As pretty much everybody knows by this point, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed right on the sidewalk of a New York City street in the early morning one week ago. It was a news story which seemed truly shocking for many. The manhunt for the killer also seemed to capture the nation's attention and ignited some really strong reactions from the public.
This was particularly evident on social media. Right away, it seemed that there was reaction to the killing. And most of it was not harsh towards the killer. In fact, much of it was quite critical towards Thompson, the CEO and victim in this particular case. There were jokes about living your life in such a way that people do not celebrate your death. I saw some post a joke musing on the idea of giving the killer a list of other potential targets. Another one which came out just after the suspect was caught suggested that the entire country was angry at the McDonald's employee who turned him in. And there were a lot of people, generally speaking, who just had little to no sympathy for Thompson, or the healthcare industry more generally. Some people even seemed to view the killer outright as a hero.
One of the most bizarre and surreal aspects of this case was that the lack of sympathy for Thompson crossed political spectrums. The criticisms of the healthcare industry, and the lack of sympathy towards Thompson, seemed to be something common to people both on the left and the right, politically.
This included podcaster Joe Rogan, who generally is regarded as leaning towards the right, and even being a de facto spokesman for MAGA. Yet, he expressed more of a disgust towards the healthcare industry in general, than any real sympathy towards Thompson. Here is some of what he said when discussing this incident on his show. The following was taken from a New York Post article focusing on Joe Rogan's reaction to this news story (see link below):
“I think this guy, if I had to guess, was some guy who got f–ked over,” the UFC commentator said. “Apparently, that company is really bad at denying claims.”
At another point, after one of his guests suggested that nobody would be crying too much over the late CEO, Rogan's response was telling:
“Maybe his family, but that’s about it,” Rogan replied.
“It’s a dirty, dirty business. The business of insurance is f–king gross. It’s gross. Especially healthcare insurance. It’s f–king gross.”
Rogan also suggested at one point that the killer would likely turn out to be someone who had been denied healthcare coverage for something and was bitter about it.
Now at first, I admittedly assumed that this was a professional job. The fact that the guy got away, the manner in which he was dressed and seemed to escape capture for several days seemed to me the actions of a professional.
As time went on, however, it became clear that I was probably wrong about that. There were traces that he left behind. He was caught on camera with his mask off, although his hair was not showing. Cameras also recorded his progress on a bike, and authorities found what they believe to be his backpack, which he left in Central Park. None of those things felt like they would be overlooked by a professional killer, who would know how to make a more difficult to trace escape.
What was shocking was that the suspect in this case, 26-year old Luigi Mangione, did not seem to have any immediately obvious motive. He was caught while eating breakfast at a McDonald's somewhere in Pennsylvania. Mangione is from a prominent family, and I heard somewhere that he has an uncle who is a Republican lawmaker. This was a young man who was born to relative privilege, and who many who knew him felt that he had everything ahead of him and was likely on his way to a successful life. He was the Valedictorian of his high school, and then graduated with a Bachelor's and a Master's from an Ivy League college. Most of the people who knew him personally felt that he had seemed entirely normal, and they were shocked that he would have been involved in a killing like this.
So what motivated Mangione to take these actions?
To this point, there is evidence that he may have had issues, both personal and intellectually, with the healthcare industry in general, and with his healthcare provider, which apparently was UnitedHealthcare, more specifically. The details about his back problems were not extensive yet at the time of my writing this particular blog entry. Yet, it is known that he has had issues with back pain dating back to his childhood, and he was concerned about these issues for his future, as well. So there may indeed have been personal reasons.
However, Mangione seems to have taken exception morally and intellectually to the healthcare industry practices more generally. This is supported by some of his writings, as well as evidence that he had written the words "deny", "defend" and "depose" on shell casings found at the scene of the murder. This was not some meaningless words. In fact, according to police, these words have deep meaning which appears directly related as motivation for the murder, according to a BBC News article by Madeline Halpert & Mike Wendling (see link below):
Law enforcement sources say this may be a reference to the "three Ds of insurance" - tactics used by companies to reject payment claims by patients.
