Throughout humanity, people have avoided other people for many reasons. Whether it's the differences between two people or the wrongdoings of one person, it almost seems like human nature for people to distance themselves from each other. A person would think that over time society would become more tolerant of others, but instead it seems that things that were considered unsuitable for society in the past are still true today. Traditions and beliefs are still prevalent today and when someone goes against them, it is seen as a reason to create a pariah person. Whether it is the lepers of the past or the whistleblowers of today, shunning is still commonplace in today's society. Today's shunned people are a new breed. With the Internet, information spreads like wildfire, creating scandals overnight and turning a person into an outcast. One of the most widespread examples of this type of person is Edward Snowden. Snowden worked for the US government in both the CIA and NSA for many years. While working for the government, he found many things wrong with the way they worked, but he imagined that the election of Barack Obama in 2008 would create reforms in the government (Greenwald, MacAskill, and Poitras). To Snowden's dismay, no reform came; in fact, Obama pushed for the same corrupt policies that Snowden hated (Greenwald, MacAskill and Poitras). In 2013, Snowden felt it was time to publish the classified government documents he was so concerned about on the Internet, that he trusted to make public what should be public and what should remain secret (Greenwald, MacAskill and Poitras) . His motivations for doing so seemed harmless enough. When asked why he released the documents, he said: “They're all like this… in the middle of paper… on the Internet, news and rumors spread equally. It seems that whether it's the hottest celebrity of the day involved in a scandal, or the average civil servant releasing government information, people are quick to shun those who do something distasteful in the eyes of the common man. Whether this is the right thing to do for society is up for debate, but at the moment avoidance is a stronghold in everyday life. Work Cited Gerstein, Josh "President Obama Hits Out Edward Snowden Over NSA Leaks." Political. January 17, 2014. Network. February 20, 2014.Greenwald, Glenn, Ewen MacAskill, and Laura Poitras. “Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind the NSA Surveillance Revelations.” The Guardian. June 9, 2013. Web. February 20, 2014.Labott, Elise and Mariano Castillo. “Edward Snowden will not be pressured to end asylum, Russia says.” CNN. January 24, 2014. Web. February 20 2014.