Ed Snowden Blows Whistle on Clubhouse — Thought for Your Penny
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden joined Clubhouse yesterday, thanks to Talk Nerdy to Me. He was joined on stage by the Chainsmokers’ DJ Swivel (Jordan Young), Platon Antoniou, and others like Kim Dotcom and MC Hammer to discuss mass surveillance, governments, and community.
It was an amazing room where the thousands in attendance got a master class in what it takes to be a whistleblower. As a whistleblower myself, I was the first person in the room and stayed through the entire conversation with my ears wide open.
The conversation was expertly moderated by WOLFxLION, Adam Grant, and Kat Cole. It started with an exploration of Platon’s photography over the years, which then led into the time he met Snowden.
From there, Snowden was given the stage to talk about all things privacy and society. Having worked for the government, he has a great grasp on our interactions with technology and government. And he doesn’t like being called a hero.
Both Snowden and Platon point out that hero worshipping whistleblowers is a cop out. It makes the act seem out of reach of the average person. But we need more whistleblowers in this world, which is why I write so much about it.
Privacy Is a Basic Human Right
Snowden has no superpowers — he’s just a guy who saw something wrong and said something. I understand his need to speak up, and thankfully tens of thousands of Clubhouse users agreed. He’s not doing anything that the rest of us can’t do, which is to help the powerless protect themselves and their human rights.
The people who make the rules represent the majority in Snowden’s view. He believes the minority is who needs whistleblower protections, because it’s a difficult decision to make. Although he’s not a superhuman, he underwent an extraordinary event.
Many people aren’t ready to make those decisions, as it can take years before the court systems help you out. No matter who you’re blowing the whistle on, it’s difficult. And Snowden blew the whistle on the system itself. It took the better part of the past seven years for him to get minimal steps toward being pardoned.
Neither he nor whistleblowers like Reality Winner get true whistleblower protections. In fact, he points out Winner is still in prison to this day for blowing the whistle. It’s a tough decision that upends your entire life. I know this personally, as I spent the better part of the past decade living in a van for blowing the whistle on Countrywide and the foreclosure mills.
But it’s something you need to do, because the individual is the biggest minority in this world. Your individual rights are only protected by you, and that’s something you need to always have in the front of your mind.
A Difficult Decision
Both Platon and Snowden shared amazing stories about the stark realities of how activists are treated in this world. Platon told a specific story about photographing an activist who was tased to the point of catching on fire. The man (named Remy) didn’t want to be seen as a victim — he wanted to be seen as a victor.
Standing up and speaking out for your beliefs is never easy. Just by speaking on it, Snowden gained over 3.5k followers in this one room. It’s because more people than just me respect him for what he did.
More often than not, you need to break the law to leak secrets. It’s what Snowden and Remy were accused of. Snowden doesn’t view himself as a criminal — he’s a freedom fighter trying to give people privacy and liberty. He believes humans deserve both privacy and liberty, and he believes the laws are often contradictory to this.
Snowden mentions that he’s constantly told to stay safe, especially since the pandemic. But staying safe isn’t the fundamental need we have — he wishes the room to stay free more than anything else.
And before he leaves, he gets a quick question from DJ Swivel. Unfortunately, he’s not ready to open himself up to too many people because of what he says is his lack of time. But he does still take the time to remind everyone of the risks of government control using NFTs and other technologies.
It’s possible that one day NFTs will be more than art — they’ll be used to monitor and track us as a permanent record. Snowden points out that government-controlled cryptocurrencies will inevitably disrupt the world. We all need to be aware, and I agree with him.
Continue the Conversation
As always, the worst part about Clubhouse is the conversation never stops. Personally, I relate to Snowden because I became a whistleblower the same year he did. Seeing Platon’s photography and videos about activism, whistleblowing, and thought leadership become NFTs makes me happy.
But I understand not everyone feels the same way. In fact, a response room popped up halfway through questioning whether whistleblowing is a moral act. I believe it is, even when you need to violate the law to do it for the greater good, like Snowden did. I understand not everyone feels the same way.
However you feel, start a room anywhere but Clubhouse and continue the conversation.
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Originally published at http://thoughtforyourpenny.com on May 30, 2021.