Did Snowden just invoke the infamous “It’s Happening” gif?

 

Today, during an AMA event on Reddit, Edward Snowden gave lengthy answers to numerous questions about his motivations. Besides saying that his only regret was “I’d have come forward sooner,” another response caught our eye.

Edward Snowden just called for civil disobedience against the US government whilst also arguing for the legalization of marijuana during an AMA. This is quite possibly the most reddit thing ever. (A statement from a user going by the_ask.)

Snowden responded, “its-happening.gif,” referencing the animated gif also known as “Doom Paul.”

And the internet exploded.
Here are Snowden’s earlier comments about morality and law that led to this interaction:

Ultimately, if people lose their willingness to recognize that there are times in our history when legality becomes distinct from morality, we aren’t just ceding control of our rights to government, but our agency in [sic] determing our futures….Our rights are not granted by governments. They are inherent to our nature. But it’s entirely the opposite for governments: their privileges are precisely equal to only those which we suffer them to enjoy…

…We haven’t had to think about that much in the last few decades because quality of life has been increasing across almost all measures in a significant way, and that has led to a comfortable complacency. But here and there throughout history, we’ll occasionally come across these periods where governments think more about what they “can” do rather than what they “should” do, and what is lawful will become increasingly distinct from what is moral.

In such times, we’d do well to remember that at the end of the day, the law doesn’t defend us; we defend the law. And when it becomes contrary to our morals, we have both the right and the responsibility to rebalance it toward just ends.

Read the full interaction here.