What does the phrase 'as if the culprit were the natural recipient of the complaint' convey?
Employees who reveal wrongdoing inside their organisations are often praised in public and punished in private. Legislation that protects them is welcome, but it is usually drafted too narrowly. Many laws cover only disclosures made first to the employer, as if the culprit were the natural recipient of the complaint. Anyone who has watched an institution close ranks knows how naive this is. A worker who reports a fraud to the very managers who profit from it may be dismissed before any investigation begins. Protection should therefore extend to disclosures made directly to regulators and, as a last resort, to the press. Critics say this invites malicious leaks, but a rule that punishes false claims can deal with that problem without discouraging honest ones.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Mild sarcasm about a law that treats the wrongdoer as the proper person to hear the complaint
- Step 1: The phrase says 'as if' and is followed by 'how naive this is', signalling disapproval.
- Step 2: The tone is therefore ironic, aimed at the legal design, not at anyone else.
Answer
Mild sarcasm about a law that treats the wrongdoer as the proper person to hear the complaint.
Why not the others: The phrase is critical, not admiring or neutral, and it is not about journalists or doubts that wrongdoing exists.
Practise more Whistleblowing.
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