Why do some citizens have such hatred for whistle-blowers?

[riqster]

128. Not all whistle-blowers are created equal.

I agree with 90+ percent of your OP. I would only add that if someone makes an exception for a particular individual, that does not make them an authoritarian fill-in-the-blank.

Example: Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers fame; Deep Throat during Watergate, and Chelsea Manning all strike me as well-intentioned whistleblowers who put their country's well-being above their own.

Edward Snowden, I have mixed feelings about. He did a good deed in a not-very-smart way.

Julian Assange, well, until he acts within the law and stops hiding from a judicial enquiry for sexual assault allegations, fuck that guy.

And then there are out-and-out liars like Issa who claim to be revealing important information but in fact are not.

I support whistleblowers (given my personal history, it would be hypocritical not to), but I don't necessarily see every person who is called one as being a true servant of the public good.