So, Byrne used two examples; one about Rosa Parks, and one about Daniel Ellsberg. But he misses a few key points about both of them.
One is that Daniel Ellsberg did do his work surreptitiously. He didn't just openly take the documents, and accept being arrested while doing so. He took them secretly, then tried several different ways of publicizing them while insulating himself legally, including seeing if he could get a senator to enter them into the minutes, since you can't be prosecuted for official business on the senate floor. And when they were eventually released, he went into hiding for a while, before eventually deciding to turn himself in. And he did not, in the end, have to serve any time, as his case was thrown out due to many illegal actions taken by the government, including burgling Ellsberg's psychiatrists office, trying to bribe the judge, and illegally wiretapping Ellsberg.
However, nowadays the case is quite different. In the "post-9/11 world", there are many easier ways for the government to surreptitiously gather evidence. In fact, the government today has shown a willingness to pass laws granting retroactive immunity for illegal wiretapping. It's got to be a lot easier to feel despondent about your chances in a court case in todays world, especially with a prosecutor who has built his career on harsh prosecution of electronic crime.
And Rosa Parks is a completely different story than Ellsberg or Swartz. She was facing a $10 fine and $4 in court costs, not years in jail, hundreds of thousands to millions in fines, fees, and court costs, a felony conviction. While what she did is definitely laudable, it's a lot easier to accept the possibility of losing your case when the stakes are that much lower.
And Bradley Manning? He did something not too dissimilar to Ellsberg. But while Ellsberg got off free of charges, Brad Manning has been imprisoned for years without trial, including months of solitary confinement, and even a period of suicide watch in which he was not allowed clothes or a pillow at night.
One is that Daniel Ellsberg did do his work surreptitiously. He didn't just openly take the documents, and accept being arrested while doing so. He took them secretly, then tried several different ways of publicizing them while insulating himself legally, including seeing if he could get a senator to enter them into the minutes, since you can't be prosecuted for official business on the senate floor. And when they were eventually released, he went into hiding for a while, before eventually deciding to turn himself in. And he did not, in the end, have to serve any time, as his case was thrown out due to many illegal actions taken by the government, including burgling Ellsberg's psychiatrists office, trying to bribe the judge, and illegally wiretapping Ellsberg.
However, nowadays the case is quite different. In the "post-9/11 world", there are many easier ways for the government to surreptitiously gather evidence. In fact, the government today has shown a willingness to pass laws granting retroactive immunity for illegal wiretapping. It's got to be a lot easier to feel despondent about your chances in a court case in todays world, especially with a prosecutor who has built his career on harsh prosecution of electronic crime.
And Rosa Parks is a completely different story than Ellsberg or Swartz. She was facing a $10 fine and $4 in court costs, not years in jail, hundreds of thousands to millions in fines, fees, and court costs, a felony conviction. While what she did is definitely laudable, it's a lot easier to accept the possibility of losing your case when the stakes are that much lower.
And Bradley Manning? He did something not too dissimilar to Ellsberg. But while Ellsberg got off free of charges, Brad Manning has been imprisoned for years without trial, including months of solitary confinement, and even a period of suicide watch in which he was not allowed clothes or a pillow at night.