While the term whistleblower didn’t really make it into popular use until the 1970s, brave individuals have been reporting corruption and abuse for centuries. A current definition of a whistleblower is “An employee of an organization who reports abuse, fraud, corruption, and/or dangers to public health and safety. These individuals often have to turn to public reporting when internal reporting has failed.”
There is a growing list of whistleblowers, many out of the public eye, and some quite famous like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Daniel Ellsberg, Karen Silkwood, Erin Brockovich, and more recently Boeing employees, Joshua Dean and John Barnett, who died under mysterious circumstances. Just looking at this short list gives you an idea of the kind of bravery and risks that are often required when a person is committed to bringing truth into the light.
In his book published in 2019, author Tom Mueller interviewed over two-hundred individuals and their lawyers who prepared them for “battle.” Mueller’s website states that he “analyzed what inspires some to speak out while the rest of us avert our eyes. Whistleblowers, we learn, are the freethinking citizens on whom our republic was conceived.” One of the most poignant interviews is of Peter Buxton who exposed the US government’s Tuskegee syphilis study in which Black men with the disease went untreated for decades, while being told they were.
A more recent book is The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and The Price of Saying No by Carl Elliott. During an interview with Elizabeth Svoboda, Elliott said “he is a gutless wonder.” He describes several early medical school mishaps, including being unprepared but ordered to do a bone marrow biopsy that caused agony for the patient. “Did I know this was wrong? Yes. Did I object? No, I did not.” His book, published in 2024, is more focused on a whistleblower’s moral anatomy, describing the inner retrenchment that happens when frustrated at going unheard by those in power, they grow ever more cynical and aggrieved.”
Carl Elliott is now a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota.
Elliott’s own membership in the disaffected whistleblower club is what lends his book its heft. More than 15 years ago, Elliott became aware of unethical tactics a U of M colleague was using to recruit and retain subjects in a study of the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. Elliott blew the whistle in an article for “Mother Jones” magazine, filed complaints with the university, and looked for ways to start an external review of the dangerous use of the drug.
Like most whistleblowers, Elliott was ignored and demeaned by his own colleagues, especially at a major university talk. “I remember fighting an intense desire to go back to my office, crawl under my desk, and open a bottle of Jack Daniels. It was 9 a.m.”
His interviewees’ stories and his own show that whistleblowers’ primary motives are more idealistic. “They act not because they expect specific results, but because of an inner compulsion; that is, a sense that if they did not speak out, they would no longer be able to tolerate their own presence. How do you stand by and let these things happen? How do you sleep at night? And look yourself in the mirror. I don’t understand.”
Even for us non-whistleblowers, saying what we believe to be true is not always easy. In my lifetime, I’ve remained silent so as not to disagree with or upset someone. Or at least that’s what I told myself at the time – to spare their feelings. But really, was it? Or was it to keep the peace, hold on to a friendship, or missing enough self-confidence in what I believed to be true? I’m thinking it was the latter.
The past four years that have been focused on the pandemic, mandates, and election politics continue to make civil discourse difficult, as well listening to each other with respect and compassion.
I, like many other people, who question the current medical and political narratives, have lost more than a few old and dear friends. As Elliott suggests, we said what we believed regardless of the consequences.
I am certainly not in the whistleblower category and am checking to be sure that I’m not whining. I think what I am sharing is how after so many years of simply shutting up, especially on the job, in relationships, and doubting myself, being true to myself matters far more. I’d go so far as to say it feels much better than I thought possible. I leave it with William Faulkner to what I hope can be true:
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.”
According to www.defendwhistleblowers.com, there are five lessons we all can take away from famous whistleblowers if we discover a wrong that needs to be righted.
- Be brave. A functioning civil society is vital, especially when fraud and corruption go unchecked. Speaking out requires a great deal of courage. And most important – bravery is not the absence of fear, it’s the choice to act in the face of fear.
- Be careful. Take the necessary steps to protect yourself and think twice about who you choose to reveal your concerns.
- Be persistent.
- Be clear. Simply leaking documents without commentary won’t always be effective. And before you share your concerns, try to write a short summary of the issues and practice speaking on the subject. Many people will judge your credibility by how you present your concerns.
- Be ready – for consequences. While there are many national and legal laws on the books, fallout and retaliation still happens. Surrounding yourself with allies, making contingency plans for being fired, having to hide, legal fees, etc. is essential.
Photo credits: Hero – anh–henry-nguyen, Girl with sign – jessica-podraza.