Edward Snowden, the man who exposed the mass internet surveillance plans of the US’s National Security Agency, was inspired by video game characters, according to a close colleague.
Glen Greenwald, who worked with Snowden on exposing the NSA leak, made the comments in a recent interview with GQ magazine.
“In Hong Kong, Snowden told me that at the heart of most video games is an ordinary individual who sees some serious injustice, right? Like some person who’s been kidnapped and you’ve got to rescue them, or some evil force that has obtained this weapon and you’ve got to deactivate it or kill them or whatever,” said Greenwald.
“It’s all about figuring out ways to empower yourself as an ordinary person, to take on powerful forces in a way that allows you to undermine them in pursuit of some public good. Even if it’s really risky or dangerous. That moral narrative at the heart of video games was part of his preadolescence and formed part of his moral understanding of the world and one’s obligation as an individual,” said Greenwald.
Video games save the day once again.
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