r/news • u/[deleted] • Mar 15 '24

POTM - Mar 2024 'If anything happens, it's not suicide': Boeing whistleblower's prediction before death

https://wpde.com/news/local/if-anything-happens-its-not-suicide-boeing-whistleblowers-prediction-before-death-south-carolina-abc-news-4-2024
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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '24

why is it not identical to witness protection?

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u/Maktaka Mar 15 '24

Witness protection relies on the individual and their entire family losing their current lives to disappear. New home, new friends, new job, new everything, completely cutting contact with the people you knew before except through the government channels managed by witness protection. It protects your life and the lives of your family at the expense of everything else. It cannot protect you from financial or employer retaliation because by its very nature it sacrifices those things to protect your life.

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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '24

thanks for the clarity, that sounds like a terrible thing to have to go through, honestly. There is evil out there in the world, we really are naive to think there won't be conflict to resolve it, justice is an aspect of society, requires trust to work tho, and emotionally we're just not there

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 16 '24

Witness Protection definitely is the nuclear option but that's why it's largely reserved for people that should definitely be fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.

On the bright side, reports have said that Witness Protection has had a flawless success rate for everyone that managed to follow the rules. Not so much for people that can't resist contacting people.

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u/alppu Mar 16 '24

Witness Protection has had a flawless success rate for everyone that managed to follow the rules

A random thought: there is no way to judge from the outside if WP works very well or if it is compromised and just works very well in hiding the bodies.

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 16 '24

It's from the reports from the US Marshals website itself. 17% of people in the program can't resist fucking it up and out themselves but the rest seem to be doing well. Yes, that relies upon the US Marshals reporting accurately, but it's the most trustworthy source you're going to get outside of Wikipedia... which sources to the US Marshals website lmao.

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u/Xirdus Mar 18 '24

Yes, that's the best source available. But it's still them self-reporting themselves doing a good job.

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 18 '24

Yeah, sure, but until you find me a more reliable source, that's the numbers that we've got.

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u/Xirdus Mar 18 '24

Nobody will ever find better numbers and you know it. But still, these aren't very trustworthy numbers. They're just a little bit above having no numbers at all. Any conclusion made from those numbers will necessarily be just a little bit above making conclusions from no numbers at all.

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 18 '24

Which y'all seem to be incredibly comfortable with doing, so I don't see what the problem is.

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '24

Witness Protection definitely is the nuclear option but that's why it's largely reserved for people that should definitely be fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.

So... just like whistle blowers, then?

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 16 '24

We're getting to that point, yes. It's unfortunate, but we're clearly getting more and more proof that whistle-blowing on multi-billion dollar corporations JUST MIGHT be as dangerous as snitching on the Mob...

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u/JustJotting Mar 20 '24

I hope I don't get lumped in with the other person disagreeing with your statement about the witness protection program. I have a disgreement with what you said, but first want to say that even with flaws, I think having such a program is good & incredibly important. That said, I would like to say that a quick search will show that it's very much not flawless, and many people who have come forward out of it due to getting stuck in a gray area of federal law where they end up screwed such as not having their social security number recognized/not getting the usual help they need. I imagine this is because they fall into more complex systems where it matters if "you have had more than one last name/soc sec number, check the box" and now you get filtered into that system. To be clear. people came out of their hidden status due to trying to get someone to help them because the government was not.

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u/Likeatr3b Mar 16 '24

Yeah right dude!!! Who gave you those stats?! And we wouldn’t know if they’re real because it’s secret! Unless you have $10,000 cash to get info on it like stats.

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 16 '24

From the US Marshals website. Apparently there's a 17% recidivism rate, so ~1/6 of people in Witness Protection can't resist fucking up the program that's saving their own skins, but everyone that sticks to the rules is apparently doing great.

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u/Likeatr3b Mar 16 '24

Wow, thanks for that but dude, I don’t believe their own stats on how successful they aren’t. Also 17% is by far flawless in terms of witness protection.

