With the sheepish ones just letting them know you won't do it, (that it crosses the bright line) can make them back off some of the time.

This can be very scary and if you are thinking "but I could be fired" I understand that. Ask for help. Talk about it outside of work or with people you trust. Don't go looking for an excuse to comply and not feel bad about it. If you do you should feel bad.

Find a way to NOT do it instead.

Also, learn lessons from these middle managers. If you aren't empowered to say no, then use their strategies for avoiding things you don't want to do, create processes to function as obstacles, create arbitrary requirements that work as obstacles.

E.g., "Oh sure, I can do that no problem, I just need you to fill out this project intake form."

"Oh definitely, that's a great, form, I can't help but see that you left this section blank, unfortunately I'm going to need you to fill in the section explaining the strategy for rollback in the case of emergencies."

"I'd love to help you with this, but unfortunately our technical standards require us to justify all changes using this scoring point system."

Etc., etc.,

We've spent decades watching this bullshit be used to obstruct, delay and defer progress, we can use the same tactics to obstruct, delay, and defer anti-progress. It won't work as well, because fascists don't care about following the rules, but there's enough people who don't want to think of themselves as fascists around that it will still be effective.

scary stuff to think about. Reminds me of a medical application that used a binary field to store gender.

Best practice for any data is to use a single char field. Takes the same amount of space and saves you a lot of trouble later.

Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
Make "speeches," Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your points by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate "patriotic" comments.
When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committees as large as possible - never less than five.
Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.

web.archive.org/web/2020022517…
The CIA removed their WWII workplace sabotage manual from their website but you can still find it on archive dot org

These kind of lists always remind me of the so called "pink lists" containing names and addresses of homosexuals. These lists were gathered by the German police in the beginning of the last century.

With the rise of the Nazis, these lists became a life-threatening burden for the women and men on them.

The rise of the Nazis was paved above all by the fact that ordinary people turned a blind eye.

So, ordinary people can prevent the rise of fascists.

this!

Also, if you are being forced to do this, ask for this request/order *on paper* (or at least in writing).

I have been asked, at the eve of my IT career, to do a slightly unethical thing. I refused, but was told I have to do this anyway. I said: fine, but I would like this on paper, including the acknowledgement of my concerns.

It was never spoken of again, and never implemented. I kept my job, never had any grief from the higher ups about it either.

Paper trail is power.

I call that attitude "Driving the cattle-box trains to the death camps"

Ordinary railway workers.
Doing ordinary jobs.
Because "if they didn't do it, someone else would."