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"I think he broke the law, so I certainly wouldn't characterize him as a hero" - Bill Gates on Snowden. A question I'd love to hear any rich person answer expli

"I think he broke the law, so I certainly wouldn't characterize him as a hero" - Bill Gates on Snowden. A question I'd love to hear any rich person answer explicitly: is it impossible for a criminal to be a hero? http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313?page=2 http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-roll...

rorykoehler 9y ago
I'm pretty sure Bill Gates has a very different view on this than anyone reading this site. He would have doubtless been exposed to the realities of the US government for decades.
- schoen 9y ago
  In press interviews, he's also expressed criticism toward Apple about the San Bernadino iPhone case and about the goal of deploying end-to-end encryption that nobody can break. (I work on these issues on what's apparently the other side from him.)
  - schoen 9y ago
    A subsequent example on cryptocurrency anonymity (which is a topic that's often controversial here, but with relatively few people taking it as far as Gates did): http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-on-cryptocurrency-2018-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-on-cryptocurrency-...
whamlastxmas 9y ago
I think the implication is that he broke a law that Gates agreed with and thought was just. I imagine Gates worked with intelligence agencies a lot at MS and it makes sense he'd share some of their world views.
deleted 9y ago
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mseebach 9y ago
That answer is so silly that it's difficult to imagine that it isn't just very poorly phrased. Especially considering that Microsoft was found to have broken the law on Gates' watch (ok, sure, Gates probably wouldn't claim to be a hero). Anyway, plenty of heros broke the law. Revolutionaries, civil rights activists etc. I'm sure Gates and many other rich people would agree that many such figures qualify as heroes. That of course doesn't mean that everyone who breaks the law, every revolutionary, every civil rights activist is a hero, far from it, and crucially does not get us any closer to deciding whether Snowden is a hero.
Kutta 9y ago
> is it impossible for a criminal to be a hero? I think this is an awful question with awful answers. http://squid314.livejournal.com/323694.html http://squid314.livejournal.com/323694.html
- rdiddly 9y ago
  That was enlightening and entertaining, thanks.
mnm1 9y ago
Then he should say the same thing about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and all the other founders of this country. Compared to Snowden, they were much bigger criminals and their movement and war were extremely violent with many deaths. While they were far from perfect, I do think the leaders who formed this country were heroes. It's also a fact that they were criminals. So, I don't know. Is it impossible for a criminal to be a hero? I'd like to talk to any person who answers 'no,' yet reveres the founding fathers as heroes.

rorykoehler 9y ago

I'm pretty sure Bill Gates has a very different view on this than anyone reading this site. He would have doubtless been exposed to the realities of the US government for decades.

schoen 9y ago
In press interviews, he's also expressed criticism toward Apple about the San Bernadino iPhone case and about the goal of deploying end-to-end encryption that nobody can break. (I work on these issues on what's apparently the other side from him.)
- schoen 9y ago
  A subsequent example on cryptocurrency anonymity (which is a topic that's often controversial here, but with relatively few people taking it as far as Gates did): http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-on-cryptocurrency-2018-2 http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-on-cryptocurrency-...

whamlastxmas 9y ago

I think the implication is that he broke a law that Gates agreed with and thought was just. I imagine Gates worked with intelligence agencies a lot at MS and it makes sense he'd share some of their world views.

deleted 9y ago

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mseebach 9y ago

That answer is so silly that it's difficult to imagine that it isn't just very poorly phrased. Especially considering that Microsoft was found to have broken the law on Gates' watch (ok, sure, Gates probably wouldn't claim to be a hero). Anyway, plenty of heros broke the law. Revolutionaries, civil rights activists etc. I'm sure Gates and many other rich people would agree that many such figures qualify as heroes. That of course doesn't mean that everyone who breaks the law, every revolutionary, every civil rights activist is a hero, far from it, and crucially does not get us any closer to deciding whether Snowden is a hero.

Kutta 9y ago

> is it impossible for a criminal to be a hero? I think this is an awful question with awful answers. http://squid314.livejournal.com/323694.html http://squid314.livejournal.com/323694.html

rdiddly 9y ago
That was enlightening and entertaining, thanks.

mnm1 9y ago

Then he should say the same thing about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and all the other founders of this country. Compared to Snowden, they were much bigger criminals and their movement and war were extremely violent with many deaths. While they were far from perfect, I do think the leaders who formed this country were heroes. It's also a fact that they were criminals. So, I don't know. Is it impossible for a criminal to be a hero? I'd like to talk to any person who answers 'no,' yet reveres the founding fathers as heroes.