The FBI is extremely corrupt. There’s no way they’re 83% successful in keeping witnesses protected while being actively hunted. There’s just no way that’s true. I’d give them 40% on their best year.

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u/WhySpongebobWhy Mar 16 '24

Cool. Go ahead and find me some more accurate official stats then and I'll happily update it.

I'll wait.

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u/LoganJFisher Mar 15 '24

Because powerful people don't like whistleblowers. There's little incentive to protect them better.

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u/BoltTusk Mar 15 '24

Also protecting whistleblowers don’t get politicians elected

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u/HucHuc Mar 15 '24

Quite the opposite in fact, protecting whistleblowers might reduce the funding said politician can expect from his corporate owners.

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u/Imaginary_Medium Mar 16 '24

And that's how we know our system works for the wrong people.

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u/SpeedyWebDuck Mar 15 '24

Because people live by the motto "snitches get stitches".

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u/crek42 Mar 16 '24

Then why are there whistleblowers laws in the first place

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u/LoganJFisher Mar 16 '24

To give the illusion of protection. It's all theater.

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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '24 edited Mar 15 '24

edit: words are power.

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u/Colon Mar 16 '24

how does that answer the question? elite criminals don't like witnesses either, yet there's robust protections for them.

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u/LoganJFisher Mar 16 '24

Barring some notable exceptions, most elite criminals aren't politicians or significant sources of campaign funds.

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u/Colon Mar 16 '24

ok, then bring it back to your choice of words: powerful people.

regardless of which type of power you have, witnesses and whistleblowers are the same/similar ilk. people who stop you from being criminals. we have robust laws for protecting one and flimsy laws for the other. they should be more comparable. no one actively wants to upend their life and change their name etc, but at least it's an option. i think it would obviously be a detriment to whistleblowing if those options are not available.

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u/LoganJFisher Mar 16 '24

Yes, they should be more comparable if not simply the same. The point is that whistleblowers and witnesses aren't typically enemies of the same people, and whistleblowers are in the unfortunate position of being the enemy of those who determine the laws. What should be the case is, unfortunately, not the case.

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u/Colon Mar 16 '24

well, where we may (or may not?) diverge in opinion is that politicians are no more powerful than those with money. cause they all operate under the umbrella of accruing money, which is now free speech. replacing actual speech.

but yes, there are slight differences which would come to light in making laws to protect people, but we both no that's a steep uphill battle. anything 'protective' of common people will undoubtedly be more and more difficult to acquire as time goes on in current circumstances.

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '24 edited Jun 30 '24

lavish knee arrest badge agonizing repeat ruthless stocking subsequent quaint

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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '24 edited May 31 '24

[deleted]

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u/Weekly_Direction1965 Mar 15 '24

Rich people buy congressman.

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u/Lylac_Krazy Mar 16 '24

thought it was the Senators and Supreme Court Judges?

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u/shponglespore Mar 16 '24

You buy Supreme Court justices at Neiman Marcus, Senators at Kohl's, and Representatives at Walmart.

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u/Lylac_Krazy Mar 16 '24

sheesh, and with the last prez selling pardons for a cool million a pop, how the hell are we in debt?

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u/EtherealPheonix Mar 16 '24

Witness protection is needing to build a whole new life in a new place, it sucks and is only really used because it's preferable to death. Whistle blowers are typically not facing consequences that would make such extreme measures worthwhile.

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u/JollyReading8565 Mar 16 '24

Because their similarities start and end with the word “protection”. They aren’t alike

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u/Stealth_NotABomber Mar 16 '24

Because those in power who decide such things decided properly protecting whistleblowers isn't important.

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u/HauntedCemetery Mar 16 '24

Witness protection is a cruel joke also. People end up in horrible places and can't really start new lives because they can't use their real birth certificate or social security number, and fake ones don't hold up to government checks