The Shunning of a Whistleblower

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Recommended: Corruption in the federal government

Throughout all of humanity, people have been shunning other people for many reasons. Whether it be the differences between two people or the wrongdoings of a person, it almost seems like human nature for people to turn away from each other. A person would think that over time, society would become more accepting of others, but instead, it seems that the things that have been seen to be unfit for society in the past still hold true today. Traditions and beliefs are still prevalent today, and when someone goes against them, it is seen as a reason to create a pariah out of the person. Whether it’d be the lepers of the past or the whistleblowers of today, shunning is still commonplace in todays society.
Today’s shunned people are a new breed. With the internet, information spreads like a wildfire, creating scandals over night and created a person into an outcast. One of the most prevailing examples of this kind of person is Edward Snowden. Snowden worked for the U.S government for many years in both the CIA and the NSA. While working for the government, he found many things wrong with the way they functioned, but figured that the 2008 election of Barack Obama would create reforms in the government(Greenwald, MacAskill, and Poitras). To Snowden’s dismay, no reform came; in fact, Obama pushed for the same corrupt policies that Snowden hated(Greenwald, MacAskill, and Poitras). In 2013, Snowden felt it was time to released the confidential government documents he had been so concerned over to the internet, for whom he trust to make what need to be public and what needed to stay secret(Greenwald, MacAskill, and Poitras). His motives for doing so seemed harmless enough. When asked why he released the documents, he said “There are all so...

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...ernet, news and rumours spread alike. It seems like whether it be the hottest celebrity of the time caught in a scandal, or the average government worker releases government information, people are quick to shun people who do something unsavory to the common man’s eyes. Whether that is the right thing for society to do is up to debate, but as of now shunning holds a stronghold on everyday life.

Work Cited
Gerstein, Josh “President Obama Hits Edward Snowden Over NSA Leaks”. Politico. 17 January
2014. Web. 20 February 2014.
Greenwald, Glenn, Ewen MacAskill, and Laura Poitras. “Edward Snowden: the Whistleblower
Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations.” The Guardian. 9 June 2013. Web. 20
February 2014.
Labott, Elise and Mariano Castillo. “Edward Snowden Won’t be Pressured to End Asylum,
Russia Says.” CNN. 24 January 2014. Web. 20 February 2014.

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