Whistle-Blowers

"Lehman Whistle Blower's Fate: Fired" by Michael Corkery, The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2010

This article brings up a lot of the problems I have with business and society in general. When someone points out that a business is doing something wrong, why do we use a pejorative term, 'whistle-blower', to describe them and what they did? If they are doing the right thing--the morally right thing--why would we describe what they do this way?

To add insult to injury, as evidenced by this article, when someone does the right thing, they are fired for their actions. You can talk about 'whistle-blower protections' all you want, but I don't think they work. People who stand up for what is right and for the truth always seem to do so at great personal expense. I believe there is a perception that most people won't report wrong doing for that very reason--they are afraid they will lose their jobs and their livelihood. So, IMO, the very people who could have helped prevent the financial melt-down didn't because they were probably afraid for their jobs.

I don't believe whistle-blower protections work because, I believe, they are too easy to subvert. People see that and are too afraid to stand up for what is right for that very reason. People, like the guy in this article, who do stand up for what is right end up suffering extremely for their actions.

I think we should stop calling these people 'whistle-blowers' and instead identify them as people who stand up for the right thing. Protections for these people should be increased and we should be heralding them as heroes for the system.

I know I'm babbling, but...just my thoughts.