I don't really believe in the concept of 'heroes' as in unquestionably good people who are to be emulated, but there are people of commendable moral principles, actions, and character that are worth noting.

His actions were unquestionably noble and effective in revealing the depth of surveillance of statesian citizens by a government many of them trusted, but mistakes in how that data was passed to journalists are also worth noting so such actions aren't self-sacrificing. He'd be more useful continuing to expose how that continues and has gotten worse, and simultaneously deserves a more comfortable life for his efforts. But he was also young and from my interpretation of my reading seemed to almost accidentally find himself at BAH. If someone more experienced and guided by good handlers were involved, his results could have been multiplied, and his efforts better rewarded.

What a loaded question. Hero is such a poorly defined yet super high bar. Firefighters who die rescuing children don't even typically want to be called a hero. This just sets up people to say no and muddy the water.

Did he stand up for democracy and transparency and rule of law? Yes. Did he suffer for his actions from powerful people more concerns for the political harm caused by the exposure of illegal actions? Yes.

Did he do everything right? No, he's human, and wasnt asking to be lionized or elected anything. He wanted people to look at the materials and demand change from governments. He didn't get what he wanted, and ended up stuck in Russia, where people can dismiss him as just a traitor, so no, he didn't do everything right. He could have also thrown himself on the mercy of the American justice system, no matter how doomed that would be. But he's human, so I don't expect suicide.

I don't necessarily think hero is the right word, but his actions are commendable, even if they largely had little effect.

I had a professor in a cyber security class go off about how you're a traitor to the United States if you thing well of him. I remember rolling my eyes and wondering why she was drinking so much cool aid.

He did the right thing, but the concept of heros is not a good or useful one, especially when it comes to political actors.

I'm still confused. All I took away from it is that it's illegal to point out someone is committing crimes. A full mask off moment that will echo through history.

Yes

He's a hero and Aaron was a martyr.

I think he had as much impact as anyone in his position could possibly have, if not way above average for a whistleblower.

The problem is that the public quickly turned on him, in no small part due to the PR strategy of those who DO have the power to change this. And most of the public shrugged and said what are we gonna do?

His contribution was proof that suspected domestic spying under the guise of homeland security was being widely misused. Which is a violation of YOUR constitutional rights. Of course anyone paying attention suspected it before, but he brought receipts. Many people think he should be in jail or worse because of this.

Unless he's lying, and I don't think he has been shown to lie, he did attempt to use proper channels. The media has historically been called the 4th branch of government for a reason - and ultimately that's where he turned.

The man effectively lost much of his freedom and the people he did it for were unable to take it any further.

He's unquestionably a hero.

Yes

If he isn't a hero to you, I question you as a person.

I think he did the right thing even though it meant sacrificing his freedom. People are more aware of government surveillance around the world, even if it's only increased in other ways. We can try to fight it in the open, now.

Scary thing is he didnt really accomplish much with his sacrifies. NSA is much scarier today and things just goes on.

Yeah, gonna go against the grain and say he's a self-centered douchebag who made everything worse. He didn't "risk his life". He risked life in prison - and defected to a MUCH worse country for very, very, very stupid reasons. Any "I did it for freedom" excuses he spouted, or that you ascribe to him, are public relations bullshit.

If he had any integrity he'd have just gone to jail. Instead he went to fucking Putin, like THAT'S supporting freedom.

The alternative hero of that situation is the US government so ...

A good person and a decent human being? Yes.

Heroes are shit.

Of course. If you risk your life and freedom for the greater good on your own account you sure are a hero.

Yup, a hero. Sacrificed himself for a greater good.

I dislike that he pursued asylum in Russia and I think that doing so potentially damages his credibility and motives. But what he did was important nonetheless.

They've gone the weasel-route by releasing piece-by-piece to not cause drama and censoring names to not endanger them. In the end, this did more damage than good, getting people used to the scandals and feeling helpless. I wonder if that wasn't on purpose?

Hero. No. The right thing. Yes.

Edit: My bad. It's not Snowden's fault that no one cared :( I deserve the downvotes. Coincidentally, following the comments and other posts I've realized that he is, in fact, quite the definition of a tragic hero.

I don't know... did he achieve anything lasting? Are we better off? Is he? He tried something, it didn't work. I'm not convinced he did it out of the goodness of his heart amd I'm fairly certain he did not envision a life sucking off the Kremlin just to remain safe. Don't get me wrong, this could and should have crippled our trust in all governments... but it didn't.

@Anonymous_Leaker yes.