I think that’s the point. He’s not very principled.
He’d be the first modern hero we’ve had if he came back and forced the government to imprison him.
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.