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Comment by nostromo | Hacker News Reader

"Hero" is incredibly biased language. No journalist should use that term for Snowden outside of the opinion page. (For what it's worth, I personally view Snowden a hero.)

"Leaker" is a factual statement that is focused on a person's activities, not his or her motivations. And it doesn't pass judgement.

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'hero' also panders to the black-and-white worldview that's popular in US politics. You're either a hero or a villain; for us or against us; if you're not one of us, you're one of them. It doesn't leave space for complex personalities or events.

At Ruxcon last year, the panelists were asked "Is Snowden a hero or a villain?". One panelist quite rightly responded "Who cares?" - that the story shouldn't be about Snowden, but about what was revealed. The more focus put on Snowden, the less mindspace there is for the revelations.

we do live in a deterministic universe now don't we?

Manichean. Deterministic implies predictability.

"leaker" has mild negative connotations.

"Whistle blower" has more positive connotations.

"Whistle blower" also fairly strongly implies that what the government was doing is negative and should be called out, which the media tends to be hesitant to cal out.

I don't think leaker has mild negative connotations, and if it once did, it doesn't anymore because of the popularity of organizations like WikiLeaks. Leaking is in the name, after all.

You really don't think WikiLeaks has a negative connotation in the media and the public in and of itself? The media spent a very long time running WikiLeaks through the mud.

And yet WikiLeaks remains a fairly well-funded organization with a huge following that continues to get leaks - and a major source of stories for that very same news media you say dragged it through the mud.

> "leaker" has mild negative connotations.

Agreed. By definition, "leaks" are something that need to be "fixed", after all.

Hero is only as biased as history is and the US has written a lot of history. The US government already considers many military personal heroes today.

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