For those unfamiliar with the experiences of whistleblowers, this might be useful:
What the scapegoat knows - Some have written eloquently of that as “spacewalking”:
“Frank Whitbread is a chemist who worked for a state environmental protection agency. Several times his boss had refused to allow him to testify before a state panel investigating the agency’s failure to test the well water of subdivisions located near sites where hazardous materials had been dumped. Eventually he called up a state senator and told him his story. Shortly thereafter Frank was fired. The state civil service commission made his agency take him back, but he was given no work to do and an office that was once a janitor’s closet.” (p. 75).
Sound familiar? Frank speaks out in the public interest and suffers fierce reprisals from his employer.
But what does it all really mean? In particular, what does it mean for the whistleblower? C. Fred Alford tackles this vital question in his stimulating new book Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power (Cornell University Press, 2001).
Alford is sceptical of the heroic accounts in which the courageous employee brings a corrupt organisation to account, benefiting society and receiving society’s gratitude. Instead, he has a much darker, more pessimistic message. Nearly all whistleblowers are destroyed. They lose their jobs, their careers, their houses, their friends, their families. But that is not the worst part. Most catastrophically, whistleblowers lose their trust in people and justice. (Book review by Brian Martin)
One thing is certain, the Whistleblower Protection Act—no matter how often it is amended—does not and will never protect federal whistleblowers. Agencies still make the lives of whistleblowers a living hell even though protections “may” eventually catch up a couple years after the fact. Also, in any case in which classified information is made public, indictments for felony crimes (including espionage) end any chance of whistleblower protection. Also, don’t get me started on the manufactured ineptitude of the Office of Special Counsel that implements and oversees whistleblower protections. That agency is captured by the deep state.
Also, similarly, never trust a whistleblower who comes out of the deep state. Their purpose, which they dutifully perform, is merely to throw us dogs off the scent. (The possible exception to this is those who actually have their lives ruined and who do the time, then keep spilling the beans.)
Lastly, let’s not forget that the most important secrets are kept by private/corporate contractors in Special Access Programs that are not required to comply with The Whistleblower Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act, and whose employees sign binding, court enforced, Nondisclosure Agreements. We’ll know our society is interested in knowing the truth when real whistleblower protections are extended to private contractors.
Spent most of my career inside the federal agency that spawned PEER. I actually believed substantive change could come from inside. But if my experience and the experience of every employee I ever knew is any indication, the “change from inside” theory is one of those noble ideas that, while meaningful and useful (for those willing to shoulder all the personal negative consequences), ultimately is an institutional impossibility. (See the myths of Prometheus and Sisiphus.) Our current agencies--including all environmental agencies--cannot escape from the metastasized cancer of public/private Empire. OTH, I have nothing but the deepest respect for those kindred spirits who have tried and are still trying to make vital change from inside, and I honor both their victories and defeats. What is highest in me bows to what is highest in you.
I share your frustrations about the effectiveness of inside game, but that never was how I conceived of positive change. The agencies are captured, there is no leadership, and the large majority of the professionals are either careerists, dead wood, or burnt out. Given these dynamics, the whistleblower becomes even more important and necessary for public education, environmental organization credibility, and media coverage to force accountability of the deeply corrupt and rigged regulatory game.
I never “met” DeBonis. He was an outsider by the time of my awakening. And I don’t want to discuss too much here, but as I’m sure you’re aware, the number of formal/public whistleblowers is small compared to the number of stealth whistleblowers within the ranks. At least that is my experience. And those stealth operators have very active backchannel communications with outsiders. High Country News, for example, relied on many insider sources. Nuff said.
Also, I couldn’t agree more about the value of those who go public in environmental agencies. (I am more cautious about my evaluation of whistleblowers from national security agencies.) To paraphrase the New Testament, there is no higher love than to lay down your career for the good of others. But, to paraphrase a common saying, there are many ways to bathe a cat.
