Protesting
Page 9
- So there’s this profound mythology around whistleblowers which says, first of all, they’re all crazy. But what I’ve found going around the world and talking to whistleblowers is actually they’re very loyal and, quite often, very conservative people. They’re hugely dedicated to the institutions that they work for. And the reason that they speak up, the reason they insist on seeing, is because they care so much about the institution and want to keep it healthy.
- I don't see myself as a hero, because what I'm doing is self-interested; I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and, therefore, no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.
- Opposition is different from terrorism. Opposition is a political movement. Opposition doesn't mean to take-- armament and kill people and destroy everything. Do you call the people in Los Angeles in the '90s, do you call them rebels or opposition? What would the British call the rebels less than two years ago in London? Do-- did they call them opposition or rebels? Why should we call them opposition? They are rebels. They are not rebels even, they are terror-- they are behaving-- this opposition, opposing country or government by behaving by barbecuing head, by eating the hearts of your victim? Is that opposition?
- Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I realized that I was part of something that was doing far more harm than good.