Whistle-blower protection is as old as the Republic itself.
October 7, 2019 12:52 PM   Subscribe

Why America Needs Whistle-Blowers In the American tradition, whistle-blowers expose illegal or unconstitutional acts that the powerful want to keep secret.

The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 provides protection to all government employees except national security employees. The 1998 Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act and Mr. Obama’s executive order PPD-19 attempted to carve out a safe space for whistle-blowing in the intelligence community despite the national security exception, but national security whistle-blowers do not currently have full statutory protection.

Rolling Stone: The ‘Whistleblower’ Probably Isn’t - The common thread in whistleblower stories is loneliness. Typically the employer has direct control over their ability to pursue another job in their profession. Many end up reviled as traitors, thieves, and liars. They often discover after going public that their loved ones have a limited appetite for sharing the ignominy. In virtually all cases, they end up having to start over, both personally and professionally.

AP:Trump-Ukraine whistleblower is part of long tradition

MTV: Why Whistleblowers are as American as the Declaration of Independence - David Colapinto, a lawyer and one of the founders of the National Whistleblower Center, told MTV News that whistleblowers risk losing their careers, damaging their reputations, and even “bodily harm.”

NPR: 'Whistleblowing Is Really In Our DNA': A History Of Reporting Wrongdoing - "Whistleblowing is a career-limiting phenomenon in the federal workforce," he says. "That's why a lot of people don't do it."

The Hill: Whistleblowers and the hypocrisy of the ruling class - Whistleblowers dare to do so, possessed of a moral courage few of us can imagine — indeed, the kind of courage we say we admire when we’re talking about the military and national security communities. In the face of life-destroying consequences, they throw a spotlight on the shame of the U.S. government, not to undermine the rule of law and foment chaos, but to reveal to the public, to “we the people,” the base criminality of our “protectors.”
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The moral duplicity that characterizes the role of the U.S. government in the world is among the most remarkable (if unremarked upon) features of American life.


Time: Before the Trump Impeachment Inquiry, These Were American History's Most Famous Whistle-Blowers

The Daily Beast: I Was a Whistleblower. The Trump Whistleblower Is About to Go Through Hell.

Whistle Blowers of America: promoting #UsToo in overcoming whistleblower retaliation
posted by allkindsoftime (1 comment total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Whistleblowers are true patriots and friends of the citizens. We should glorify them, hail them as freedom fighters. I'm sure the demographic here doesn't need to be told the virtues of whistleblowers but it is still sad the treatment these heroes get. "Snitches get stitches" seems to be a more common sentiment, which has it's place, but is absolutely disgusting when applied to the government. Everyone should snitch on the government and those snitches should get riches.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:37 AM on October 8, 2019 [5 favorites]


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