I personally do, he actually risked his life to release information about the government spying on people. And there are for sure more advanced ways now. Even your phone is listening.
He’s a criminal.
Finally we had a guy truthfully hollering that the sky was falling and, at the end of the day, no-one gave a shit.
Wtf are you talking about. Mass roll outs of encryption only came thanks to him
You’re both correct. There was a lot of changes after him thanks to him. But majority of people still don’t give a shit.
Agnotology, cha cha cha.
I just learned a new word, thanks!
That is good if true, but mass spying still happens and is practically accepted as normal part lf our lives. In fact it’s only getting more invasive by the day.
I don’t think most people accept it exactly, they just don’t see any option to confront it, and are struggling with their material needs while being inundated with propaganda from every possible avenue, so it’s hard to be certain enough of anything to take action. Most people are afraid to fight against a system that could black bag them and drop them in the ocean if they wanted to. We have been told that we are under a complete panopticon and serious rebellion against it even if they don’t arrest you can cost your job, which usually means healthcare and stable housing for people in the US. The state and the rich firmly have their boot on our face.
Online dragnet surveillance does happen. And, thanks to the Snowden revelations, we all now have tools to protect ourselves from it.
Using https on Facebook and using Signal for daily messages to your Mom are practically accepted as normal part of our lives.
I don’t know. He reminds me more of Emma Goldman – an idealist and an anarchist.
If anything the world has become a far harsher place than it was more than a decade ago, what with dictators doubling down in trying to put down dissent, as whatever he divulged didn’t seem to stop those monsters, regardless of what flag they wrap around themselves.
No shade on Snowden, but I’m not sure that’s an apt comparison.
Yes. Unequivocally.
Was going to write these exact words.
yes, much like chelsea manning(who also dated grimes whom Musk hate) before the transitioned, he went to prison for releasing some damning evidence although top secret about how much was going on.
before the transition* or before they transitioned* (not sure which one you meant to write)
And before SHE went to prison, I see no reason to say he other than being a anti-trans shit stain. The timing of the transition doesn’t matter at all, a person who is transsexual should be called the gender they know they are independent on if someone is talking about before their public transition. A person is the gender they feel they are and should be called so for any time in their life unless they have specifically said that they want to be called their biological/sexual gender when others talk about them before their transition.
Transgender is the preferred term fyi.
Everybody, who puts morals or ethics in front of their own, personal gain, is by default a hero in today’s context. That’s the only weapon we have against authoritarian regimes, capitalism and oligarchy. A weapon, that can only be used once per capita. But don’t be fooled—we are all.
Bit of a nuanced take, a trimmed down copy-paste from another comment of mine prior. Tl;Dr: he’s a product of the system that left the system.
Snowden was an individual that worked in the intelligence community in the mid-2000s. In this era, the American populace was so afraid of terrorism they signed away freedoms for national security. In this post 9/11 world, patriotism was a given, almost nationalistically, if you were American. It’s fair to say that a highly nationalistic media and culture can influence the individual to embrace those mentalities more… even if it perverts your true best interest. Snowden likely viewed service to the NSA as patriotic, and in support of his fellow Americans. While he started off supporting it, he soon saw immorality, and decided to resist against them with what I see as an effective measure. I feel that for most whistleblowers, this logic applies. I wanna say “Good job, but still shame on you for taking the job to begin with,” yet this system we’re in can cause us to support things we otherwise wouldn’t like.
Looking to modern issues: The manipulation of individuals, mass surveillance, leveraging of government by powerful. Critisizim of these was always there, but where it was pointed at and pursued sure felt a lot different after Snowden.
Snowden should have flown to Ecuador first and then released what he knew.
Didn’t he try to do exactly that?
I thought he revealed the info and then fled.
Oh you mean he should have waited until he was in Ecuador before having Greenwald start the leaks…
Yeah, I’m not sure why he didn’t do it that way. Maybe there’s a reason, but I don’t remember it.
Exactly, and I do not recall too.
Was the government trying to block The Guardian from publishing it maybe, and there was a time constraint for when they needed to put it out there before they were somehow successfully silenced about it forever? I honestly forget.
Isn’t she a woman now?
No, his behavior shall be average, not an exception. However we have to fight the repression that target him, like every other one that stand against repression
What Snowden did was objectively good, and he did so at great personal cost, but you should be cautious about making any living person your hero. His politics seem to lean closer to libertarian nut-job than anything else, and it’s very possible he will disappoint you in the future. Case in point, Glen Greenwald broke the Snowden leaks, and I considered him one of my heros for a time,.but these days he sounds more like Tucker Carlson than anyone else. The point is, admire heroic actions, but don’t make people your heroes.
He could have been, but his actions and words since has made me feel he had ulterior motives from the start.
I always thought he was. I always knew too that he’s never going to get a fair trial and that he had to do what was necessary to avoid being extradited.
He did a huge favor for the american masses, who were obliviously unaware as to how much of an extent that they were being spied on and how their privacy was exploited. Anybody who still calls him a traitor to this day, besides the government anyways, are those who truly cannot grasp or refuse the reality this man unveiled to them.
I do see people and people like Luigi as true patriots. They have done things, that no American has the guts to pull off. The American populace, just largely takes the constant raping of their rights by their government and fear them. It should be the other way around.
Oh yes. It’s a shame he didn’t have the opportunity to leak the Epstein Files.
He did good and did something heroic but the title of hero should be reserved to actual heroes that never chose once to side with scum. Before turning out as good this guy was serving in the US army
A hero is a concept and since people are much more than concepts, the question is invalid.
