Why I oughta... fight Kony on my phone!

Iconosys recently released an Android app called Kick Kony’s Ass, which allows you to punch and generally beat up a picture of Joseph Kony. Kony has kidnapped children in Uganda and required them to become soldiers for the Lord’s Resistance Army, which has resulted in a largely universal hatred towards him.

“This is a therapeutic way to allow you to get out your frustrations,” Wayne Irving, CEO and Founder of Iconosys told Mashable. “I often go and hit the speed bag or the punching bag, and I feel a 100% better afterwards. This is a novel/virtual way to accomplish some of the same therapeutic practices to deal with this fracas.”

 “Simply tapping on the screen in different areas determines whether you get to provide Kony with a Roundhouse, a 1-2, a left, a right, and finally, a big hand to the face. The more you tap the screen, the more punishment you get to give Kony. Finally, you can share your experience with the game on your Facebook page, directly from the embedded game-over screen.”

Iconsys claims that they “[do] not endorse violence in any way.” …but yet they created this app for you to commit virtual violence towards Kony.

My personal opinion is that this is a hypocritical way to combat Kony’s violence. However, it gets the job done of publicizing the social injustices Kony has committed. Originally, I was concerned it would cause users’s violent tendencies to increase but studies show this is really only a concern for young audiences…and you won’t find 8-year-olds playing this app.

What do you think? Is this a good idea or not?