

Ask HN: Is Snowden a traitor, hero, or something else? - hackercurious

It seems as if enough time has passed to examine the question,<p>&quot;Is Snowden a traitor, hero, or something else?&quot;<p>My hope is that this discussion will be based on the facts that we do know and not just opinions.
======
dalke
If you want a discussion based in fact then you wouldn't use the terms
"traitor" or "hero". Those are emotion-based terms, unless perhaps you give a
specific definition.

For example, a traitor, legally speaking, is someone who committed treason,
which in the US is defined in '18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason' at
[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381)
as :

> Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or
> adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United
> States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall
> be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not
> less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the
> United States.

Snowden is not being charged under this law. Instead, he is charged under the
Espionage Act of 1917.

Thus, he is not a traitor, nor being prosecuted as a traitor.

If you want to give your opinion of what 'traitor' means, then feel free. Just
bear in mind that you'll be starting with opinions, so what responses you get
will also be strongly colored by opinions.

The same holds for the term 'hero'. The Wikipedia entry for 'Hero' describes
it as:

> a person or character who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a
> position of weakness, displays courage or self-sacrifice—that is,
> heroism—for some greater good.

Snowden started from a position of weakness, and displayed self-sacrifice, so
it comes down to "for some greater good." This is not possible to judge based
on the facts, given that the answer is different depending on where 'the
greater good' applies.

Was it for the greater good of the NSA? The greater good of the US defense
companies? The greater good of the US population? The greater good of the
world population? The greater good of enemies of the US?

~~~
hackercurious
Well done, I see the error in the question itself. I was trying to ask it how
it is most often asked, but, as you have pointed out these are emotion-based
terms. I did give the option for something else in the question. How would you
rephrase the question?

~~~
dalke
I wouldn't. I think the question is pretty meaningless. The Snowden Wikipedia
page says:

> Snowden has been variously called a hero,[8][9][10] a
> whistleblower,[11][12][13][14] a dissident,[15] a patriot,[16][17][18] and a
> traitor.[19][20][21][22]

so there's plenty to start from if you want something else.

How about, "The government interpretation of the Espionage Act of 1917
includes those who communicate secret information to members of the media,
even when that secrecy is used to hide evidence that the government has
routinely and deliberately broken the law. Should this be changed, and if so,
how?"

