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Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

bbc.com

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Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#391

Post by pydry »

taf2 wrote: post #365
rmbyrro wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's an infinite number of alternate explanations I see only one reasonably acceptable alternate explanation. He either committed suicide or was suicided by someone at Boeing terrified about what would happen to them in jail.

Or killed by a nation state that thrives on creating conflict by amplifying two sided situations that lead to increased polarization and more instability… the problem with speculation is it’s just that speculation… I’m going to wait and see

Sure they did. While we're talking tall conspiracy theories - ill bet Biden had Navalny killed too for the same reason /s

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#392

Post by concinds »

d--b wrote: post #165

What a strange article. - whistleblower dies Blablabla - self inflicted wound Blablabla - he was bound to testify the next day Blablabla - he was found dead in his truck in a parking lot It sounds like the journalist thinks it was murder but can’t write it cause it’s illegal somehow. The result is a piece that almost reads like a satyrical piece from the Onion.

> It sounds like the journalist thinks it was murder but can’t write it

It sounds like a basic and uncontroversial recitation of the facts. People here project their own psychology (and cultural imprints courtesy of Hollywood) onto it, with high cynicism and distrust that extends not just to Boeing but to authority figures in general (police, courts).

Otherwise this thread would be about HNers' experience with whistleblowing and suicidal thoughts, which is all the story actually mentions.

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#393

Post by Clubber »

yifanl wrote: post #61

I'm just going to take this story at face value, there's an infinite number of alternate explanations that I'd be powerless to talk about. I've had my own (thankfully brief) moments where I've thought about suicide just from the perception that my coworkers, my bosses, the entire world, just does not care about doing the right thing. Mr Barnett worked for the same company for over three decades and physically watched…

>my coworkers, my bosses, the entire world, just does not care about doing the right thing.

I was pondering today about how the current economic condition of the populace incentivizes workers (everybody) to ignore moral concerns. If you saw something that really bothered you morally and were to blow the whistle and it hit the news cycle, you would never be able to work in your field again. You would probably get sued (legitimately or not). You could no longer provide for yourself or your family; probably for the rest of your life.

I worked at an immoral company; a small health insurance company that constantly weaseled out of paying claims. They even fired a new worker who had gotten in a car accident just so they wouldn't have to pay for it; the health insurance provided to employees was from the company's product line. They would always say, "we're not denying you care, we just aren't going to pay for it." One time a disgruntled customer or family member showed up with a gun to the office. This was decades ago and I did the only thing I felt I could do. I left when I could and I feel pretty good about it. They were eventually shut down by the state for not paying claims. I would have left earlier but I had rent and bills to pay. That's how modern economic conditions incentivize people to ignore moral concerns.

Long story short, if you feel you are working at a company that forces you to ignore moral concerns and you can't overcome it, work towards getting the fuck out as soon as you can financially.

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#394

Post by kaycey2022 »

hef19898 wrote: post #371
rmbyrro wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's an infinite number of alternate explanations I see only one reasonably acceptable alternate explanation. He either committed suicide or was suicided by someone at Boeing terrified about what would happen to them in jail.

Somehow, most people fail to see the obvious: The ongoing FAA audits at both, Spirit Aerospace and Boeing (so far it looks horrible based on initial reporting) will identify each and every single verifiable whistleblower claim anyways. So no, despite the general retaliation against whistleblowers out of princial (for the record, that alone is illegal and should be punished a lot harder and more often), Boeing as a co…

Why do you think this FAA audit will not be corrupted?

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#395

Post by LastTrain »

taf2 wrote: post #365
rmbyrro wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's an infinite number of alternate explanations I see only one reasonably acceptable alternate explanation. He either committed suicide or was suicided by someone at Boeing terrified about what would happen to them in jail.

Or killed by a nation state that thrives on creating conflict by amplifying two sided situations that lead to increased polarization and more instability… the problem with speculation is it’s just that speculation… I’m going to wait and see

“I’m not going to speculate but here is the most wild and unfounded bit of speculation I can think of…”

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#396

Post by polygamous_bat »

hef19898 wrote: post #371
rmbyrro wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's an infinite number of alternate explanations I see only one reasonably acceptable alternate explanation. He either committed suicide or was suicided by someone at Boeing terrified about what would happen to them in jail.

Somehow, most people fail to see the obvious: The ongoing FAA audits at both, Spirit Aerospace and Boeing (so far it looks horrible based on initial reporting) will identify each and every single verifiable whistleblower claim anyways. So no, despite the general retaliation against whistleblowers out of princial (for the record, that alone is illegal and should be punished a lot harder and more often), Boeing as a co…

Here’s a question for you: why do we punish people who have already committed a crime?

As a deterrence. This may as well be making an example of a whistleblower to signal potential future whistleblowers to stay silent.

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#397

Post by dfxm12 »

S_A_P wrote: post #384

What I don’t understand is how does Boeing expect to make the issues go away? Covering up the problems just kicks the can down the road. They still have shoddy planes out in the world. Is quarterly performance now more important than not having planes fall out of the sky somewhere later on? I guess I’m naive here.

Whistleblowers dying in suspicious circumstances is more about sending a message to potential future whistleblowers than anything else.

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#398

Post by hiatus »

mcv wrote: post #293
rockbruno wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Humanity has had people who did not care about doing the right thing since forever, and still we thrived. As long as someone is doing the right thing, we're on the right track. Relevant video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mScpHTIi-kM

It helps to give power to people who care about doing the right thing, instead of to people who don't care. Democracy tends towards the former, but capitalism tends towards the latter.

> Democracy tends towards the former, but capitalism tends towards the latter.

How did you arrive at this conclusion? The earliest versions of democracy used sortition for selection and thus couldn't account for doing the right thing. And of course we all know about the "tyranny of the majority" so I wonder why you believe democracy is somehow biased to selecting "people who care about doing the right thing".

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#399

Post by hef19898 »

kaycey2022 wrote: post #394
hef19898 wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somehow, most people fail to see the obvious: The ongoing FAA audits at both, Spirit Aerospace and Boeing (so far it looks horrible based on initial reporting) will identify each and every single verifiable whistleblower claim anyways. So no, despite the general retaliation against whistleblowers out of princial (for the record, that alone is illegal and should be punished a lot harder and more often), Boeing as a co…

Why do you think this FAA audit will not be corrupted?

To come down to the general quality of discusion: reasons.

On a more serious note: Reporting states that Boeing and Spirit failed a third of their audits, so there is that. Also, FAA stopped Boeing from expanding their 737 MAX capacity. Also also, EASA can audit them as well (and very well might, deoending on what findings the FAA audits have; same as the FAA can audit Airbus in Europe).

But hey, if you think up even bigger, broader and deeper conspiracies necessary to make the initial obe believable, I cannot help you, or anyone.

Not the first time I think about quitting this place, for a couple of months now, discussion quality ain't any better than then comment section of my local newspaper. And thus really not worth the time.

Re: Boeing whistleblower found dead in US

#400

Post by fddrdplktrew »

mopsi wrote: post #49
esoterica wrote: post #19

[flagged]

> Nobody working for a megacorp is loyal enough to the company to eat a murder charge just to boost their employer’s profits by 1%. You might want to look at the lengths eBay executives went in harassing people who criticized eBay: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/30/1126078948/live-spiders-and-c...

thanks for quoting his comment, because HN hides it from me.
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