7 ms·
It didn't hurt that Congress basically threatened to administer the corporate death penalty to Morton Thiokol if they retaliated against McDonald and others in
by hyperbovine 6y ago
It didn't hurt that Congress basically threatened to administer the corporate death penalty to Morton Thiokol if they retaliated against McDonald and others in any way:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-joint-resolution/634/text?r=85&s=1 https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-joint-reso...
- irjustin 6y agoThat's post fact. He blew the whistle before and very publicly. This event almost doesn't matter because he didn't care he would have gotten demoted - he was driven by being able to do the right thing. I believe there's a moment before he doesn't sign off on the launch or maybe just before he speaks out against his employer in front of the presidential commission... what will happen to me? what will happen to my family, 4 children? What work will I do? How do I make money? this is all I know... If you've ever worried about your future, job prospects, the unknown, the fear of not being able to provide, these thoughts are heavy. He made this decision and would gladly make it again regardless of outcome. I wish I could say the same for myself.
- 300bps 6y agoIf you've ever worried about your future, job prospects, the unknown, the fear of not being able to provide, these thoughts are heavy. And I can imagine him wondering, as any introspective person would, “what if I’m wrong?” That has to add to the stress.
- 6pac3rings 6y agoIs there a hall of fame to put him in not sponsored by Boing?
- dstick 6y ago> I wish I could say the same for myself. Care to elaborate a little? Seems like your experience could help others in a similar situation.
- irjustin 6y agoNothing remotely close. I'm simply asking, that given the situation, would I have made the same decision? That I could be such a hero. But am I willing to stick my neck out? Risk my career, who will hire me? Maybe someone will, but I just put a huge black mark in many's eyes. I have 2 children, a wife, and myself who rely on my income stream. Am I willing to let that go? Do I have to sell my house to make ends meet if I can't get a job? I want to be able to say I could do what McDonald or Snowden did, but if I'm honest, probably not.
- ricksunny 6y agoAt nigh-on 40 years old, I’ve come to believe that ethical violations are routinely perpetrated on the world because good people who would otherwise speak out ‘have a wife and kids to feed’. As if that life decision to start a family, for all of the happiness and wonder that comes from it, plays right into the hands of the management structure inevitably looming over it.
- elliekelly 6y agoI once heard an executive react with glee to the news that a senior compliance officer’s wife was pregnant: “Well now he’s going to have to play nice!” The employee had a reputation for being... particular... before he was willing to sign off on certain things.
- pietrovismara 6y agoIt's almost like we are blackmailed into doing the wrong things all the time (on different levels of "importance"). The fact is that this is a distinct feature of our society, we have to "earn our living" or be left behind. Do we really want to keep such a negative incentive in place?
- layoutIfNeeded 6y ago"A married man with a family will do anything for money" - Talleyrand
- cushychicken 6y agoI had it from his own mouth that Morton Thiokol had plenty of leeway to make his life interesting (read: miserable) before this, and in spite of it.
- AtlasBarfed 6y agoAnd yet did anything happen to the evil machiavellian middle managers despite outright lying to congress? That should be criminal charges.
- yalok 6y agoI wish they would do the same for some of the recent whistle blowers like Vindman.