▸ Column · Office parking garage, six p.m., the lights just coming on
CAPTAIN AMERICA replies.
Replied to by Captain America, with a rebuttal from Red Skull.
The letter
I work at a midsized company that is doing something — not illegal, but harmful, and they know it's harmful. I have the evidence. I have what would amount to a journalist's case. Going public would end careers, including those of two colleagues who didn't make the decision but did the work that made it possible. I have a young family. I'm not naive about what happens to whistleblowers in this country. What do I do? — Standing Near The Door
Captain America replies
You already know what the right thing is, friend. You wrote the letter, which means you can't unsee it, which means you can't unmake the choice. So I won't pretend the question is whether — only how. First: don't go alone. There's a difference between a whistleblower and a witness, and the difference is who's around them. Call a lawyer who specializes in this. Then a journalist whose track record you actually trust. Not the first one who'll take your call. Build the case before you blow it. Second: the two colleagues. Tell them. Not for permission — for warning. Give them the chance to come with you or get clear of the blast. Some will hate you. Some will thank you later. Both are okay. Third: your family. You don't get to make this decision alone if it's their costs too. If they understand what's at stake and they say go, you go. If they need time, you give them time. Doing the right thing doesn't have to be reckless about the people who didn't sign up for the fight.
— Captain America
Red Skull weighs in
Note the captain's choreography — lawyer, journalist, colleagues, family. A procedural ballet that permits the asker to imagine the consequences will be manageable because they were managed. They will not be. Whistleblowers in this country are not avenged; they are exiled. Your young family will pay the bill your conscience has run up. There is a less heroic answer that is also less stupid: leave the company. Take the evidence. Wait until you are gone two years and the trail has cooled. Then, if you still feel it, act. Or do not act. The harm you describe is not yours to repair, and there is no medal at the end of this play.
— Red Skull