For those unfamiliar with the experiences of whistleblowers, this might be useful:
What the scapegoat knows - Some have written eloquently of that as “spacewalking”:
“Frank Whitbread is a chemist who worked for a state environmental protection agency. Several times his boss had refused to allow him to testify before a state panel investigating the agency’s failure to test the well water of subdivisions located near sites where hazardous materials had been dumped. Eventually he called up a state senator and told him his story. Shortly thereafter Frank was fired. The state civil service commission made his agency take him back, but he was given no work to do and an office that was once a janitor’s closet.” (p. 75).
Sound familiar? Frank speaks out in the public interest and suffers fierce reprisals from his employer.
But what does it all really mean? In particular, what does it mean for the whistleblower? C. Fred Alford tackles this vital question in his stimulating new book Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power (Cornell University Press, 2001).
Alford is sceptical of the heroic accounts in which the courageous employee brings a corrupt organisation to account, benefiting society and receiving society’s gratitude. Instead, he has a much darker, more pessimistic message. Nearly all whistleblowers are destroyed. They lose their jobs, their careers, their houses, their friends, their families. But that is not the worst part. Most catastrophically, whistleblowers lose their trust in people and justice. (Book review by Brian Martin)
One thing is certain, the Whistleblower Protection Act—no matter how often it is amended—does not and will never protect federal whistleblowers. Agencies still make the lives of whistleblowers a living hell even though protections “may” eventually catch up a couple years after the fact. Also, in any case in which classified information is made public, indictments for felony crimes (including espionage) end any chance of whistleblower protection. Also, don’t get me started on the manufactured ineptitude of the Office of Special Counsel that implements and oversees whistleblower protections. That agency is captured by the deep state.
Also, similarly, never trust a whistleblower who comes out of the deep state. Their purpose, which they dutifully perform, is merely to throw us dogs off the scent. (The possible exception to this is those who actually have their lives ruined and who do the time, then keep spilling the beans.)
Lastly, let’s not forget that the most important secrets are kept by private/corporate contractors in Special Access Programs that are not required to comply with The Whistleblower Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act, and whose employees sign binding, court enforced, Nondisclosure Agreements. We’ll know our society is interested in knowing the truth when real whistleblower protections are extended to private contractors.
I agree, but know nothing about national security issues
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Bill_Wolfe
Spent most of my career inside the federal agency that spawned PEER. I actually believed substantive change could come from inside. But if my experience and the experience of every employee I ever knew is any indication, the “change from inside” theory is one of those noble ideas that, while meaningful and useful (for those willing to shoulder all the personal negative consequences), ultimately is an institutional impossibility. (See the myths of Prometheus and Sisiphus.) Our current agencies--including all environmental agencies--cannot escape from the metastasized cancer of public/private Empire. OTH, I have nothing but the deepest respect for those kindred spirits who have tried and are still trying to make vital change from inside, and I honor both their victories and defeats. What is highest in me bows to what is highest in you.
USFS - Jeff DeBonis friend?
I share your frustrations about the effectiveness of inside game, but that never was how I conceived of positive change. The agencies are captured, there is no leadership, and the large majority of the professionals are either careerists, dead wood, or burnt out. Given these dynamics, the whistleblower becomes even more important and necessary for public education, environmental organization credibility, and media coverage to force accountability of the deeply corrupt and rigged regulatory game.
I never “met” DeBonis. He was an outsider by the time of my awakening. And I don’t want to discuss too much here, but as I’m sure you’re aware, the number of formal/public whistleblowers is small compared to the number of stealth whistleblowers within the ranks. At least that is my experience. And those stealth operators have very active backchannel communications with outsiders. High Country News, for example, relied on many insider sources. Nuff said.
Also, I couldn’t agree more about the value of those who go public in environmental agencies. (I am more cautious about my evaluation of whistleblowers from national security agencies.) To paraphrase the New Testament, there is no higher love than to lay down your career for the good of others. But, to paraphrase a common saying, there are many ways to bathe a cat.
Agree - the stealth whistleblowers are what PEER calls "anonymous activists". PEER model also strongly discourages career sacrifice.
2001. It's gotten worse since then. I could name names...
I did my own spacewalking, back in 1994.