He wasn't under strong direct pressure from govt until after fleeing with secret docs. The actions he took after that can't justify his theft and flight abroad. The theft and flight abroad, however, were disproportionate relative to the harm that he was suffering from personally (metadata collection, eavesdropping, both of which he had the technical knowledge to protect himself from).
I'm not trying to balance actions against one another in some form of equation to see what the net good is. That doesn't make sense. It reminds me of Dave Chappelle's skit about trying to process rape allegations against Bill Crosby. He was a great comedian. And probably a rapist. Well, Snowden is similarly complicated.
Comparing Snowden's actions with Cosby is disingenuous at best, sorry. Cosby drugged and raped dozens of women. All of Snowden's actions in their entirety were done with positive intent, regardless of any supposed missteps. Completely incomparable.
I'm not trying to balance actions against one another in some form of equation to see what the net good is. That doesn't make sense. It reminds me of Dave Chappelle's skit about trying to process rape allegations against Bill Crosby. He was a great comedian. And probably a rapist. Well, Snowden is similarly complicated.