Was Edward Snowden a hero or villain? | Andrew Bustamante and Lex Fridman

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[joeyjojojrshabadoo]

To quote Edward Snowden himself:
"When Exposing a Crime is Treated as Committing a Crime, You Are Ruled By Criminals."
I think that pretty much sums it up.

[Its_RichieRich]

Snowden sacrificed his nice comfortable life to tell us that we were being illegally surveilled. He’s a hero in my book.

[StephenMoreira]

Problem was USA forced him to go to Russia blocking access to any other nations, so that's a big spin on the issue. He certainly changed history, putting the massive surveillance and privacy concerns on the map for American Citizens. Almost all companies responded to it in increasing, and assuring more privacy for their users, he made waves.

Honestly the way he presented his argument really seemed like a talking point, I think they WISH he was just a blip but he just won't go away.

[AngeloXification]

Desperate pawn? how ironic coming from a CIA agent

[markwelschmeyer]

Edward Snowden did something that no one else would do and NEEDED to be done. that makes a hero to some degree regardless of his other actions.

[suivzmoi]

Bustamante already explicitly said the purpose he is out there telling his story is to "bring honor to those still in the intelligence service". he may have left, but he is still working for them whether or not he is being paid.

[xShark]

So he's a criminal for exposing Illegal criminal acts done by the Government? Funny how that works

[KASOCCER]

I don't think Mr. Bustamante is being genuine about Edward Snowden. Because I'm willing to bet if anyone were to ask him about other defectors from countries which oppose the US, he would quickly refer to them as heroes. Yet, because Snowden went against the US, Mr. Bustamante (who seems to be blindly patriotic, at least in this case) tries to downplay him as just a sad case. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Edwards Snowden did one of the most brave and patriotic services any American can do, period!!!

[jakedahl]

THANK YOU for pushing back lex. Man what a crazy take by this guy. Him having to flee is a sign that he's guilty? Rarely do you see someone with 100% absolute trust in their employer/state

[bradhouse]

I am appreciative of what Snowden sacrificed, and what that sacrifice yielded. I didn't hear anything in this discussion to make me reconsider that position.

[raincheck]

History has already decided, Snowden is a hero, get used to it I hope there’s more

[raincheck]

Most reasonable people think he’s a hero, you are of course going to paint him in a negative light but we have been lied to over and over again so who’s the criminal?

[brittlby]

That took a turn.

Caught the clip earlier whenever he mentioned that essentially we should that we should have no expectation of privacy and should be all right with being spied on, with the understanding that the agents had no interest in our personal lives, and were specifically just mining for national security threats.

He said it almost with a shrug as if it was just a foregone conclusion and we should just accept it without question or concern.

[shanghaidiscovery]

So if we think he is a hero, then we are ignorant? Oh yes from the same man who said in another part of this interview that the general public should have no say in what the intelligence community does - but that we should trust it is for the common good --- laughable really.

[ian]

Snowden is a criminal to the government, a hero to the people.

[calebamore]

It's funny how this guy talked in this podcast about honesty and how important it is. After hearing him talk about Edward Snowden I don't trust him (not that I really did much before, but still).

[dholley]

This was a great interview because it shows how insane the mindset of those in positions of power are. This guy really thinks hes doing good by essentially nullifying the now dead 4th amendment.

[blueycrter]

He reminds me of a superhero villain that claims everything they are doing is for the 'greater good'.

It takes such delusional arrogance to believe that people should just accept having no privacy.

I bet if someone hid cameras in his house he'd shoot them for trespassing.

[alexanderg]

Andrew lost credibility with his take on Snowden. Funny how he called the peeps who view him as hero are largely ignorant. Lex is lowkey taking Snowden's side. I'm sure it's not lost on Lex's mind when he heard that. LOL

[fpxy]

This is false, as most of the stuff said in this podcast.

1. He never planed to go to Ru. His plan was ro go to some Ekvador but he had to take a plane for Russia instead or he would be caught.
2. Law to expose criminal activity is above internal rules of organisation such as NSA.