Where did the meme come from that civil disobedience requires you to sit in jail afterwards?

[Waiting For Everyman]

93. It's a silly idea that comes from nowhere, simply made up

as a way to throw mud on someone who has done something they wouldn't have the courage to do, nor even the moral compass to find such an abuse of the Constitution intolerable to the point of taking such a stand in the first place. It's only a way to try and create the illusion that they are morally superior to such a person, when in fact they know they are not.

Unless any of them who make such criticisms have been in the position of facing 20+ years themselves, and had the chance to leave the country but chose to stay and stand trial instead, they have no room to talk. How many would that be, I wonder? Any so qualified can reply to this post. Btw, I am one. And I throw no stones at Snowden for his choice. He did the right thing, given the condition of law and justice today.