Where were you on January 28, 1986 when #SpaceShuttleChallenger broke apart within 73 seconds into its flight? I was a junior in high school who watched the explosion with dozens of other kids during class. 17 years later, #SpaceShuttleColumbia disintegrated upon reentry. @CNN aired a four-part documentary about Columbia last night which highlighted the fact the accident could have been prevented. #NASA engineers and managers were aware that foam covering the shuttle's external tank and its connection points to the spacecraft would fall off — but NASA chose to ignore the facts and did nothing. The doc highlights a NASA culture where the #codeofsilence ran rampant. I was aghast. Their motivation for failure to act was the financial investment; planned schedules already in place; and fear of doing the right thing for speaking up and postponing the launch. Former employees say the revered NASA had a #workplaceculture where standing up for right… was wrong, and was met with retaliation. Just think, if the powers that be would have chosen #peopleoverprofits, the astronauts’ families would not have suffered. We have to break this code of silence and replace it with the code of #honor and #truth. One of my fave journalists Miles O’ Brien who covered the pre-launch admitted failing to speak up about and this known foam concern prior to the launch. O’Brien says “he’s part of the problem” for failing his journalistic duty to hold NASA accountable. He wonders if had he done so by doing stories on the foam issue, perhaps the seven crew members would still be alive. Don’t be part of the problem. This systemic problem of staying silent about #workplaceabuse is literally killing people. While too late for families of the astronauts who perished, I applaud the NASA employees and O’Brien for finally speaking up. What a heavy burden they’ve carried… one that could have been avoided. The solution is working with your state’s chapter of @EndWorkplaceAbuseNow and our national push to create non-toxic work environments through the #WorkplacePsychologicalSafetyAct that protects both the employer and employee. Don’t be part of the problem. Your silence is complicity in action. #MySilenceIsNotForSale @SilenceNot4Sale