Self-Exposure as Police Informant

Sociologists keep telling us they can't believe the self-disclosure obsession some narcissists engage in on Facebook, MySpace, Indymedia, etc. Well, Brandon Darby (left) has taken the discussion to new levels. Darby has outed himself on Indymedia as an FBI informant, and will testify against two activists at the Republican National Convention who allegedly were making Molotov cocktails with Darby's help. Darby seems proud of his role.

An argument can be made for an activist who decides to turn state's evidence after s/he sees an action turn more violent than might have been anticipated. But Darby decided in early stages of RNC planning to be an undercover police agent. At the very least, this calls into question any work he did with Austin's Common Ground Relief on post-Katrina recovery. Despite the pride he shows, Darby is apparently unaware of a longstanding ethic that is common to activists of any political stripe: There is nothing virtuous about a snitch.