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The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

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Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#51

Post by Retra »

daveFNbuck wrote: post #44
Retra wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>look at Snowden. The guy ruined his own life and nobody still gives a damn. Was it worth it? i dont think so. If it wasn't worth it, you wouldn't know his name, and you wouldn't be talking about it today. Does that count for nothing to you?

Would you ruin your life if it guaranteed I'd know your name and mention you 6 years later as an example of someone who ruined their life without achieving anything?

You're not the only one talking about him, and that very much contradicts 'not achieving anything'. In any case, your individual perspective being contrary to my claim isn't anything meaningful here, because there isn't an impactful person on this planet who hasn't had their accomplishments trivialized by somebody.

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#52

Post by gadders »

readhn wrote: post #15
gadders wrote: post #10

This guy did OK out of being a whistleblower (barring the prison sentence): https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tax-birkenfeld/whistl...

you cant put a price on time behind prison bars and away from your family. what if during that time his father died? was 100million "worth it"?

"Hey, [Leader of Gang X], there's a $1,000,000 in it if no harm comes to me by the end of my sentence."

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#53

Post by iheartpotatoes »

edoo wrote: post #26

This reads like an advertisement for the FBI. A bigger story is how Obama removed protections and actively attacked whistle blowers after promising the most transparent government ever. That had true toll.

You mean like when Obama got legislation passed to protect them?

https://www.whistleblowers.org/news/obama-signs-whistleblowe...

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#54

Post by edoo »

iheartpotatoes wrote: post #53
edoo wrote: post #26

This reads like an advertisement for the FBI. A bigger story is how Obama removed protections and actively attacked whistle blowers after promising the most transparent government ever. That had true toll.

You mean like when Obama got legislation passed to protect them? https://www.whistleblowers.org/news/obama-signs-whistleblowe...

I mean more like his actual actions vs campaign promises. As usual the name of the legislation is the opposite of what it does. That bill allowed further restrictions on government employees, attempting to unshield them from the 1989 whistleblower protection act.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-van-buren/silencing-whi...

https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/jan/10...

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#55

Post by jonathanstrange »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #23

For me, Mark Felt sets the right template - get other people to do the publicising, leak anonymously and keep heavily in the shadows. Sometimes literally. Just do not put your head above the parapet.

Some whistleblowers might have dismissed this option out of fear for their live. Being under public scrutiny can provide a lot of safety.

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#56

Post by smush »

arminiusreturns wrote: post #20
readhn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pretty typical. look at Snowden. The guy ruined his own life and nobody still gives a damn. Was it worth it? i dont think so. He definitely should have kept quiet even if it was against his own personal beliefs. It sucks but it is what it is. HSBC got slapped on the wrist for laundering cartel money. "If you’re suspected of drug involvement, America takes your house; HSBC admits to laundering cartel billions, loses f…

First off I don't think you can make that determination, (was it worth it), only Snowden himself can. Second, while the toll was high for him, those of us who have sworn an oath to the Constitution take that oath very seriously and I applaud him for being one of the rare ones with enough conviction to act on his beliefs instead of just spouting them. Third I am eternally grateful to Snowden because without him all my…

Any other things the public hasn't caught up on that you care to share?

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#57

Post by fixermark »

chrisbennet wrote: post #39
ramblerouser wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is totally incorrect. The high conviction rate is a result of extremely high maximum sentences. People who are 100% innocent often plead guilty after being threatened with a 30-year prison sentence that would be only 1 or 2 years under local law. Many federal crimes are unconstitutional and deliberately vague, like "lying (not volunteering incriminating evidence) to an investigator" and "mail fraud" which is jus…

I assume whomever downvoted You has forgotten what happened to Aaron Schwartz.

... or they know about the time a woman in Pennsylvania was able to seek justice by getting her murder-attempting neighbor on mail fraud when the local cops wouldn't do anything.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/21/us.scotus.toxic.love/ind...

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#58

Post by Loughla »

Gibbon1 wrote: post #31
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two points: of course you can put a price on being away from your family. It's called a job, a millions of people do it all the time, often for long, extended periods (e.g. the military, expeditions, etc.) Being in prison is obviously extreme, but if getting out with several lifetimes of wealth means you never have to work again, could easily be a fair trade off. Second, he went to jail because he committed crimes fr…

> Two points: of course you can put a price on being away from your family. It's called a job In all due respect this is an opinion born of a sheltered life.

Explain that, please. Because I'm with OP. For most people, a job is something you do because you don't want to starve. Please explain your statement, because I think you have it backwards.

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#59

Post by ilaksh »

For me there is a related issue that is just as problematic or worse. There are certain things that are critical of the US government that are simply not allowed to be spoken in most US centric places. The public effectively censors itself. I could mention some specific things but that would trigger it and then no one would see my comment. In general you can get away with mentioning things from the distant past but nothing particularly heinous or recent. I think that this is because people want to believe that their side has a moral high ground.

Re: The Personal Toll of Whistle-Blowing

#60

Post by dasil003 »

chrisbennet wrote: post #39
ramblerouser wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is totally incorrect. The high conviction rate is a result of extremely high maximum sentences. People who are 100% innocent often plead guilty after being threatened with a 30-year prison sentence that would be only 1 or 2 years under local law. Many federal crimes are unconstitutional and deliberately vague, like "lying (not volunteering incriminating evidence) to an investigator" and "mail fraud" which is jus…

I assume whomever downvoted You has forgotten what happened to Aaron Schwartz.

Swartz
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