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Comment by mrt0mat0 | Hacker News Reader

i think i would be ok with being called a traitor to the US government, as long as it specified that i was a hero to the country.

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No. He has not been convicted of treason. We still have due process.

Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, team, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group members making the charge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason

I am aware of the connotation that you sited. But my point is that he is being tried in the media, and perception matters. So, no, I don't think it's OK to label him as a traitor.

I am okay with anyone labeling him anything that they want. Some say he is a hero and some say he is a traitor...what does it matter?

It matters that people closer to the locus of power in the US use language so imprecisely.

Imprecisely? It is a matter of perspective.

You should define your "it"'s here, but words don't enter into slang by themselves.

Some will say he is a hero. Some will say he is a traitor. Someone is not imprecise because you disagree with something they consider to be a truth; It is a matter of perspective.

He hasn't been accused of treason, either.

> We still have due process.

Allegedly. Who knows what interpretations of the law the government makes in secret. That's the thing, it's secret, so you don't know. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdulrahman_al-Awlaki#Abdulrahm...

     >We still have due process.

Not all of us...

http://aje.me/10QK303

> We still have due process.

Which has been ignored at times in the (recent) past, so why assume it is going to be applied now?

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