1. Snowden is a dissident wrt the US government, not the Russian one. He doesn't have an obligation to criticize Russia (neither does he have an obligation to criticize the US, but that comes with the territory).
2. He has self preservation to consider too. To him Russia is a relatively safe haven. Why would he endanger that? Sure, this limits his freedom of expression, but that's a relatively small personal compromise in order to ensure you're still alive and not in some supermax.
I don't have an exact source, but I remember him saying how he didn't really want to end up in Russia, how he hasn't adapted super well to it and how he would like to go back to the US if allowed a fair trial.
He already almost martyred himself once to bring us the truth. Why are you demanding he does it again to tell us something everybody already knows?
Does he assume he shouldn't serve time for what he did? Snowden is a complicated figure because the core that the U.S. government was surveilling its own people beyond its bounds was correct.
But he did kind of leak a whole bunch of shit not related to that as well. And that ain't cool.
He kind of has to accept that he's going to go to jail and he's never going to work with sensitive information ever again.
EDIT:
Here's a bit of clarification (quick find on Google, not necessarily the most comprehensive): https://www.france24.com/en/20190916-snowden-says-he-would-r...
get your head out of the state influenced media, this is such a ridiculous position to have. The guy had his passport cancelled and is stuck there. What the fuck is he supposed to do?
Snowden wanted to go to Ecuador. It’s ridiculous to suggest he’s made a choice to be in Russia or support Russia.
Then again that’s literally what MSNBC, CNN and probably Fox have been saying for almost 10 years to I’m not surprised many have been brainwashed.
What should the US Government do to resolve the situation?
Trump could have pardoned him?
Offer him a plea deal to return home, plead guilty and serve some time?
It's not a crime.
> Offer him a plea deal to return home, plead guilty and serve some time?
I actually like this one. That's fair.
At the same time, his current behaviour means I no longer find him to be a meaningful source of commentary. He called Trudeau "tyrannical and obscene" -- no followup comment when, days later, Trudeau revoked the Emergencies Act. He mocked the world for trusting US intelligence that Russia was going to invade Ukraine -- no followup comment when Russia then committed a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Again, what he did in the past: tremendous service. What he seems capable of doing today: not useful to me.
Trudeau revoked use of the Emergencies Act after using it for 10 days to destroy a protest. It's hard to characterise that any other way.
He’d be the first modern hero we’ve had if he came back and forced the government to imprison him.
This is exactly what a hero who is principled would do. This is the literal thing that separates them from regular people.
That... is a statement.
So, the guy that openly flouts decades of prison time and enemy-of-the-state status (from the richest first-world country with a nearly unlimited budget for tracking enemies down) to give the world definitive proof of American fuckery for the sake of morals and public good is "not very principled"?
> He’d be the first modern hero
No, he'd be yet another modern martyr.
He's under no obligation to continue crusading. He has already done so much good, let the man retire.
What is it with people expecting their idols to come out and openly crusade for the opinions they want to hear? Do you need a feeling of reassurance or something? Let your opinions stand on their own, you don't need a celebrity to validate them.
You could argue that he acted on principle and went against the US govt resulting in him being "imprisoned" in Russia and unable to return home. In the end, he got nothing out of it. US gov't still conducts mass surveillance and your average consumer doesn't have much qualms about giving their data to corporations that can then sell it to the gov't.
There was a segment where John Oliver met with Snowden in Russia. Oliver went around in NYC asking people about Snowden and most people didn't even recognize his name. Tbh, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to go to prison just to be a hero to a bunch of random people that didn't care the first time around.
> I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to go to prison just to be a hero to a bunch of random people that didn't care the first time around.
Yes. I don’t either. But this is why he isn’t principled.
He's already a martyr. He's living the rest of his life in exile, under a microscope and under constant threat. The only people who would gain from him tweeting about these events are those who wish to see him harmed.
I do not expect him to continue to one-up himself and ruin his life more and more until he's dead, or staring at a concrete wall in solitary.
He's done a massive service to the people. Let him have at least the minimal freedom he has left.
It's time for others to carry the torch.
Please at least respect people who reveals the insidious evils at the cost of their freedom?
> He’d be the first modern hero we’ve had if he came back and forced the government to imprison him.
What about Chelsea Manning and Reality Winner? The fact that you forgot about them already suggests that such an act from Snowden would be ultimately meaningless.
https://twitter.com/CloeKerhoas/status/1497211541912911872
I think if he were a hero/patriot like everybody says he would speak his mind regardless of his status.