He quietly urged other military personnel to reflect on their own positions. “They should be confident in questioning possibly immoral or illegal orders,” he said, “remembering they are responsible for their own actions, and knowing others are asking the same questions.”
“If they have doubts about their orders, they are not alone,”
People are having their entire livelihoods destroyed for mocking ICE or not rending their shirt with sufficient passion over the death of a nazi. People are risking everything you listed every time they go to a protest and wonder if THIS will be the day that the cops swarm through.
Everyone needs to decide what risks they will and won’t take. But I am not going to say “Come on now. He figured he would be fine either way and didn’t want to risk any repercussions. Cut him some slack”.