To Speak Out?

[frigidmagi]

Fictional Situation that got me thinking.

Let's say you did something heroic, something dangerous and at great risk to yourself. Against a danger that wasn't a one time deal, but could strike again. However you're asked by whatever authorities to keep it quiet. Because they feel that if people knew it would cause to much panic and insanity, making it to difficult to effectivly defend them from this danger.

Do you speak out anyways and tell the truth, the whole truth or do you keep your mouth shut and hope higher knows what it's doing?

[Comrade Tortoise]

you know my stance on the so-called competance of higher ups. I would make sure I could prove whatr I was saying, and I would speak out.

[Lord Stormbringer]

It really is hard to say. People are not as prone to panic as people think, so it's rather hard to imagine something genuinely bad as to require that level of decption.

But at the same time, I know people can be irrational or foolish. Which means that some times secrecy is justified.

In other words, this hypothetical is entirely meaningless.

[SirNitram]

It's very context sensitive. A sliding-scale based on impact.

X Terrorist or Terrorist Group Got Away. Y Major Criminal could still have links to the outside. Stuff like this. Sure, I'll shut up. It probably will help.

As we move towards the realms of secrets we encounter mostly in fiction, and the 'People would panic so we must never reveal', I get less certain. Stargate, for example, would be something we should come out and reveal. But that's so far from likely it's probably not the subject of this post.