Regarding the whistleblower and whether to out him/her, consider this.

Scenario 1: Tom is walking down the hall at work. Bill and Sue see him and ask where he is going. Tom replies, “Someone told me it is snowing outside.” Bill and Sue follow Tom outside where, sure enough, it is snowing.

Bill and Sue ask, “Who told you it was snowing out here?”

Tom replies, “What difference does it make who told me? We can all clearly see it is snowing.”

Scenario 2: Willy is a custodian at a large missile manufacturing company. He has noticed that Homer has been doing some very bad things. Willy knows that Lisa, Marge and Mo have all witnessed this bad behavior, but they will not turn their friend in. Willy is fearful if he turns this information into the proper higher-ups, he will probably lose his job. Willy decides to do the patriotic thing and become a whistleblower. His identity should never be known. The company investigates Willy’s claim. They talk with Lisa, Marge and Mo. Under oath they say, yes, the allegations against Homer are correct.

Answer me this. Why does anyone at this point need to know who the whistleblower is? If the whistleblower is outed, would anyone else ever dare do what Willy did?

One another note. Who do you believe? Several highly-decorated civil servants and veterans? Or a sleazy, cheating real estate developer?

Al Helgerson

Albert Lea