[runnerup]

I don’t think it’s normal human nature to assault / murder / psychologically torture / ruin the life of / etc someone who points out what your group is doing wrong. It may happen from time to time, enough that it should be a potential expected response. But just like psychopathy and schizophrenia are abnormal, so is murdering or ruining the life of a whistleblower.

1-2% of the population may be a sociopath / psychopath — but its still considered “abnormal psychology”.

If someone had proof that a device I made was hurting people, I wouldn’t try to destroy their life or kill them.

A lot of this whistleblowing doesnt even have jailtime as a consequence to those who failed their duty of care - often it just means they’ll make a few million less dollars but still be plenty comfortable.

We shouldn’t feel its “normal” to murder / torture / assault or ruin the lives of these whistleblowers any more than we think sociopaths are “normal”.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/06/ebay-execs-sent-... <- this is not just normal “human nature”. It’s the result of abnormal psychology.

[bambax]

You don't think violence is part of human nature? I don't even know what to respond to that, except that it's not just socio- or psycho- or some other label of -paths. Everyone is capable of violence when threatened. Threatening the group is often perceived as worse than threatening a given individual, and will therefore induce a stronger reaction.

[runnerup]

I still dont think its normal to resort to violence just because someone will only make $400,000 this year instead of $4 million as a result of whistleblowing. Or even no change to their income but their company will make less profit as a result of whistleblowing. Or they’ll “be embarassed” as in the case of eBay.

That’s not a “threat” - they’re in no danger.