible Children, this happened: the guy behind the Kony 2012 video, Jason Russell, was arrested yesterday in San Diego for drunkenly masturbating in public. He was then hospitalized for “exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition.”

This translates as: This dude has been doing nothing but drinking and literally jerking himself off over his video getting almost 79 million YouTube views, and being on the lips of almost every celebrity and news anchor in the country. He’s forsaken sleeping and eating to keep his celebration going!

Or, as Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesey puts it:

“He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday.”

Yesterday San Diego police received several calls around 11:30 A.M. about a man dancing in his underwear at the Intersection of Ingraham and Riviera. He eventually removed his underwear, and started playing with himself. After he was arrested, cops found him to be under the influence, and sent him to a medical facility to get treated.

Here’s footage of the guy (via TMZ):

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cierra

wow. hearing this makes me feel wierd. i wanna help but not when i hear something like this. this makes me feel indifferent to the cause bc now i want to know, if its non-profit, where is my money going, and why would he do that to himself when he knows people are gonna find out and now there is gonna be backlash over the STOP KONY video bc of this. i don’t know. this justs makes me feel wierd about supporting something that has true meaning but the person asking for the help and support, goes and does a stupid thing like this.
- http://www.readability.com/articles/fivvzip9 Lilly
  
  Please, please look deeper into this organization before “donating.” Check out this site. http://www.readability.com/articles/fivvzip9
Mandy

He’s partying with all the new donations that they are keeping over 60% of. WOOOHOOO!!! This whole KONY 2012 thing was so stupid and just shows how many followers there are in this world.
- tab
  
  i think it’s unfortunate that more of the money given to this organization isn’t being used for the needy, but at least they are trying to open people’s eyes and get us all to see the very real needs that are out there in the world.
Jamie

So many people want to try to do something good in the world, and they felt like they could through the KONY 2012 campaign (which now looks like a joke!). Meanwhile, those who are hungry and homeless in our own country are ignored daily, especially after natural disasters. This is so messed up! If you want to help, try to focus on here at home. After all, it could be you.
- tab
  
  i agree!
Lindsey

Wait, was it San Diego or San Francisco? Both are sited in the article. Regardless, seems like a pretty shady organization to me!
- Starcasm Staff
  
  San Diego – Thought we made the change earlier tonight, but it reverted back.
WhiteAfrican

It blows my mind how critical people are being of this movement. There are bigger political figures to fy? Let’s fry them all! We deserve justice for what Kony has done. In America, a rapist isn’t let off because someone down the street has raped more people.
I saw the video of the guys breakdown, and while I’m extremely disappointed that this has happened, I’m not going to judge him, because i don’t know him, or his mental state. He stepped out in a big way, and I can only respect him for that.
At the end of the day, people saying that a Facebook status or tweet about Kony isn’t going to save anyone, are wrong. Tweets about breakfast arent going to save anyone. Tweets raising awareness are important, giving people a voice is important. I support Kony2012. If you don’t, please donate to, or tweet about, some other organization, instead of just bashing.
- http://skinnertainmentproductionsbethskinner.com beth
  
  I agree with you on the point that he has raised awareness for these children. ten minutes ago I didn’t know anything about it so he has done his job regardless of what some people may think of him or the way he does things. and I will say this my eyes are now open to the fact that these children need someone to help them so if people would stop bashig this man and take five minutes to pick up where he left off then maybe they will have a fighting chance at stopping Kony soon.
  Beth from Iowa
Robin

This is not a charity per say-it is a social movement campaign. Some of the money does go to the people of Uganda. But they also need money to produce videos to gain awareness, travel to Africa, travel to Washington DC and so on. If you can’t see the genuine passion this man has for the kids of Africa-giving at least 10 years of his life to this cause-getting President Obama to agree to send troops as advisors to the area, developing a father/son relationship with the boy who he promised to help and save his people…if you don’e believe that then so be it but this is far from a scam. I can imagine he would have a mental breakdown-look at the attention his cause is getting and how demanding his life must be right now. Give him a break he has already done amazing things for Uganda! Just becsuse someone loses it doesn’t mean there is a substance abuse problem. You can’t abuse drugs and be as hard working as he is. He is the founder, CEO, and film-maker of this initiative. All of his celebrity and political endorsers wouldnt invest so much of their own time and money if he wasn’t the real deal. Have you watched the whole KONY 2012 video? You should.
WhiteAfrican

@robin well said, I agree.
Michael

Robert Downey Jr. had some of the same type of problims, not naked in public, but breaking into peoples homes and sleeping naked in beds, and he seems to be ok now, a top movie star and went on to become ironman, anyone can have a breakdown, you never know.I’m sure he had no idea what he was doing, and is now feeling awful.
meg

lmfao