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Come now, Citizen! "Rule of Law"? How old-fashioned of you! Snark aside, what I don't understand is this: If it means so damned much to Snowden that he should
by aaronem 13y ago
Come now, Citizen! "Rule of Law"? How old-fashioned of you!
Snark aside, what I don't understand is this: If it means so damned much to Snowden that he should expose all these supposedly horrible supposed abuses, then why isn't he willing to suffer the consequences of his treasonous actions?
The original article is so hot to compare Snowden with Dr. King, but what everyone seems to ignore is that Dr. King did not seek to escape the consequences of his actions. Indeed, he turned those consequences into a cornerstone of his arguments, and they were in large part what drove his movement to eventual victory.
Dr. King and his confederates in the Civil Rights movement, put simply, possessed the courage of their convictions. Edward Snowden, by comparison, has shown nothing but cowardice; having stolen the secret documents on which Glenn Greenwald is turning such a tidy reputational profit, Snowden fled like the thief he is and begged asylum from nations which, while not belligerent enemies of the United States, certainly have no reason to wish us well.
In short, the man is no lion, but a weasel; no hero, but an arrant coward. Have we, in a few short decades, become so debased, so degraded, that no one can any longer tell the difference?
- nitrogen 13y agoI find your demand that heroes be martyrs particularly bizarre.
- talmand 13y agoWow, how hateful of you. Do you not see the obviously glaring difference between the two? I don't believe that Dr. King had the likelihood of being tortured and executed by his own government for pointing out the mistreatment, illegal or otherwise, of his people by that very government. I do believe that Snowden is under a direct threat of possible execution and potentially being tortured, depending on the current definition of torture I suppose, by his own government for pointing out the illegal activities of said government aimed at its citizens. You complain the post is hot to compare the two, maybe you should refrain from doing the same. Snowden has shown the government to be corrupt in his eyes and now you expect him to directly face that very government on their grounds and on their terms? That seems to be a foolish thing to do. You may label the man however you like, I'll wait to see how history plays out a bit and see more of the evidence before making a judgement.
- pessimizer 13y agoSo, if MLK had left the country to avoid prison or execution (all other events having been identical) he would have been a "weasel"? What a bone-headed defense of the status quo, using the name of a man who gave his life fighting against it.
- dllthomas 13y agoThe consequences for Dr. King's actions were not three decades in solitary. The consequences for Snowden's actions - effective banishment from his home, separation from family and friends (and girlfriend) - are actually more severe than the (collectively) several months King spent in jail. This is not to detract from the greatness of Dr. King - he stood up also to violence and more - but to say that they faced very different systems.