After all these years since the mass surveillance revelations, what is your view today on Edward Snowden? Do you see him as an important whistleblower or someone who put national security at risk? And if his case happened today, do you think public opinion would see him more as a hero or a traitor?
Posted by Astros_2006
31 Comments
Traitor, hope he gets conscripted by Russia 🙏
Initially? Whistleblower.
Now? Traitor.
Naive but good guy
And his treatment by the Dems just shows how broken the system is. We all shit on Trump but he is just exposing a deeply flawed system, that the Dems have been exploiting quietly for years.
I would’ve had a lot more respect for him if he stayed here and faced the music. Not a good look to be complaining about government surveillance, then turn around and flee to fuckin Russia.
Traitor.
I am fully convinced he’s a Russian puppet at this point all have actions just make more sense through that lens.
Snowden is nobody special, he just wanted the spotlight because he just happened to have access to the materials as an admin. He took the opportunity to paint himself as some sort of technical savant and some whistleblower when he just released classified material which endangered the lives of soldiers and security of the US.
If you actually hear Snowden talk, you’ll realize hes the typical Joe Rogan listener before Joe Rogan went big with the UFC.
I recently read his book.
Initially I thought he was a traitor
After I read his book a hero
I havent been keeping up with what he’s been doing though
Yes.
🥤😎🍿
Don’t mind me, getting the popcorn
Snowden pre-2013 or so? A genuine whistleblower, the NSA was abusing people’s constitutional rights daily (probably still are tbf) and needed to face the music.
Post-2015: he’s basically a Russian puppet now, fuck him
Like i’m not American but everything I read about him is that he started with “good” intentions but pussied out and sold himself to Russia to avoid the full consequences of his actions with the law system.
https://preview.redd.it/psjbtapsviog1.png?width=251&format=png&auto=webp&s=a22e57bccd13b19774323ed2a8a5a936192112b3
a scared man
Unironically, hero turned grifter, anyone who talks about him seeking asylum in Russia does not realize that he sought asylum in other countries prior.
Definitely a hero, maybe a naive one but he was very young when it happened so understandable.
We claim to care about government overreach and surveillance, and the US government was doing that illegally for an extended period and this guy did the right thing by exposing it. And now we’re shitting on him because he “endangered the lives of US soldiers”? He most certainly did not. He worked with journalists to minimize risk of that, beyond that I am not sure what could be expected of him given the circumstances.
Traitor to America and whatever ideals he claimed to have.
He started posting Russian talking points and war propaganda on twitter.
I hope he gets mobilized and takes a drone to the face.
Admirable whistleblower, then traitor.
I do not see him as someone who put national security at risk because I thought it was worth it. I was old enough to follow his leak very closely, and it was deeply impactful. I still despise James Clapper.
But Snowden is also a wacko. He’s clearly compromised now.
Side note: I enjoyed the first part of his autobiography where he described being the first generation to grow up with the internet. It rang true to me.
Yes,
He meant well he didn’t just post everything online he sent the information to reputable media outlets.
But then he ran away to Russia and started on the whole anti American propaganda thing.
I don’t have to give him a label. I wouldn’t do what he did out of consideration for both myself and others, independently.
But I do believe he was genuine, and the information he released is important to the public’s understanding of our government.
Whistleblowing illegal surveillance was good. Defecting and selling secrets to Moscow and Beijing revealed he had no genuine principle or loyalty. So he’s a traitor clinging to the mantle of a hero.
If there’s any justice, he’ll end his days in prison thankful it wasn’t the noose.
He’s the president of some NGO called “Freedom of the Press.” Yet he’s never said one word about the deplorable state of press freedom in Russia or done any advocacy to support the horrible persecution suffered by Russian journalists.
Think that says all that needs to be said about this “hero.”
He sure is quiet about what’s going on with his current host country and that taints everything he did before for me
All three?
He’s an evil traitor because he didn’t martyr himself to a life in prison after exposing the largest mass surveillance campaign in the history of the West
Someone who alerted everyone to disgraceful surveillance and spying programs, was forced to take up asylum in Russia, and has since been accused of treason by the usual neoliberal apologists for US misconduct.
He did something beneficial for the US. He got in way over his head as soon as he stepped foot in Russia though. It’s pretty obvious that since the moment he got there he hasn’t been allowed to leave even if he wanted to.
A traitor, but in a heroic way. Mindless obedience and subservience to a system that doesn’t care about you or your fellow citizens is like being in an abusive relationship.
Snowden made whistleblowing seem cool to the public while offering nothing of substance to the American people and everything to Russia. He will only ever be a hero if Russia or China gets to write history.
Traitor
Hero
Do you think Snowden had any real choice other than seeking asylum in Russia, or could he have handled the situation differently?
If Snowden had stayed in the U.S. and faced trial, do you think he would have received a fair trial?
The fact he went to Russia says a lot.
I think he’s a traitor. He also released a lot of things that were perfectly reasonable for the government to be doing and that put people at risk.