"...not like the people making Twinkies aren't killing people..."

     Whistle blowing isn't for sissies. It’ll cost you friends…family. And you’ll be left for road kill by  the stampeding herd of strangers who find public shaming more thrilling than blood sport. Being right is no excuse for the wanton action of shedding light on Truth.

     “Get out of town bitch!” was scrawled on giant signs littering our front yard one morning. Nighttime had protected the shamers who’d put the hateful placards there.  But everyone knew who the "bitch" was.

     Me.

     As a teenager, I’d exposed a teacher/mentor and fellow student/friend for stealing intellectual property and, in a very public forum, passing the creative work off as theirs. And because they’d drawn others into using what they’d stolen, there were lots of folks in our tiny community exposed by my whistle blowing.

     The blowback was painful, and that experience is why I became a journalist. There should be a safe venue for whistleblowers to tell us the truth.

     Recently, I asked a group of the brightest students from a top-ranked high school in the country what they’d do if they were working at General Motors and realized the cars rolling off the company assembly-line were killing people. Would they blow the whistle?

     Only one said “yes”. The others vehemently defended not blowing the whistle. Why? “If a company gives you a paycheck, you owe them your loyalty because they’re allowing you to support your family. People dying is no excuse for betraying your company. "
     "And besides,” said one student, “it’s not like the people making Twinkies aren’t killing people. It just takes longer.”

     I was suddenly glad there are folks with families out there willing to take the blowback of being a whistleblower. Because often times our families are safer for their courage. (300 words)