Nothing to hide

Usually, I like to read the anecdotes, quotes and comments on imdb after I have seen a film but reading those about Citizenfour was overwhelming. How can you be so blind, guys.

Barack Obama, during his press conference right after the leaks, disqualifies Edward Snowden with a short and definitive sentence: « I don’t think [he] is a patriot ». I mean, really, can’t you see? Edward I-go-by-Ed Snowden is a true believer. He is a child of the internet. He was born in it, molded by it. Young enough to be a part of it, he is old enough to have witnessed the golden age of the network.

Because it all comes from there. What the internet used to be -a place where everything was possible, a new chance for democracy- and what it has become -a place where you’re afraid to make a sketchy google search because you know there is no coming back, no oblivion.

As I watch Citizenfour, I’m amazed by the guy. He is so brilliant, his ideas are so simple and yet essential. We heard the story, the PRISM scandal, we read the articles in the Guardian along with the leaked documents. We were shocked for a minute but responded with mild disdain: « of course they spy on us, we know that ». While every new development in Person of Interest seemed less and less fictional.

But when, facing the prospect of prison, he says « it’s not a sacrifice, it feels good to do it », I wonder what he is. Is the whistleblower the new badass of our time? Or is Snowden just a normal guy, trying to right a wrong, in a world full of selfish spineless pricks.

How ironic is it that he’s charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property when it’s massive espionage that he denounces? And how sad is it that, in a attempt to preserve freedom, he’s forced to stay in dictatorish Russia? So what is left for him now, to become a double agent and, indeed, spy on Putin to be able to come back to the US?

I guess this post will make me a part of the 1,2-million people watchlist that POTUS keeps on his nightstand but as long as I am next to Ed, it’s gonna be alright and most of all, it’s gonna be right.


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