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"Is Snowden a hero or a traitor? Stay tuned if you can only hold one simplistic juvenile idea in your head at a time." https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/

"Is Snowden a hero or a traitor? Stay tuned if you can only hold one simplistic juvenile idea in your head at a time." https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/344202042019045377 https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/344202042019045377

d23 13y ago
I don't know in what twisted stretch of the imagination someone can consider Snowden a traitor, unless he is blatantly lying. He didn't reveal anything that would be bad enough to actually harm anyone's life. And if he's telling us the truth, he did nothing less than a public service service, putting his own life at risk.
- Steko 13y ago
  "I don't know in what twisted stretch of the imagination someone can consider Snowden a traitor, unless he is blatantly lying." So you couldn't imagine X would be true about Y unless Y did something that many people do all the time?
  - d23 13y ago
    Oh sure, people make up national secrets that will put their life at risk all the time.
- nrivadeneira 13y ago
  If he was a true patriot, he'd have stood his ground and gone to trial. It doesn't seem very American to me to flee the country to avoid the repercussions of breaking the law. Mind you, I support him releasing this information.
  - molloy 13y ago
    I fail to see how that would have made him a "true patriot". Actually, fleeing the unjust wrath of a tyrannical government is about the most American quality there is. In any case, due to the Whistleblower Protection Act he broke no law.
    - nrivadeneira 13y ago
      I don't see how fleeing tyranny is more American than standing and fighting it.
      - userulluipeste 13y ago
        Because this was one of the main reasons why the former immigrants (maybe even your ancestors if you're an american) had chosen America - they fled from tyranny or whatever other problem instead of doing something about it.
- conroe64 13y ago
  It could be that Eric Snowden is really just a cynical bastard who was trying to get away from his family and defect to China, bargaining with the rest of the secrets he knows to live a comfortable life. Releasing the information to the public might be just to make up for it by doing something he thinks is the right thing to do. It would also distract everyone from the truth. If they never hear from him again, they may assume he got killed or imprisoned, and this makes him look like a martyr. This alternate story will keep his family from feeling the shame of being related to a defector. And, maybe at the same time he wanted to say a big fuck you to his former employer, the US government. It may seem far fetched, but with the information he has, he probably knows what happens to people who defected to China, and could evaluate whether it was a good idea or bad. I guess we'll see if any ever hears from him again. If not, it fits right into this idea.

d23 13y ago

I don't know in what twisted stretch of the imagination someone can consider Snowden a traitor, unless he is blatantly lying. He didn't reveal anything that would be bad enough to actually harm anyone's life. And if he's telling us the truth, he did nothing less than a public service service, putting his own life at risk.

Steko 13y ago
"I don't know in what twisted stretch of the imagination someone can consider Snowden a traitor, unless he is blatantly lying." So you couldn't imagine X would be true about Y unless Y did something that many people do all the time?
- d23 13y ago
  Oh sure, people make up national secrets that will put their life at risk all the time.
nrivadeneira 13y ago
If he was a true patriot, he'd have stood his ground and gone to trial. It doesn't seem very American to me to flee the country to avoid the repercussions of breaking the law. Mind you, I support him releasing this information.
- molloy 13y ago
  I fail to see how that would have made him a "true patriot". Actually, fleeing the unjust wrath of a tyrannical government is about the most American quality there is. In any case, due to the Whistleblower Protection Act he broke no law.
  - nrivadeneira 13y ago
    I don't see how fleeing tyranny is more American than standing and fighting it.
    - userulluipeste 13y ago
      Because this was one of the main reasons why the former immigrants (maybe even your ancestors if you're an american) had chosen America - they fled from tyranny or whatever other problem instead of doing something about it.
conroe64 13y ago
It could be that Eric Snowden is really just a cynical bastard who was trying to get away from his family and defect to China, bargaining with the rest of the secrets he knows to live a comfortable life. Releasing the information to the public might be just to make up for it by doing something he thinks is the right thing to do. It would also distract everyone from the truth. If they never hear from him again, they may assume he got killed or imprisoned, and this makes him look like a martyr. This alternate story will keep his family from feeling the shame of being related to a defector. And, maybe at the same time he wanted to say a big fuck you to his former employer, the US government. It may seem far fetched, but with the information he has, he probably knows what happens to people who defected to China, and could evaluate whether it was a good idea or bad. I guess we'll see if any ever hears from him again. If not, it fits right into this idea.