Killing Health Care Executives Doesn’t Solve Health Care. It’s Also a Sign of the Times
Issue #778 The Choice, Thursday, December 12, 2024
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According to The Daily Beast on Tuesday, December 11:
“A legal defense fund on behalf of alleged United Healthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione has been established and is accepting donations, reaching over $20,000 by Tuesday night.
“In a press release Tuesday, a group calling itself the December 4 Legal Committee announced a crowdfunding campaign.”
A written manifesto that authorities said belonged to Mangione reads in part, “A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy.”
“United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the U.S. by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but [h]as our life expectancy?” Mangione continues.
“No, the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”
For those not already aware, Mangione shot and killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last week, which would explain the reason behind naming his self-appointed fundraiser the December 4 Legal Committee, marking the exact date of the crime. Since that time, Mangione’s twisted actions have elevated him rapidly to semi-cult hero status. The fact that he is not some deranged homeless person but rather a well-off, privileged white kid who went to some of the best schools makes him even more of a cause celebre because it suggests he knew exactly what he was doing and why. His so-called ‘manifesto’ lends credence to that.
But before I go any further, it’s time to state the obvious, which is that, yes, murder is bad. Period. Applauding Mangione for killing Brian Thompson is sick and twisted, and it needs to stop. Mangione is not a hero by any measurable standard; we must be clear about that.
However…
Mangione is a sign of the times. Mangione is a symptom of America’s illness, of which our perverse health care system is only one example (because as wrong as he was to murder Thompson, he raises valid and potent points in his targeted criticism). My guess would be that Mangione is only the first of many more to come, especially if Trump manages to keep his promises as he slides into his second term, which most agree will be far worse than the first. Because if a white kid with everything to lose – and who could probably afford health care even in an unequal system - felt compelled to commit murder to draw attention to systemic injustice, then how much longer before those who have nothing to lose join the fray? Because there are many, many more of them than there are kids like Mangione.
For now, Mangione was just the spark. Once that spark lands on dry wood, we could have a problem.
Yes but. We must discourage our heavily armed populace from eliminating the people who piss them off (or it's Betty-bar-the-door), but I must say that in a cosmic sense, insurance executives are kind of asking for it. And as we have just seen, the ballot box is not a reliable weapon of self-defence. I don't think this story is over.
Thank you Katharine! I appreciate that.