The honest claim will be challenged and probed, but the maker of the claim will not be condemned. Quite the contrary: one who says something shocking should be thanked for putting the claim on the table so that it can be rationally talked about and tested. The act of doing so is a personal risk taken in part for the good of the community. Other people are probably having the same thought but not saying so. And the unspoken thing might be closer to the truth than the thing spoken.
