It takes courage to be a whistleblower, or to make any decision different from your peers. It does not take courage to heckle someone on a stage from the safety of a crowd. It happens at almost every comedy show, concert, and sporting event. Heckling someone on stage when you're in the crowd isn't rare at all.
I disagree. This was a situation where a four star general was standing on stage in military uniform, flanked by secret service, with local security also making a visible show of force. It was an intimidating situation amidst a crowd that was largely unsympathetic to critique, and I think it took a certain amount of courage to be the first to yell something.
I thought everything but the "read the constitution!" heckle was well timed and on point. I only wish that more had joined in.
I think I'd agree with you if it were a public crowd at a more neutral venue, but this is the equivalent of saying that the NSA is bad on HN. Gen. Alexander wasn't there to take off the boogeyman mask for the security professionals, he was there to gain sympathy for the NSA, and it worked beautifully.
The hackers were in their own seat of power, and the guy came to them. There was no particular courage there. Had they heckled at, say, a military graduation ceremony he was presiding over, then yes, that would take courage.
