ATF HUMOR: Whistleblowers Facing A Firing Squad Inserted into Law Enforcement Training Manuals

[KoKo]

ATF Humor: Whistleblowers Facing A Firing Squad
from the it's-not-funny-if-it-might-happen dept

Here at Techdirt, I like to think that we have a pretty decent concept of humor. While each writer may differ somewhat, I generally have a fairly liberal view of what's fair game for humor and how edgy something can be and still be funny. You want to joke about the government building a planet-killing machine? Cool. Jokes about low-level government employees twisting your giblets? Niiiice. Jokes about drugs? How could you not joke about drugs? Jokes about shooting whistleblowers inserted into government law enforcement training manuals? Somehow that seems to stretch away from funny to frightening.

Yet that's exactly what the ATF saw fit to do, according to (wait for it) leaks from a concerned ATF employee who was not full of bullet-holes at the time of this writing.

After months of anguished debate over mass shootings, gun control and Second Amendment rights, the Justice Department finds itself on the defensive after a training manual surfaced that suggests federal agents could face a firing squad for leaking government secrets. The online manual for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — complete with a photo of a turn-of-the-century firing squad — was obtained by The Washington Times from a concerned federal law enforcement official, and it immediately drew protests from watchdogs who said it showed a lack of sensitivity to gun violence and the continuing hostile environment toward whistleblowers.

Yes, the same federal government that has essentially declared war on whistleblowers, and from the very bureau in charge of helping to regulate firearms in this country, decided it was a-okay to joke about gunning down the very people who would make the country a better place out of a sense of duty. That's not funny. Why? Because I'm not all that clear exactly how many people in government wouldn't like to see that very kind of justice applied to some whistleblowers who already have come forward, namely Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden. We've already heard from former members of the NSA who enjoy joking(?) about killing Snowden and the fervor around Manning wasn't absent requests for his death. In other words, the joke isn't funny if we aren't sure it isn't going to happen.

Not to mention the potential for chilling speech from future whistleblowers.

(After the Article Appeared...the Image was Removed from the Training Manuel)

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131016/09552024899/atf-humor-whistle-blowers-facing-firing-squad.shtml

[KoKo]

1. Some here might find this Interesting.

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