Calling a spade a spade... why editors are uncomfortable to say it as it is

Scientific writing calls scientists to say the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But in reality, try writing that and the chances are that your work will not get published;—at least not until it is said the way editors want it to be said. I learnt this the hard way, and still continue to be amazed at the many ways in which uncomfortable truths are refused to be accepted for publication. My first experience was when I was asked to review a textbook of pharmacology authored by a well-known pharmacologist. As I was still wet behind the ears and not yet learnt how to review a book without reading every page, I actually read the textbook from start to finish, made copious notes, wrote a verbose book review and submitted it. Months passed and I was eagerly waiting for it to be published. The waiting got to me and I finally got the courage to ask the editor what happened to the book review. The editor said, “look Gitanjali, we cannot publish this as he is a very powerful person... he will probably sit in on your interviews or will be an expert for your promotion. He will also be on committees which review research proposals for grants. Publishing this will not only affect you but me too. You have virtually accused him of copying (at that time plagiarism was something I did not know anything about) from the book Katzung (which the author had done) and this can have bad repercussions...” This was my first exposure to the world of scientific publication and the fact that editors are not comfortable calling a spade a spade. Much later, I came to know of similar problems faced by authors across the globe.