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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 (tha

• ocdtrekkie 3y ago
  And he not only watched the company fail spectacularly, in several of those cases those failures were connected to deaths, which I imagine he could feel personally responsible for not preventing, even if the corporate machine is really where the responsibility lies.
  • salawat 3y ago
    Table stakes for QA. It would have been worse because he reported and escalated these things just to end up having his department butchered further. I still don't see a snap happening until after the testimony was over.
    • hef19898 3y ago
      Those depositions are extremely stressfull. Add in years if not decades of emotional stress, prior. So yes, that can cause depression and can lead to suicide. Another case where this happened was Therabis Edit: Theranos, obviously (my Pixel 7 keyboard and I won't become close friends any time soon): one of their lead scientists, who very much opposed cheating and their approach, developed a depression because of that and him being completely sidelined. He committed suicide the day before his scheduled depossition in a patent case. Both cases are tragic, as is every suicide. Just because his death is convenient, doesn't mean in it was foul play...
      • riffraff 3y ago
        > Therabis Do you mean Theranos? Therabis seem to be CBD weed for dogs, which I deeply hope has not caused any deaths.
        • lostlogin 3y ago
          > Therabis Caninabis would have been a better name.
          • miningape 3y ago
            I hope you don't mind me stealing this
  • ratg13 3y ago
    So the guy goes on for years being an outspoken whistleblower telling his story to anyone that would listen, and decides while in his hotel waiting for his deposition that now would be the best time to end it and not move forward with holding Boeing accountable. Occam's razor isn't pointed in the direction you think it is.
    • ocdtrekkie 3y ago
      I mean, you are welcome to believe that, but if I was a betting man (or had money to bet), I doubt the company had him killed. Corporate malfeasance, even that kills people, is rarely likely to put people in jail and executives are still likely to end up wealthy. Conducting the most obvious corporate assassination possible under extreme public scrutiny would lead to criminal prosecution of individuals that would definitely result in prison time. Meanwhile, suicide is extremely rarely logical, and people who end there often were anywhere from having their entire future ahead of them to being amidst some of their most profound success.
• leetrout 3y ago
  > from the perception that my coworkers, my bosses, the entire world, just does not care about doing the right thing. How did you overcome this?
  • hiddencost 3y ago
    Quit
    • acje 3y ago
      +1 for quitting. This can be life saving. Finding new purpose then becomes possible.
      • webninja 3y ago
        The probable with quitting is that you can’t change the company from within anymore.
        • MrDresden 3y ago
          Missing a /s here for sure, no?
        • shiroiushi 3y ago
          The idea that an employee can change a company from within is fantastical thinking.
          • mcv 3y ago
            It depends on your position and on the company. There are situations where you can have impact, in which case you should definitely use that. There have been plenty of cases where employees did seriously change corporate policies, but that's usually either in small companies or in companies where employees band together. And often the only impact you can have is to quit and take your skills to a more responsible company.
        • glitchcrab 3y ago
• aydyn 3y ago
  [flagged]
  • hef19898 3y ago
    By whom?
    • aydyn 3y ago
      Someone who'd be facing criminal charges by his testimony.
  • bilekas 3y ago
    > Occam's razor From my point of view Occam's razor here wouldn't be assassination. It's would be as mentioned above, mental health and overwhelmed by the sheer impact of your whistleblowing. Maybe there is no Occam's razor here if there's no obvious answer.
    • aydyn 3y ago
      suicide due to mental health makes zero sense. sorry you just have to introduce way too many elements. The real explanation is simple.
      • callalex 3y ago
        I am grateful that you have been so fortunate in life to not even understand how someone’s feelings could lead to suicide.
        • aydyn 3y ago
          Thanks, nice strawman tho
      • bilekas 3y ago
        > suicide due to mental health makes zero sense. I hope this is just bad phrasing and will assume you mean just for this whistleblowers case. We don't know though. Assassination AFTER the whistleblower information has been released and is now out in the open really doesn't make any sense to me though. As conspiracies go, its not even humorous.
• furyg3 3y ago
  Just to chime in on the 'alternate explanations', I think it's important for anyone with conspiracy ideas to remember that the case he was being questioned in was not an investigation into Boeings liability as an airplane manufacturer, but rather a civil suit he made against Boeing for defamation of character.
  • sparrowInHand 3y ago
    And companys would never bring the full instruments to force on a single person. PIs etc, psycho-terror and so on and so forth..
