What I see in different shades of gray, from behind my reading glasses
Researcher Danah Boyd is articulate, & explains why in modern society whistleblowing is the new civil disobedience. Scathing in her critique, she shares a perspective:
Unchecked power is how dictatorships emerge. If the rule of law is undermined and secrecy becomes the status quo, it becomes necessary for new civil disobedience tactics to emerge. And, more than the content of the leaks, this is what I think that we’re watching unfold.
John Kiriakou was jailed for 30 months for whistle-blowing against the CIA’s torture methods. He wrote this letter from jail. Please take the time to read.
The letter details his life in prison, including an incident in which prison officials attempted setup a confrontation between Kiriakou and a Muslim prisoner, telling Kiriakou he was the uncle of the Times Square bomber, when in reality the imam was in prison for refusing to testify in the Lackawanna Six case. Prison officials also lied to the Muslim prisoner, telling him that Kiriakou had called Washington after they met and had been ordered to kill him.