Snowden statue points to divide in US society: Is he hero or traitor?

[Number23]

80. People who scream he's a whistleblower seem to always overlook that not only did he divulge

American intelligence services, he's also revealed the surveillance capabilities of nations that he is not a citizen of. This behavior is entirely inconsistent with a whistleblower but is entirely consistent with someone who released a trove of documents that he had not fully read or understood which he FINALLY admitted doing so with the John Oliver interview.

He almost started a major diplomatic incident in Australia.

Edward Snowden documents reveal Indonesian phone networks penetrated by Australian spies
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/edward-snowden-documents-reveal-indonesian-phone-networks-penetrated-by-australian-spies-20140216-32tyu.html

New Zealand spies on China, other Asian nations: Snowden papers
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/10/us-newzealand-spying-china-idUSKBN0M62FL20150310

(to which the vast majority of New Zealanders gave him either a hearty yawn or a "mind your fucking business" vibe. A change.org petition pleaded for 2000 supporters and got a whopping 82 https://www.change.org/p/no-john-key-snowden-is-welcome-in-new-zealand-support-the-nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden)

I think he's a dumb kid (even though he's not even that young age wise) who was trying to be famous. His wildly divergent views (whisteblowers should be "shot in the balls" until he attempted to become one, of course) and his high tailing it to China and then Russia do not in any way convince me that he was a man acting on his principles.

The fact that his support is skewed so heavily towards the young and even THEY want him to come home and be tried should say it all.