Nor is that all. Mangione also had described the practices of health insurance companies as "parasitic," according to a law enforcement bulletin. And it was not just the healthcare industry which Mr. Mangione took exception to. According to the same article:
Mr Mangione also had a handwritten document that expressed "ill will" towards corporate America and included passages such as "frankly, these parasites had it coming", according to police.
Now personally, I feel that while it is wrong for people to view this man as a hero, the bitter sentiments towards the healthcare industry which this news story has revealed, and which sure seems widespread across the nation (even across the political divide, which is saying something) is understandable, as well. After all, what passes for the healthcare industry in the United States is, frankly, shady, to say the least. I would even suggest that in some cases, it feels like legalized criminality. Denying people the coverage to get the healthcare that they need is not just wrong, but it should be criminal Once upon a time, it was, because until President Richard Nixon repealed it, profiting from the sick in the United States used to be against the law. And people have grown sick and tired of dealing with unfeeling bureaucracies which give them unfeeling, small print answers to concerns which, for the people involved, are screaming headlines in their own life.
No, there is nothing heroic or even particularly courageous about shooting someone in the back and killing them. That to me seems undeniable. That said, his anger and outrage towards a blatantly corrupt and shady healthcare system is not entirely unjustified, either. Law enforcement is evidently outraged that so many people are expressing support of Mangione, but it is understandable. While I personally do not subscribe to the notion that Mangione was a hero, or make light of (or even celebrate the death of) Brian Thompson, I also feel that Thompson can hardly be said to have been fully an innocent party, either. After all, he was the top guy in a corporate entity that handles people's health and lives. And it is obviously common knowledge that the healthcare industry hardly deals with this responsibility in an admirable or caring way. Far from it.
Hence, the obvious and undeniable anger which people are feeling right now, and which lends them sympathy not for the actual victim in this case, but for the man who did the killing.
For the most part, I entirely agree with Chris Hedges, who wrote something about this case on the day of the actual killing. He explains why some of the well-known and very well-documented excesses and abuses of the for profit healthcare industry will inevitably make many people angry. It also makes much clearer why so many Americans sympathized not with the victim, but the perpetrator in this case. Keep in mind, we are the only industrialized nation in the world which has these problems, because we are the only industrialized nation that fails to provide it's citizens with some form of universal affordable healthcare. Yes, failure is what it is, and failing is what our healthcare system is doing in this country, as Hedges clearly points out here:
Among 10 high-income nations, the United States spends the most on health care but has the worst health outcomes. Americans die four years earlier than their counterparts in other industrialized nations.
There are more than 200 million Americans who rely on private health insurance, but once they become seriously ill, they are often tossed aside, left with crippling medical bills and unable to receive adequate treatment. Exorbitant medical bills account for about 40 percent of bankruptcies. Many of those driven into bankruptcy because of medical bills had medical insurance.
The revenue of six largest insurers -- Anthem, Centene, Cigna, AVS/Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth -- have more than quadrupled from 2010 to $1.1 trillion. Combined revenues of the 3 biggest -- United, CVS/Aetna and Cigna -- have quintupled.
These corporations, in moral terms, are legally permitted to hold sick children hostage while their parents bankrupt themselves to save their sons or daughters. That many die, at the very least premature deaths, because of these policies is indisputable.
Nothing absolves the killer of Thompson, but nothing absolves those who run for-profit health care corporations that embrace a business model that destroys and terminates lives in the name of profit.
Not surprisingly, I feel that Hedges got it exactly write here.
Below are the links to the articles used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which the quotes above were taken:
Who is Luigi Mangione, CEO shooting suspect? by Madeline Halpert & Mike Wendling, BBC News, December 10, 2024:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9nxee2r0do
The Killing of Brian Thompson by Chris Hedges Dec 04, 2024:
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-killing-of-brian-thompson
Joe Rogan blasts ‘dirty’ healthcare insurance industry after CEO Brian Thompson’s murder: ‘It’s f–king gross’ By Richard Pollina Published Dec. 11, 2024:
https://nypost.com/2024/12/11/us-news/joe-rogan-blasts-dirty-healthcare-insurance-industry-after-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompsons-murder/
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