    • worewood 3y ago
      The Ebay stalking case comes up to mind
      • ceejayoz 3y ago
        Which only came to light because they were shockingly inept about it. That case absolutely made me wonder about how many big corporations have successfully executed more subtle versions of the tactic.
        • sparrowInHand 3y ago
          There is a name for that kind of state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic
  • hammock 3y ago
    Your comment borders on gaslighting. Barnett was involved in a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing, alleging serious safety concerns at the North Charleston plant, where he managed quality for the 787 Dreamliner production. He claimed the push for speed compromised safety, with sub-standard parts being used and a significant failure rate in emergency oxygen systems. Despite raising these issues, he felt his concerns were disregarded, leading to legal action against Boeing, alleging career damage due to his whistleblowing.
• sylware 3y ago
  I endure the feature creeps of computer languages with their compiler implementations (ISO and gcc extensions are the worse). Sneaky and vicious planned obsolescence scheme on a 5-10 years cycle. It is very accute too. Just a bunch of scammers with an army of brain washed dudes or worse. We have a name for them: Big Tech. Everybody has limits. But in this very case, this is extremely unfortunate timing... or even more fishy than expected. Whatever, something is off in Boeing. Some screws need tightening ...
• mdekkers 3y ago
  > 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. Please share how you managed with this. I’ve been here for a few years - since I lost my wife - and some days I can barely hang on.
  • camgunz 3y ago
    I have some experience with this. My advice is that these episodes come in waves and thus a simple yet vital rule has literally kept me alive: don't do it; this will pass. That plus therapy and a brief stint on antidepressants swung me from suicidal ideation to optimism. I do think you have to watch your environment too. Just like alcoholics don't typically hang out in bars, we shouldn't hang out in places/jobs that depress us. All of this is easier to say than do. I wish you the best.
    • mdekkers 3y ago
      Thank you. I am unable to find a therapist, and I was unable to manage with antidepressants. My mechanism right now is "see if you still feel this way a week from now" which - so far - helps. It isn't so much that I changed my mind, but more that I understand that there are people that depend on me being around. Job is indeed a major factor. I don't currently work in a great place - it is generally a rather toxic place - and age-discrimination is, like most of the industry, rife. Pushing 54 it is hard to find a new gig, especially in this market, which doesn't help at all. After 30 years working at the forefront of this industry solving some of the hardest problems around, my skills, experience, and insights are just no longer required. Life circumstances have left me without any kind of options for retirement, early or otherwise, so this is me for the rest of my life; I'm likely to die behind my keyboard. I'd rather go out on my own terms, watching the sun set behind the sea.
      • hef19898 3y ago
        Not sure what to say, I always had family to catch me, intentionally or not, when I came even remotely close to what you are going through. All I can think of is this: nothing is worth sacrificing your life for. That, and most likely you are not alone, even if you din't know it. I am no religious person, so no prayers, but I sincerly hope you get through this!
• rmbyrro 3y ago
  > 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.
  • taf2 3y ago
    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
    • ReflectedImage 3y ago
      Wait and see for what exactly?
    • pydry 3y ago
      Sure they did. While we're talking tall conspiracy theories - ill bet Biden had Navalny killed too for the same reason /s
    • LastTrain 3y ago
      “I’m not going to speculate but here is the most wild and unfounded bit of speculation I can think of…”
      • rmbyrro 3y ago
        "That's the problem with speculation (...)", which is: it's used to discredit the most plausible explanations.
        • tempaccount420 3y ago
          It's poisoning the well when others are arguing in good faith with reasonable explanations.
    • mlrtime 3y ago
• cptaj 3y ago
  The thing about being a very rational person like this, is that you're very easy to manipulate.
  • Bengalilol 3y ago
    ? I don't get your remark
    • throwway120385 3y ago
      I think he's saying that you're too willing to believe the reasonable, plausible explanation that falls out of Occam's Razor, as opposed to accepting whatever embattled fringe theory of the day also fits the available evidence.
      • ecoquant 3y ago
        It is almost like Occam's Razor proposes some type of probability distribution, not discounting the fringe completely but suggesting as a heuristic that the most simple is most likely. Some people though seem to like this Anti-Occam's Razor that the most complex and interesting explanation is most likely even though they have to know from everyday experience that is simply not true and not how the world works.
  • rootusrootus 3y ago
    Said every conspiracy theorist ever.
• Clubber 3y ago
  >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.